Kelsey Grammer emotionally remembers late 'Frasier' costar John Mahoney, says sequel will 'honor the extraordinary man'
Many say "friendships last forever," and Kelsey Grammer just ascertained it. Kelsey Grammer paid tribute to John Mahoney earlier this week, while also confirming the upcoming 'Frasier' sequel series. During an interview earlier this week on Tuesday, Kelsey Grammer, 67, called Mahoney "a man of merit" and said the sequel show would give "proper attention" to his character.
John Mahoney, best known for his role as Martin Crane, the father of the title character on the retro TV show 'Frasier,' died of throat cancer on February 4, 2018, while in hospice care, according to the Chicago Tribune. The 77-year-old had remained immersed in theater until the end of his life. However, there was always a conversation about reviving the famous series, 'Frasier'. But due to various reasons, it did not follow through until earlier this October when the new show was officially greenlit at Paramount+ with an unconfirmed 10 episodes.
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During the conversation with Fox News, Grammer confirmed the upcoming series is "not a reboot," but a "new show" centered around the character in a new set of circumstances and a new city. He also spoke highly of Mahoney and paid his respect while saying, "His loss is and was devastating and must be given the proper attention in honor of the extraordinary man he was and the contribution he made to the show and to the acting profession." Grammer continued, "We will most certainly be honoring him according to his merit. A man of merit he remains to this day." "John was a kind man, and the world cannot afford to lose a kind man at any time," Grammer added of his late friend.
'Frasier' was a television sitcom spin-off of the series, 'Cheers.' It was broadcast on NBC for 11 seasons. It premiered on September 16, 1993, and concluded on May 13, 2004. The program was created and produced by David Angell, Peter Casey, and David Lee. 'Frasier' was critically acclaimed, with the series and the cast winning thirty-seven Primetime Emmy Awards, a record at the time for a scripted series.
However, the late Mahoney spoke to Fox News about his time on 'Frasier' while battling cancer. He said at the time, "I had made some of my biggest movies when I was diagnosed." he further said, "I wasn’t going to let this cancer get me. I waited too long to do this. When I was told I had cancer, I said, ‘I don’t care. Let’s do whatever we need to do to beat it. It’s not going to get me.’ And the doctors have always said that my attitude had a great deal to do with my cure."
He continued, "I just absolutely refused to be beaten by it. It sounds like I’m daring fate. But it’s the truth. It made me work 10 times harder, 10 times more. I turned nothing down and instead tried to do almost everything I was offered to make up for the years that I hadn’t been doing it when I should have. I think that had quite a bit to do with my recovery. I did recover."
The new series will see the psychiatrist turned radio host Frasier Crane beginning the next phase of his life in a new city, having left Seattle, where 'Frasier' was set. The final episode of the original series saw Frasier Crane give up a promising new job in San Francisco and move to Chicago instead, where his girlfriend Charlotte, played by Laura Linney, had just relocated. Perhaps, time will tell how the new series will pan out.