Before the debut episode of Friends aired on NBC in 1994, director Jimmy Burrows took the cast on a trip to Las Vegas.
"He handed us each a couple hundred bucks and said, ‘Now go into the casino and go gamble because this is the last time you’ll be able to walk into a casino anonymously,’" Jennifer Aniston recalled in a 2019 interview with Ellen DeGeneres.
"And we had no clue what he was talking about. And sure enough, that was the last time we were able [do that].”
Such was the power of network television in the '90s.
Six unknown young actors could transform overnight into a half-dozen A-listers, entirely on the strength of one popular primetime sitcom.
Eventually, those unknowns would become the highest-paid actors in the history of television, pocketing over $1 million per episode.
Years later, along with costar Reese Witherspoon, Aniston would break her own record, earning $2 million...
"He handed us each a couple hundred bucks and said, ‘Now go into the casino and go gamble because this is the last time you’ll be able to walk into a casino anonymously,’" Jennifer Aniston recalled in a 2019 interview with Ellen DeGeneres.
"And we had no clue what he was talking about. And sure enough, that was the last time we were able [do that].”
Such was the power of network television in the '90s.
Six unknown young actors could transform overnight into a half-dozen A-listers, entirely on the strength of one popular primetime sitcom.
Eventually, those unknowns would become the highest-paid actors in the history of television, pocketing over $1 million per episode.
Years later, along with costar Reese Witherspoon, Aniston would break her own record, earning $2 million...
- 5/21/2024
- by Tyler Johnson
- TVfanatic
The new cast of "Frasier" had big, hilariously pretentious shoes to fill, and when it came to Jack Cutmore-Scott's audition, the pressure was on. The actor, who plays Frasier's son Freddy in the show's revival season, recently spoke to the hosts of "The Talk" about how he landed the presumably highly coveted role, admitting that the presence of not one but two TV legends in the room made the whole process more nerve-wracking.
"It was a fairly conventional process to begin with," Cutmore-Scott told the show's hosts. "You do the tape and you send in the tape and you don't hear anything for weeks and you think, 'Well, that was fun.'" The actor has previously appeared in films like "Tenet" and "Kingsman: The Secret Service" and led the short-lived Fox comedy "Cooper Barrett's Guide To Surviving Life," but "Frasier" is by far his biggest role. After waiting to...
"It was a fairly conventional process to begin with," Cutmore-Scott told the show's hosts. "You do the tape and you send in the tape and you don't hear anything for weeks and you think, 'Well, that was fun.'" The actor has previously appeared in films like "Tenet" and "Kingsman: The Secret Service" and led the short-lived Fox comedy "Cooper Barrett's Guide To Surviving Life," but "Frasier" is by far his biggest role. After waiting to...
- 1/6/2024
- by Valerie Ettenhofer
- Slash Film
Kelsey Grammer returned to reprise his role of Dr. Frasier Crane one more time. Over the last four years, Grammer has taken on the part of Frasier across multiple TV shows, beginning with Cheers and now, presumably, ending with the Frasier reboot. While Frasier is Grammer’s signature role, the part was initially intended for someone other than him. The character was actually created with another actor in mind. Grammer was only afforded the chance to audition for the role because John Lithgow turned down the part.
John Lithgow could have played Dr. Frasier Crane, but he turned down the part
While Kelsey Grammer turned out to be the perfect Frasier, the role wasn’t supposed to be his. If John Lithgow hadn’t turned down the part, script unseen, Grammer wouldn’t have ever gotten the opportunity to audition. Lithgow reminisced about his career and his near misses in a recent interview.
John Lithgow could have played Dr. Frasier Crane, but he turned down the part
While Kelsey Grammer turned out to be the perfect Frasier, the role wasn’t supposed to be his. If John Lithgow hadn’t turned down the part, script unseen, Grammer wouldn’t have ever gotten the opportunity to audition. Lithgow reminisced about his career and his near misses in a recent interview.
- 11/25/2023
- by Andrea Francese
- Showbiz Cheat Sheet
It’s a chilly February evening on the Paramount lot as Kelsey Grammer transforms into Frasier Crane for the first time in nearly two decades. It’s an emotional moment on set, both nostalgic and anticipatory. The sets are new, as is every cast member besides Grammer. But behind the camera, legendary director James Burrows shares some continuity with Grammer — having been there from the character’s 1984 beginning on “Cheers.”
Even months later, with the 2023 “Frasier” now on the air (via Paramount+), Grammer gets choked up when asked about what returning to the character — and having institutions like Burrows (one of the original “Cheers” creators) back on board — means to him.
“It’s a piece of personal heaven for me that Jimmy Burrows is still in my life,” Grammer says, his voice cracking just a bit. “And I will always feel that way about him. He’s really helpful. And...
Even months later, with the 2023 “Frasier” now on the air (via Paramount+), Grammer gets choked up when asked about what returning to the character — and having institutions like Burrows (one of the original “Cheers” creators) back on board — means to him.
“It’s a piece of personal heaven for me that Jimmy Burrows is still in my life,” Grammer says, his voice cracking just a bit. “And I will always feel that way about him. He’s really helpful. And...
- 11/22/2023
- by Michael Schneider
- Variety Film + TV
"Frasier" had a bevy of guest stars throughout its original eleven-season run, but you might not recognize some of them on first watch. That's because many of the most famous actors to appear on the beloved sitcom did so in voice only, calling into psychologist Frasier Crane's (Kelsey Grammer) Seattle radio show for all manner of life advice. Casting a celebrity who viewers never actually see felt like a new gimmick when the series first premiered, and it's frankly still a rarity now.
In an oral history of the series published by Vanity Fair in 2018, series co-creators Peter Casey and David Lee, casting director Jeff Greenberg, and director Jimmy Burrows talked about how the call-in guest stars idea originated, who showed up on the other end of the line, and which celebrities turned "Frasier" down. "Early on, someone suggested getting guest voices," Casey recalled. "Kelsey agreed, as long as they weren't goofy calls.
In an oral history of the series published by Vanity Fair in 2018, series co-creators Peter Casey and David Lee, casting director Jeff Greenberg, and director Jimmy Burrows talked about how the call-in guest stars idea originated, who showed up on the other end of the line, and which celebrities turned "Frasier" down. "Early on, someone suggested getting guest voices," Casey recalled. "Kelsey agreed, as long as they weren't goofy calls.
- 11/19/2023
- by Valerie Ettenhofer
- Slash Film
The latest episode of Paramount+’s “Frasier,” entitled “Blind Date,” followed as Kelsey Grammer’s titular character competed with his son Freddy (Jack Cutmore-Scott) for the affections of a woman named June (June Diane Raphael) in a 22-page-long scene.
Director Kelly Park told TheWrap that filming the sequence was “one of the highlights” of her career.
“It really allowed me to prove to myself that I am a technical director,” she said. “Kelsey Grammer was wonderful because he collaborated with me and was with me all the way. It was really divine… they just let me play, let me create, and allowed me to delve into what Frasier used to be and bring it back home.”
But directing a multi-camera comedy in front of a live studio audience is no easy feat.
“In the multi-cam world, traditionally what we do is we have two days of taping. There’s a...
Director Kelly Park told TheWrap that filming the sequence was “one of the highlights” of her career.
“It really allowed me to prove to myself that I am a technical director,” she said. “Kelsey Grammer was wonderful because he collaborated with me and was with me all the way. It was really divine… they just let me play, let me create, and allowed me to delve into what Frasier used to be and bring it back home.”
But directing a multi-camera comedy in front of a live studio audience is no easy feat.
“In the multi-cam world, traditionally what we do is we have two days of taping. There’s a...
- 11/9/2023
- by Lucas Manfredi
- The Wrap
Once upon a time in Boston, there was a bar where everybody knew your name. That bar was the setting for the NBC series "Cheers," which ran for 11 seasons from 1982-1993. Behind this bar was bartender/owner Sam Malone (Ted Danson), a former baseball player and alcoholic who had an on-again-off-again romance with the more cultured (at least she thought so) barmaid Diane Chambers (Shelley Long). Psychiatrist Frasier Crane (Kelsey Grammer) started his TV life here, later going on to have his own show, with a revival currently running on Paramount+. George Wendt played the accountant Norm, whose name was yelled every time he walked through the door. Rhea Perlman was Carla, the acerbic cocktail waitress. The show had so many incredible characters, but my favorite was always Cliff Clavin.
Played by John Ratzenberger, Cliff Clavin was a mailman who frequented the bar and always had a string of lovable...
Played by John Ratzenberger, Cliff Clavin was a mailman who frequented the bar and always had a string of lovable...
- 10/29/2023
- by Jenna Busch
- Slash Film
Tributes poured in from all corners of Hollywood when the news came of Matthew Perry’s death at age 54 on Saturday. The actor, best known for starring as Chandler Bing in “Friends,” was found dead in a hot tub at his home in Los Angeles.
Many of the sentiments posted online Saturday pointed to Perry as the heart of the humor in “Friends.” As written in a tribute by Variety‘s chief correspondent Daniel D’Addario, “the character’s caustic wit, as performed by a master comic actor, presented as nothing more and nothing less than observational humor about his friends: One degree harsher and it would have tanked the show, one degree softer and it wouldn’t have landed.”
Several also referenced Perry’s struggle with alcoholism and drug addiction, which he discussed publicly throughout his career, especially in his memoir “Friends, Lovers and the Big Terrible Thing.”
“We are shocked and deeply,...
Many of the sentiments posted online Saturday pointed to Perry as the heart of the humor in “Friends.” As written in a tribute by Variety‘s chief correspondent Daniel D’Addario, “the character’s caustic wit, as performed by a master comic actor, presented as nothing more and nothing less than observational humor about his friends: One degree harsher and it would have tanked the show, one degree softer and it wouldn’t have landed.”
Several also referenced Perry’s struggle with alcoholism and drug addiction, which he discussed publicly throughout his career, especially in his memoir “Friends, Lovers and the Big Terrible Thing.”
“We are shocked and deeply,...
- 10/29/2023
- by Selome Hailu
- Variety Film + TV
IMDb.com, Inc. takes no responsibility for the content or accuracy of the above news articles, Tweets, or blog posts. This content is published for the entertainment of our users only. The news articles, Tweets, and blog posts do not represent IMDb's opinions nor can we guarantee that the reporting therein is completely factual. Please visit the source responsible for the item in question to report any concerns you may have regarding content or accuracy.