Frasier cast’s real-life tragedies – family murders, shark death and 9/11 horror

The cast of Frasier was plagued by tragic deaths.

It was one of the biggest TV show of the 1990s, following the life of radio agony uncle Frasier Crane. Crane was the breakout star of the hit TV show Cheers, and actor Kelsey Grammar was all too happy to take his character to the next level.

The show originally ran from this day (September 16) in 1993 and ran until 2004 and was recently revived on streaming service Paramount+. But behind the scenes of the comedy show, the cast were dealt several blows as tragedy would strike lead actor Kelsey, now aged 68.

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Daily Star looks at some of the horrific fates suffered by those connected to the show.

Kelsey Grammar’s family murdered

Lead actor Kelsey Grammar plays the title character Frasier, known for his wit and intelligence. But before the show even began, Grammer had a number of tragic deaths in his family.

Kelsey’s grandfather passed away in 1966, aged 63, from cancer. Then aged just 12, the death of his grandad hurt Kelsey deeply.

Two years later, the actor’s father Frank was killed by a psychopath who had lured him outside of the house after setting his car on fire. After Frank went out to investigate, the man – Arthur Niles – shot him dead.

Arthur was put on trial for the murder, but was later found not guilty by reason of insanity – and would spend the rest of his life in a psychiatric hospital. But the personal tragedy would continue for poor Kelsey, as in 1975, his sister Karen was brutally raped and stabbed to death.

Kelsey himself was made to identify the body after she was found in a trailer park in Colorado, aged just 20 years old. Reflecting on her death, Kelsey admitted that Karen’s murder “very nearly destroyed him”.

Relatives being eaten by sharks

Kelsey suffered several horrors throughout his childhood – tragedy reared its head again for the actor when his half-brothers Billy and Stephen Grammer died whilst scuba diving in 1980. Billy and Stephen, who are Kelsey’s half-brothers from dad Frank’s previous relationships, were swimming off the coast of the Caribbean island of St Thomas.

Things would take a turn for the worse when the pair opted to go scuba diving to see the ocean’s wildlife. After diving down to view the fish, coral and the like, Stephen suffered an embolism from coming to the surface too quickly.

Known as The Benz, divers that return to the surface too quickly can have nitrogen bubbles develop in their bloodstream, which become trapped in blood vessels, cutting off vital oxygen to the brain. However, despite Stephen’s death being confirmed to be due to an embolism, no one knows what happened to Billy.

When rescuers came to inspect the scene, only one body was found. As a result, rescue services believe that Billy’s body might have been eaten by sharks, which would have explained his disappearance.

9/11 heartbreak

On September 11, 2001, four planes were hijacked and crashed, killing nearly 3,000 people. Two planes hit the World Trade Centre in the Twin Towers, one was flown into the Pentagon, and the fourth crashed into a field after passengers fought back against the hijackers.

But tragedy would once again strike Kelsey, as after eight successful years on Frasier, the show’s co-creator was killed in the attacks. David Angell was a staff writer on Cheers, were Kelsey first shot to fame, in 1983 – and the pair struck an immediate friendship.

Angell helped to create the breakaway show with Grammer, fleshing the show out with more characters including Mancunian Daphne, and no-nonsense radio producer Roz.

On 9/11, David and his wife Lynn were travelling from Boston to Los Angeles on American Airlines flight 11. Fifteen minutes after take-off the plane was hijacked and forty-five minutes later, it became the first plane to crash into the Twin Towers.

Recalling the event, Kelsey spoke of his horror at learning of his death, adding that he had invited him to a party just days before the attack. Production was halted on the show as a mark of respect, and Grammer paid tribute to his frequent collaborator.

“He was a terrific writer. He was also a really nice guy. It was great to know him, and so losing him was something everybody felt like a gut shot,” he admitted.

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Source: Celebrities - dailystar.co.uk