This Is How Kelsey Grammer Overcame His Tragic Upbringing to Become the Star of ‘Frasier’
This article appeared in www.cleverclassic.com and has been published here with permission.A Star Is Born
Allen Kelsey Grammer was born on February 21st, 1955, in Saint Thomas, in the U.S. Virgin Islands. His parents were a talented bunch. His mother, Sally, was a singer and actress. His father, Frank Allen Grammer Jr., was a musician who owned a coffee shop, a bar and grill, a music store, and the Virgin Islands View newspaper.
Frank abandoned the family when Kelsey was two. He re-married and had four more children. But, while Frank’s Caribbean life should have been idyllic, disaster was right around the corner.
Started Young
After the divorce, Sally took Kelsey and his younger sister Karen back to New Jersey. The siblings were raised by their mother and maternal grandparents, Gordon and Evangeline Cranmer. The family later moved to Pompano Beach, Florida to start afresh.
Young Kelsey first discovered booze at the tender age of nine. His grandfather passed when he was 11, and by the time he was a teenager, he was a frequent drinker and always getting himself into trouble.
Death in Paradise
Back on the U.S. Virgin Islands, on April 24th, 1968, Frank Grammer’s car was set on fire outside his house. When he went outside to investigate, he was fatally wounded by a man that was trespassing on his property.
The intruder went by the name of Arthur Bevan Niles. After the incident, Niles was immediately arrested and sentenced to life in jail, though he was later released around 1994.
Performing Arts School
Kelsey attended a private prep school called Pine Crest School in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. Here, he first developed his love and appreciation for performing, singing, and the works of Shakespeare. After being encouraged by his teachers, he showed real promise as an actor.
So, he graduated high school and won a scholarship to study drama at the famous Juilliard School of Performing Arts in New York City. The 18-year-old joined Juilliard in 1973, but as he and his family recovered from Frank’s murder five years earlier, tragedy struck again.
Kelsey Grammer starred in Cheers and Frasier, but behind the scenes, his life was marred by tragedy. A series of traumatic family events saw him slide into guilt and depression, causing a life-long battle with substance abuse. His personal life is just as scandalous. Ladies and gentlemen… welcome to the rollercoaster life of Kelsey Grammer.