Minor characters on Frasier
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Besides the main characters Frasier Crane, his father Martin and brother Niles, Daphne Moon, Roz Doyle and a few others, there are several minor characters who regularly appear on the American television sitcom Frasier, or who have important but limited roles.
- 1 Crane men's love interests
- 2 ''Dr. Frasier Crane Show'' callers
- 3 KACL staff
- 3.1 Bob \"Bulldog\" Briscoe
- 3.2 Chopper Dave
- 3.3 Gil Chesterton
- 3.4 Julia Wilcox
- 3.5 Kenny Daley
- 3.6 Noel Shempsky
- 4 Moon family members
- 4.1 Gertrude Moon
- 4.2 Grammy Moon
- 4.3 Harry Moon
- 4.4 Michael Moon
- 4.5 Nigel Moon
- 4.6 Simon Moon
- 4.7 Stephen Moon
- 5 Niles and Maris' household staff
- 6 Other characters
Crane men's love interests
Melanie \"Mel\" Karnofsky
Dr. Melanie "Mel" Karnofsky (Jane Adams) is Maris Crane's plastic surgeon. She is fussy, neurotic, and fastidious, much like Niles, to whom she is briefly married. The marriage quickly ends when Niles confesses his love for Daphne, but is followed by a protracted divorce.
Ronee Lawrence
Ronee Lawrence (Wendie Malick) is Niles and Frasier's old babysitter, and the first woman to break Frasier's heart (he used to watch her kiss her boyfriend through the bannisters). She is also responsible for Niles' compulsive furniture-wiping, as she told him stories when he was a child about earwigs laying eggs on all the furniture, which would hatch, crawl into his ears, and eat his brain.
In 2003 she meets Frasier by chance and eventually she and Martin fall in love and get married on May 15 (Eddie's birthday) the next year in the show's final episode, "Goodnight, Seattle".
She released an album called "Mood Swings", and works as a lounge singer and pianist at the Wellington Club. Ronee drives a red 1950's Cadillac. Her traditionally-minded, prudish mother lives in Spokane, Washington.
Sherry Dempsey
Sherry Dempsey (Marsha Mason) is a waitress at Dukes, Martin's favourite bar, and, for a short time, Martin's girlfriend. Sherry is fun-loving, brash, loud and crass.
Dr. Frasier Crane Show callers
Voices for callers who phone in to the Dr. Frasier Crane Show were provided, in many cases, by famous actors and other personalities. They literally called in to record their parts, without having to go in to the studio.
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KACL staff
KACL 780AM is the radio station where Frasier has his talk show.
Bob \"Bulldog\" Briscoe
Bob "Bulldog" Briscoe (Dan Butler) hosts the "Gonzo Sports Show" on KACL, winning at least four Seabee Awards for broadcasting excellence. A master of props and sound effects, Bulldog frequently interrupts callers or irritates co-workers by squeezing a bicycle horn or using a whistle. He has a number of producers during his tenure as a radio personality at KACL, including a short stint by Frasier's own producer Roz. Bulldog also has his own fan club, whose president is Joey Katona.
A notorious womanizer, Bulldog seems to date a constant string of women, yet has a crush on Roz, who (despite one short fling with him) does not return his feelings.
In his quest to garner interviews with big-name athletes and sports figures, Bulldog has painted George Foreman's toenails four times and has had his head smashed into a locker by Mike Ditka. Known for having a fiery temper, Bulldog's catchphrase is "This stinks! This is total B.S!", which he usually bellows in outrage when under the impression that someone has stolen something he has mislaid (only to usually find it immediately after his outburst, and thus instantly calm down).
As easily as he summons up rage, Bulldog can also be cowardly. A frequent prankster, Bulldog is terrified of lizards, and loves children, particularly Roz's daughter, Alice.
Bulldog is fired from the station in 1999 due to falling ratings, but is rehired in 2001 to work in the storage room, hoping to be back on the air in the not-too-distant future. In the interim, Bulldog delivers pizzas.
Chopper Dave
Chopper Dave hosts KACL's Eye in the Sky traffic reports.
Gil Chesterton
Gilbert "Gil" Leslie Chesterton (Edward Hibbert) is a food critic and host of the show "Restaurant Beat" on KACL.
A pompous, catty, effeminate, overrefined character, believed by his coworkers to be in the closet, Gil is married to Deb, a "Sarah Lawrence graduate and the owner of a very successful auto body repair shop", whom his co-workers had believed to be merely a pet cat. Much of the humor related to the character stems from his adamant denial of his supposed sexual orientation.
In the final season of the show, however, Gil's homosexuality begins to become more apparent. After a misunderstanding results in Frasier being publicly (and falsely) outed on the air after being spotted at a local gay bar, Gil attempts to coach Frasier on coming out, congratulating him on his first steps onto "the Yellow Brick Road to pride and self-acceptance." During the episode's credits, Gil himself is seen covertly entering the gay bar in question, Bad Billy's.
Gil drives a red BMW with a red interior and is almost always seen wearing his trademark bow tie. He is also a veteran of the armed services (he once refers to having "seen some cruel pranks in the Army"), and his taste buds are insured.
Julia Wilcox
Julia Wilcox (Felicity Huffman) becomes the new financial reporter for the KACL late in the series' run. She is the author of two books, Practical Applications of Econometrics and Day Trade Your Way Out of Debt, the latter of which had stirred some controversy and had eventually contributed to her being fired from CNN.
Her no-nonsense, all-business demeanor and arrogant and stand-offish attitude earn her the dislike of the other staff. Julia files a complaint against Frasier and KACL for sexual harassment (Frasier had misunderstood her behaviour towards him), but later dropped the charges.
When Frasier discovers that his accountant and former Oxford classmate, Avery, is cheating on his wife with Julia, he confronts Avery, unaware that Julia is hiding in a closet, overhearing the entire conversation. Julia's attitude towards Frasier begins to soften after this display of chivalry on his part, and she uses her connections to have Ben, a British street musician (Elvis Costello) whom Frasier and Niles find annoying, then playing a regular gig at Café Nervosa, offered a full-time job elsewhere.
She and Frasier have a brief romantic encounter, although her boorish and coarse behavior towards Martin, Niles, and Daphne ultimately persuades Frasier to break off their relationship.
Kenny Daley
Kenny Daley (Tom McGowan) is a long-time radio man; little else is known about him. Apparently a successful DJ, in 1993 he was reduced to delivering pizzas as he was out of work at the time. Kenny was married with at least children, but got divorced in 2003, following which he suffered a breakdown.
Kenny becomes the new station manager of KACL in 1998. He soon becomes friends with all the staff there.
Kenny resigns as station manager after deciding to go back to DJing, and Roz is appointed as his replacement.
Noel Shempsky
Noel Shempsky (Patrick Kerr) is a painfully geeky Trekkie who keeps an autographed picture of William Shatner as Captain Kirk on his desk and is fluent in Klingon.
He works in an unknown capacity behind the scenes at KACL. From early in the series he is in love with Roz Doyle, who does not feel the same way about him. In the episode entiltied Star Mitzvah we find out that Shempsky is Jewish.
Moon family members
Daphne's family, the Moons, are a large, working-class clan from Manchester, England. Many of the actors who play Moon family members do not have Mancunian accents; this apparent discrepancy is never addressed on the show.
Gertrude Moon
Gertrude Moon (Millicent Martin) is Daphne's mother. The two have a difficult and complex relationship. Domineering and ever-complaining, she is doting and ever-forgiving towards her son Simon's selfish behaviour but is hyper-critical of her daughter. When Gertrude leaves her husband she goes to Seattle, where she tries to start a romance with Martin, and briefly lives with Niles and Daphne.
Grammy Moon
Grammy Moon, Daphne's paternal grandmother, is frequently mentioned but never seen or heard from on the show (see also: Maris Crane). She is frequently the subject of Daphne's long stories.
Harry Moon
Harry Moon (Brian Cox) is Daphne's father. Although he is an alcoholic and a layabout, his relationship with Daphne is closer than the relationship between Daphne and her mother.
Michael Moon
Nigel Moon
Simon Moon
Simon Moon (played by Australian actor Anthony LaPaglia) is one of Daphne's brothers. Obnoxious, selfish and boorish, a heavy drinker and layabout, Simon has a difficult relationship with his sister, largely because of Simon's uncouth nature. He is greatly disliked by both Frasier and Niles, partly because of their class-conscious nature but also because when in Seattle he frequently stays with one of them, often taking liberties in the process. Conversely, he gets on quite well with Martin and, despite his many negative qualities, is quite a popular man who is very successful at attracting women. Simon appears in eight episodes.
Stephen Moon
Stephen is Daphne's favorite brother.Niles and Maris' household staff
Marta
Marta is Niles and Maris' elderly maid. She comes from a remote mountain village in Guatemala.
Mary
Mary is Niles and Maris' housekeeper, and a fan of The Dr. Frasier Crane Show.
Nadia
Nadia, Maris' "hatchet maid," is never seen or heard.
Yoshi
Yoshi is Niles and Maris' elderly and tempremantal Japanese gardener. He is never seen or heard on the series, and dies of a heart attack while trimming Maris' elaborate hedge maze.
Other characters
Alice May Doyle
Alice May Doyle (Ashley Thomas) is the daughter of Roz Doyle. She first appears as a newborn, and by the end of the series has become a child of three or four.
Donny Douglas
Donny Douglas (Saul Rubinek) is Niles' divorce lawyer and Daphne's boyfriend and fiancé, whom she ultimately leaves at the altar to marry Niles. Whenever he enters a scene, he is usually talking on his cell phone.
Eddie
Eddie is Martin's dog, a large Jack Russell Terrier. Eddie was played by two dogs: first Moose, and then Moose's son Enzo, who first appeared as a stunt double.
Eddie is known for responding to Martin and Daphne with human-like understanding, but often seems to taunt Frasier. An early recurring gag had Eddie staring unceasingly at Frasier, to Frasier's increasing annoyance.
Eddie is often featured in the closing sequences of a show, when the closing theme is sung as the credits roll, in a short vignette relating to a joke from earlier in the episode.
Frederick Gaylord Crane
Frederick Gaylord Crane (Trevor Einhorn) is the son of Frasier and Lilith Sternin. "Freddy" appears in several episodes throughout the show's run.
Hester Rose Crane
Hester Rose Crane (Rita Wilson) was Martin's wife and Niles and Frasier's mother. By the time the series begins she has already been dead for six years. However, she appears in a dream sequence, and home videos (in the episode "Momma Mia").
Hester was a psychiatrist, and the inspiration for both Frasier and Niles to go into the profession. She named both her children after favourite lab rats. Both her sons take after her more than they do their father.
Jerome Belasco
Jerome Belasco is a crime boss. Harris Yulin was nominated for an Emmy for his portrayal of Jerome.
Kirby Gardner
Kirby (Brian Klugman) is the teenaged son of Lana and Bob Garnder, and sometime employee of KACL. He is briefly tutored by Frasier, and does odd jobs for Niles.
Lana Gardner
Lana Gardner (Jean Smart)
Nikos Crane
Nikos Crane is the son of Walt and Zora Crane. He is Martin's nephew, and Frasier and Niles' cousin.
Rick Garrett
Rick Garrett is a waiter at Cafe Nervosa. At twenty, he has an affair with Roz, which results in her getting pregnant. Their child is Alice May Doyle.
Walt Crane
Walt Crane is Martin's estranged brother. He appears only once, in an episode where he and Martin reconcile, only to become estranged again by the end of the episode.
Zora Crane
Zora Crane, a Greek woman, is Walt Crane's wife, and Martin's sister-in-law.
| Frasier characters |
| Main characters: Frasier Crane | Niles Crane | Martin Crane | Daphne Moon | Roz Doyle Eddie the dog Recurring characters: Bob "Bulldog" Briscoe | Gil Chesterton | Maris Crane | Lilith Sternin | Bebe Glazer | Gertrude Moon | Noel Shempsky | Kenny Daley Other characters Minor characters on Frasier |
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