Kelsey Grammer played radio psychiatrist Frasier for 20 years. Speaking at the radio conference today he said surprise is an important part of a radio performance. “Keep it fresh for your audience,” is his advice, urging announcers not to be afraid to ad lib and respond spontaneously to their audiences. Follow hashtag #CRAconf2011 @radioinfo for the latest from each session on Twitter.
To keep his Frasier character fresh in each episode of Cheers, Grammer said he did not rehearse his lines until the last minute. “To play a character like Frazier that was the best way for me to guarantee I was in the role properly.”
Commenting on his radio voice he said: “No one has ever said I have a sexy voice, but I love language and delivering language well. Delivered well, language can elevate you to a supernatural level. I revel in the art of the human voice.”
Grammer also played the character of Sideshow Bob in the Simpsons, one of tv’s “most evil characters,” because of his voice.
He has been on air for real only once when he stood-in for a breakfast show. “I just about had 4 hours of music and talk in me… once.”
“Playing Frasier was the greatest gift I could have ever asked for, it was a blessing to play that character every day” he said. Grammar now has a new show coming soon called Boss, in which he plays a serious character, the mayor of Chicago.
While I loved the character of Frasier, let's get real here. The guy played a radio character for 20 years. Hardly credentials for telling us how to do it ! What about a real radio star with runs on the board like Stern, who is serious about the business of radio (despite being a knob).