Kelsey Grammer, best known for his iconic role as Dr. Frasier Crane on Cheers and Frasier, has experienced a series of profound personal tragedies that have shaped his life and career. Despite his success in Hollywood, Grammer’s past is marred by the loss of several close family members under sudden and violent circumstances. Raised by his mother and maternal grandparents, Grammer faced a series of heartbreaking events that began in his early childhood and continued into his adult life.
He lost several close family members
Grammer’s early years were marked by the separation of his parents when he was just two years old. His father, Frank Grammer, remarried and had four children with his new wife. Tragically, when Kelsey was only 12 years old, he lost one of his grandfathers to cancer. This was just the beginning of a series of devastating losses.
In April 1968, when Kelsey was 13 years old, a man set fire to his father’s car outside of their family home. Frank went outside to confront the stranger, Arthur B. Niles, who shot him twice. Frank’s wife had to pull his body from the front of the car as Niles threatened to run him over. Frank eventually succumbed to his gunshot wounds, leaving Kelsey devastated. Niles was found not guilty of murder due to insanity and spent decades in a psychiatric ward before being released in 1994. However, Niles proved to be continually violent, as in 2003, he was imprisoned again after threatening to kill a judge who had placed a restraining order on him.
Grammer suffered another devastating loss when his two half-brothers, Billy and Stephen, died in a freak accident while scuba diving off the coast of St. Thomas. They died in what was believed to be a shark attack, and while Stephen’s body was discovered drowned on a nearby beach, Billy’s body was never found.
The senseless murder of his sister
1975 Freddie Glenn, Michael Corbett and one other man abducted, raped, and murdered Kelsey Grammer’s younger sister, 18-year-old Karen Grammar in Colorado Springs @denverpost @CBSDenver @9News @FBIDenver @dailycamera @coloradodaily @KDVR pic.twitter.com/3k21DGsKFP
— Iain McDougall (@VanishedPlanet) July 1, 2019
Arguably, the most shocking and tragic loss Grammer experienced was the murder of his sister, Karen, in 1975. When he was just 20 years old, Karen moved to Colorado Springs and began working at a Red Lobster, fresh out of high school herself. One evening, as she waited for her boyfriend to finish his shift, she was abducted by a group of men who were led by Freddie Lee Glenn. Initially, the men planned to rob the restaurant, but their plans changed when they came across Karen.
Karen was taken to an apartment where she was sexually assaulted repeatedly over multiple hours by Glenn and his accomplices. Afterward, Glenn drove her to a trailer park, where he stabbed her multiple times and left her for dead. With her injuries, she managed to reach the porch of a nearby home, but sadly, no one was home. She eventually succumbed to her injuries. Kelsey was the one to identify her body and inform his mother of the tragedy.
Glenn was later found guilty of Karen’s murder, along with two other killings, and was sentenced to death. However, his death sentence was overturned due to changes to the Colorado death penalty. This change also meant he was eligible for parole after serving 10 years. However, Grammer has tirelessly worked to ensure Glenn remains behind bars, attending multiple parole hearings to speak against his release.
Grammer has continually fought to prevent Glenn’s parole
In 2009, Grammer wrote to the parole board, expressing his enduring grief and responsibility for his sister: “I miss her in my bones. I was her big brother. I was supposed to protect her — I could not .. It very nearly destroyed me.”
In 2014, Grammer successfully opposed another parole attempt by appearing via video link to confront Glenn directly. “I accept that you actually live with remorse every day of your life, but I live with tragedy every day of mine,” Grammer told him. “I accept your apology. I forgive you. However, I cannot give your release my endorsement. To give that a blessing would be a betrayal of my sister’s life.” Grammer reiterated his stance in a 2017 hearing, maintaining his unwavering commitment to seeking justice for Karen.
Grammer’s daughter, Spencer, has also spoken about the ongoing pain her father endures. “Glenn is always up for parole every couple of years, so every few years [my father] has to speak against him,” she explained. “It’s so difficult for him to have to relive it over and over again. And there really isn’t a lot of information for the family of victims in regards to when people are going to be released.”
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Through all these tragedies, Kelsey Grammer has shown remarkable resilience, continuing to excel in his career while honoring the memories of his lost loved ones.