Unfortunately, the vast majority of people who try to make it as an actor will never enjoy any wide success. In fact, the truth of the matter is that the vast majority of people who dream of being a famous actor one day will never be able to even make a living as a performer.
Given the fact that the odds are clearly against anyone who wants to be a professional actor, it seems unfair that some famous actors get to play several beloved characters. For example, on top of playing Fraiser Crane on television for two decades, Kelsey Grammer managed to be cast as The Simpsons’ Sideshow Bob. Even though Kelsey Grammer has been incredibly lucky in terms of his career, he has suffered more loss in his personal life than anyone should have to cope with.
Losing His Father
As everyone knows, life can be an extremely fragile thing. Despite that, the luckiest people get to grow up feeling like their parents will always be there for them. Unfortunately for him, Kelsey Grammer didn’t get to feel that way after he suddenly lost his father at a young age.
When Kelsey Grammer was a very young child, his parents got divorced which was a lot less common during the ‘60s. While that likely rocked Grammer’s world at that time, he was able to maintain relationships with both of his parents. Sadly, that wouldn’t last as his dad passed away in unbelievable fashion when the actor was 13.
As the Grammer family was relaxing at home one night in 1968, Kelsey’s father Frank realized that someone had set his car on fire. As anyone would do in that situation, Frank went outside, presumably to put the fire out and make sure there his family wasn’t in danger. In a random act of violence, the person who set the Grammer car aflame was waiting outside and ambushed Frank with a firearm he fired at the family man twice. Even though Frank’s wife ran outside and dragged him away from the stranger, the damage was already done as Kelsey’s father passed away from his wounds.
In the aftermath of Frank Grammer’s violent demise, the man who took his life was found not guilty due to insanity. That said, he would go on to spend decades in a psychiatric ward. Matters of justice aside, suddenly losing his father like that must have rocked Kelsey’s word. Given that, it almost seems shocking that Kelsey seems to have a healthy relationship with his kids.
Things Somehow Get Worse
When Kelsey Grammer lost his father to a random act of violence, he likely thought life would never get any worse than that. Even though that should have been true, it sadly wasn’t as his life would be forever marked when Kelsey’s younger sister brutally lost her life.
Roughly seven years after Frank Krammer met his demise, his daughter Karen who was 18-years-old at the time was sitting outside a Red Lobster where she worked. At that moment, four men who had been on a crime spree that involved robbery and taking several people’s lives drove up to the restaurant intending to leave with money. Once they spotted Karen, however, the group decided they wanted her instead, forced her inside their car, and abducted her.
After Karen Grammer was abducted and taken to an apartment, what happened to her next was far too grisly to detail here. Suffice to say, Karen was stuck inside the apartment for four hours before she got back in the car after she was told that her kidnappers were going to drive her home. Instead, she was forced out of the car in a trailer park, and then she was violently attacked with a knife. In an extremely sad twist of fate, Karen was still strong enough to drag herself to the back door of a trailer where she tried to get help but nobody was home and she succumbed to her injuries. After the violent scene was discovered, Kelsey was the one who had to identify his sister’s body which is tragic beyond belief.
Lasting Trauma
As an adult, Kelsey Grammer has lost a fortune due to his divorces. While there are a lot of adults who get divorced several times these days, it makes a lot of sense that Kelsey has struggled to have a positive romantic relationship. After all, when he spoke to Vanity Fair in 2020, Kelsey talked about his sister’s passing was what led to his past self-destructive behavior and addiction issues.
While speaking about his years as an addict, Kelsey said “I’ll speak to the straight of it. That was the time when I could not forgive myself for my sister’s death.” From there, Kelsey was asked how he could have possibly saved his sister. “It’s hard to explain. It’s not rational. But it happens anyway. I know a lot of people who’ve lost their siblings and blame themselves.” On the bright side, Kelsey went on to talk about the lessons he learned from the tragedies in his life and trying to focus on what he has in his life instead of what he lost.