Kelsey Grammer Shares Stories From His Career About Kirstie Alley and David Hyde Pierce

What this episode is about

Kelsey Grammer reflects on his career during the filming of "Cheers" and "Frasier," discussing his struggles with substance abuse and the importance of knowing when to step back and regain control. He emphasizes the need to embrace success without shame while acknowledging support from friends and colleagues during challenging times.

Key takeaways

• Success often breeds shame; in America, we paradoxically punish those who achieve greatness.
• Sobriety is subjective; 'cleanish' living reveals the nuanced relationship many have with addiction.
• Observing human behavior can be the ultimate training ground for storytelling; every life is a potential narrative.
• Kirsty Alley: a force of nature who turned silliness into a competitive sport amongst her peers.
• Love affairs on set blend professionalism and temptation; sometimes, the drama stays behind the scenes.

Who speaks in this episode?

• Megyn Kelly (Guest) · 3 min speaking
• Kelsey Grammer (Guest) · 8 min speaking

What is discussed, and when

1. 0:00 – 3:00: Cheers
2. 3:00 – 6:00: Cheers, Frasier, Kirstie Alley
3. 6:00 – 9:00: David Hyde Pierce
4. 9:00 – 10:50: Birch Gold Group

Notable quotes from "Kelsey Grammer Shares Stories From His Career About Kirstie Alley and David Hyde Pierce"

• Yeah, it's not a denial. But I never did. No. it's funny. I didn't get to know Shelley very well because she left really after I got to the show a couple years later.

  about Cheers · at 2:51

• Another decade. And the re one of the reasons why I'm so surprised to learn that you love race cars, is because my favorite episode of Frasier, it is the one I've mentioned it…

  about Frasier · at 5:04

• On into my life a bit longer than maybe most but So, did you maintain a friendship with David Hyde Pierce, who played Niles?

  about David Hyde Pierce · at 8:29

• That gold has risen over 700% in the last 20 years. and a never- ending list of reasons smart Americans diversify a portion of their savings into precious metals with Birch…

  about Birch Gold Group · at 9:47

Who and what is mentioned in this episode?

People

• David Hyde Pierce — Person · Referenced colleague and friend (Frasier co-star) · 1 mention · first at 8:35
  Discussed as the actor who played Niles on Frasier; the speaker says they remain friends and describes Pierce's career focus on Broadway theater in New York.
• Kirstie Alley — Person · Referenced co-star (Cheers) · 1 mention · first at 3:05
  Mentioned as a former co-star on Cheers; the speaker praises her comedic talent, recalls her on-set personality, and notes being devastated by her death.
  Be successful for a while. She's great and I got to know her pretty well and I always loved Kirsty. I think she's one of the funniest people that ever lived.

Media & podcasts

• Cheers — Media · Referenced media · 3 mentions · first at 0:54
  Mentioned as the original show that led to Frasier and a significant part of the speaker's career and personal anecdotes.
• Frasier — Media · Referenced media · 1 mention · first at 4:59
  Discussed as a spin-off of Cheers and a significant part of the speaker's career, including specific episodes.

Sponsors

• Birch Gold Group — Company · Sponsor · 1 mention · first at 9:56
  Promoted as a service for diversifying savings into precious metals, specifically gold, during economic uncertainty.

Full transcript with timestamps

0:00 How were you able to function at such a high level while drinking so much and doing so many drugs?

0:05 Well, I've got a a good brain and I always knew when to pull it back. I always knew when to stop, honestly. I mean, there were moments when, you know, I looked pretty beat up, but I could always, you know, kind of pull myself together enough to, you know, have a semblance of uh acumen and talent and and uh performance. So, it was never that far out of my reach. So, and I and I it's sort of like I' I've raced cars a little bit, you know, a long time ago. Um,

0:31 you have. Yeah. But that the thing that the the thing that I didn't do was I didn't go to the place where I knew I wasn't safe. And I think that was an indication of who I actually

0:41 Oh. I always knew that I was able to put it down. There was a moment when I'd say, "Okay, that's enough now. Go get some rest." Was was there someone like who you worked with either on the Cheers? I think this is mostly during the Cheers years. Um,

0:58 well, there was there was a there was a real section during Frraasier when I I needed to take some time off. That was when it kind of really came to a head cuz I mean that suddenly I was making an extraordinary amount of money and uh I still felt uh like I needed to apologize for that on some level. Of course, the world around us says you need to apologize for being successful, which seems absolutely ridiculous as is America for God's sakes. Uh, which may may explain point toward some of my politics. Uh, we need not be embarrassed by success. We need not be shamed by it.

1:29 And it seems that we like winning on the right side. Yeah. Yeah. That seems that that's sort of what's going on. Um,

1:36 but uh trying to get back to my thread on that. Well, was there some I was going to ask you, was there somebody who

1:42 Oh, somebody or somebody who really pushed you to to put it down and Yeah. The folks at church said, you know, look, it's time to kind of, you know, step away from it. I said, okay.

1:52 I did that for a while and uh had a few good years of clean living. Well, not exactly clean, but you know, cleanish cleanish living and uh

2:02 couple of, you know, messed up relationships, but a couple of good ones. So, you know, there were some decent people around. Um I I liked and I still like uh interaction with people and that's the greatest source for me of all experience is just is the fact that you know people and and watch them and

2:20 that that's where I did my training. My training actually has just been in you know observing the human condition and the way people behave and that's that's what you

2:28 great actors and great writers. Yeah. And great writers. Same thing. Good. Yeah. So, did you ever have a Todd Love affair with uh Shelley Long or Kirsty Ally or um BB Newworth? Come on, spill the tea.

2:42 No, you know what? It's it's it's never really a good idea to have Todd Love affair with people you're working with.

2:49 No, it's not a good idea, but that's not a denial. Yeah, it's not a denial. But but I never did. No. Um it's funny. I I didn't get to know Shelley very well because she left really after I got to the show a couple years later. uh she went off after the fifth season and uh that's when Kirsty came on the show and that's when I realized when when Kirsty made her first appearance in the show and I was watching I thought to myself, boy, this this show is going to be successful for a while. She's great and I got to know her pretty well and I always loved Kirsty. I think she's one of the funniest people that ever lived.

3:21 I was devastated by her by her premature demise, you know. I mean, just for her to go the way she went, it just was like, oh, come on. She was such always such a light and you know and she was um she was a kind of ecstatic person. She would live uh in a silliness about her. I mean she she did that I don't know if this would ever ever go anywhere anymore but at one point she stood all the men on cheers up against the barn and she said I'm going to guess which of you has the biggest package. She was unflapable. And of course we all you know you know said okay well what the heck it's just but it was a different time though

4:01 which either makes you feel really really proud or really nervous depending on what category

4:07 that that eye looking sort of a scance at you. Yeah. But she was a riot and she was it was always in good fun. She was celebratory and fun and you know there were she went up and down and you know and was but always funny. It was Kirsty who told me that uh when you go on like a show like Carson or something like that and of course I I I missed Carson Jaylen. It was his first year and I thought okay but um uh she said just make up somebody pretend you're somebody else. I thought Kirsty

4:38 I said that's exhausting. I'll never I'll never be able to keep track for one thing. So

4:43 I I I think she gave that same advice to Brian Williams of NBC News. that would come back to haunt him. But

4:50 no, bit him on the Sure did. Um, so then you wind up doing the spin-off of Cheers, which is Frasier, which is I mean just as big if not bigger a hit. Ran for the same another decade. And the re one of the reasons why I'm so surprised to learn that you love race cars, is because my favorite episode of Frasier, it is the one I've mentioned it on this show multiple times. and my whole family can recite it start to finish is um you and your brother Niles who are these you know very uptight priish socialite men both psychiatrists um not men's men at all much to the chagrin of their man's manf father

5:33 decide you have to go to auto mechanic saw that show the other day it's the greatest I had my team pull a small clip for the audience that hasn't seen it here's Just just a tad.

5:47 No one else wore them in gym class either, but then Tommy Fritz scratched his cornea and then they were mandatory. Give me that wrench. Give me that wrench.

5:58 I'm telling you. I'm telling you. I'm too tight. Here, I'll just try to loosen it up.

6:03 Whoa. Whoa. Remember, uh, spark plugs come out with a simple twist and pull. Twist and pull. Give it a try. Mhm. Oh, okay. Um, that's called stripping it.

6:20 Wow. Good job, Fraser. Here, let me strip one. No, no. Stripping it means breaking it. Uh, watch me. So you twist and then pull. You see, I was twisting and pulling simultaneously as per your instructions. Twist and pull.

6:46 In the future, the phrase twist then pull might help. Look, fellas, maybe that's enough for one night, but uh why don't you come in a little early next week and I'll try to get you caught up to everyone else. Uh I've got a feeling you guys are going to be my special project. And then you realize you were the remedial students.

7:09 Yes, that was a nightmare. Unusual for those boys. It was not a good thing to be the remedial students.

7:15 I love that guy. So, but that was real acting because Do you know your way around an engine?

7:19 Well, actually I do. Um, this was one of my come to Jesus moments in my career when I realized as I was changing my own oil after I was on television, I thought to myself, you know what? There are people who make their living doing this. I'm depriving them of their living while I'm making mine. So, I started thinking I should get my oil ch my oil changed by a professional.

7:41 That that is exactly the storyline of the auto uh mechanic episode where that the two guys eventually realize that that they're stealing jobs from very good auto mechanics and really should leave this class ASAP.

7:53 Yeah, I you know I I really it was a real thing for me because I I always I was grow I grew up looking after my mom's cars, my grandmother's cars. I I had to always change the oil, change the plugs, sometimes set the timing, you know, there was different things you set the gap on the plug. There's all sorts of stuff we used to do that you don't have to do anymore.

8:10 Uh because we had carburetors then, you know, now it's fuel injection. Um I Yeah, you're not you're speaking Greek to me. I don't even know if the engine of my car is in the front or the back.

8:23 I was very proud to do them and look after things in the house. It was my job. I was the I was the man of the family, you know, and so it just carried on into my life a bit longer than maybe most but

8:35 So, did you maintain a friendship with David Hyde Pierce, who played Niles? You're still friends? Yeah. Yeah, it's a it's it's a good relationship. Uh uh David's in New York. He's he's sort of become the maven of, you know, Broadway theater.

8:50 Yeah, I've seen him. I've I've stayed over here on the West Coast. Uh but I you know back I've gone over to New York once in a while and I did a I did a movie with Charles Durning several years back couple of decades now I guess but um and I said what do you what do you like to do to keep you know things sharp keep things focused he said well I try to do a play every year for at least 6 weeks you know it's like a you do a an out of town play somewhere you'd probably take off a month or two to to keep the engine running you know to keep the keep the the census uh honed and I thought well every year is going to way too hard to manage for me. Um, too many responsibilities. But I I did try to do every five years and I think I've kind of stuck with that. It's a it's I'm I'm a little late right now.

9:34 This little phase in my life. I think I it's about time for me to go do a play again, but we'll we'll see.

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Questions about this episode

Who speaks in "Kelsey Grammer Shares Stories From His Career About Kirstie Alley and David Hyde Pierce"?

Megyn Kelly (Guest), Kelsey Grammer (Guest).

What is "Kelsey Grammer Shares Stories From His Career About Kirstie Alley and David Hyde Pierce" about?

Kelsey Grammer reflects on his career during the filming of "Cheers" and "Frasier," discussing his struggles with substance abuse and the importance of knowing when to step back and regain control. He emphasizes the need to embrace success without shame while acknowledging support from friends and colleagues during challenging times.

What is mentioned in this Megyn Kelly episode?

5 people, works and ideas are mentioned, including Cheers, Frasier, David Hyde Pierce, Kirstie Alley. Each one on this page links to its own page with every episode that mentions it.

How long is "Kelsey Grammer Shares Stories From His Career About Kirstie Alley and David Hyde Pierce"?

The episode runs 11 min; the transcript is about 2,135 words in 38 timestamped sections.

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