NO POLITICS, PLEASE – CONFIDENTIAL:
DR. FRASIER CRANE will not campaign. Actor Kelsey Grammer (photo) — one of showbiz’s most outspoken conservatives — has flirted with the idea of running for public offices ranging from mayor of New York to President of the United States. But those urges have subsided. “I always thought at some time I wouldn’t want to be an actor anymore and at that time I might want to do some kind of service for the country and the only way I can do that at this point was maybe to do public service of some kind and serve as a politician,” he told us while promoting his Netflix series “The Last Tycoon,” which begins streaming on Friday. But don’t throw away those Grammer 2020 signs just yet. “We’ll see,” the “Frasier” star said. “That may still happen, but it’s not on my front burner because quite frankly I’m working a lot at this time.” Grammer attended George W. Bush’s inauguration in 2001 and endorsed Rudy Giuliani in the 2008 Republican primaries. He also told paparazzi in London, “I’m a Trump guy” when pressed to endorse a candidate last fall.
“I was quite content to see the world change — I thought change was probably the best thing,” he explained.
Grammer doesn’t seem as optimistic now. “Let’s face it, seven months in office, we’ll see how it goes,” he said.
Grammer, who tells us he’s “never been happier” than he is right now, said that in a runoff between psychiatrist Frasier Crane and his “Simpsons” character Sideshow Bob — the two best-known characters he’s played — the good doctor gets his vote as his favorite onscreen persona. But it’s close.
“I’m afraid I’d have to say Frasier, but Sideshow Bob does cast a very long shadow,” he said. “My wife took a picture of my daughter watching Sideshow Bob for the first time and she was just sensing I’m connected to this in some way. It was very funny.”