Historical Newspapers of South Carolina

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Grammer tries to recreate glory days of ‘Frasier’ BY DAVID BAUDER THE ASSOCIATED PRESS , NEW YORK — There’s a light ness to Frasier’s step these days. Following a difficult year, the NBC sitcom “Frasier” has engi neered an off—camera reunion in an attempt to recreate its glory years, and wring a few more laughs out of the final season. At the producer’s suggestion, “Frasier” brought back the writ ing team of Christopher Lloyd and Joe Keenan, who had left three ' years ago. Some critics, and the star, have already noticed an im provement. “We’d lost a little bit of the ami ability of the character of Frasier,” said Kelsey Grammer, who is go ing into his 20th year of portray ing the preening psychiatrist. Last season, the show’s 10th, was the first to produce whispers that maybe “Frasier” had over stayed its welcome. Certainly viewers sensed something. The show’s weekly audience dropped to 12.6 million, down from 15 million a year ear lier. In the 1998—99 season, when its five—year Emmy—winning streak as best comedy ended, the show regularly had 22.5 million viewers. ; ■ Last week’s season premiere was seen by 14.5 million people, way below the 21 million who watched the season opener in September 2002. “American Idol” cut into its au dience, and NBC didn’t help by scheduling weak shows around it, said Jeff Zucker, NBC entertain ment president. ABC’s “According to Jim” has also become a sur prisingly tough competitor. But “Frasier” bears part of the blame for the sinking fortunes. “It was an off year creatively,” Zucker said. “All shows go through that, especially if they’ve been on the air for 10 years. I’m thrilled to have (Lloyd and Keenan) back, and I think Kelsey would tell you the same thing.” With story lines like brother Niles Crane’s heart problems and Roz D'oyle’s departure from Frasier’s radio station, the show occasionally forgot it was a come dy, Grammer said. “We spun our wheeils a bit too long last year, that’s all, and now we’re back on the right footing,” he said. “There’s just a lightness again. There’s a frivolousness about the tone of the show that I think was always there that was kind of muted last year.” He doesn’t want to exaggerate the decline; Grammer said he con fronted a critic who wrote that the writing last year stunk. “I’ve seen our worst shows, I know which ones they are,” he said. “And then I’ve seen some other shows that are supposedly their good ones. There’s no prob lem for me.” Grammer, a three—time Emmy winner for best actor in a comedy, scoffed at the notion that “Frasier” stuck around too long. Grammer’s own interest in milestones may have fed that per ception. His 20—year run playing Frasier Crane — the character was introduced during the third season of “Cheers” — ties Janies Arness of “Gunsmoke” for the longest stretch playing a charac ter in prime-time TV. It was also important to Grammer that “Frasier” last at least 11 seasons, the sajne dura tion as “Cheers.” “I’m a driven, competitive man,” he said. “I used to be in de nial about that, but I’m OK with it now. Coming from ‘Cheers,’ there was always the onus of ‘Cheers’ hanging over us. I thought if we could equal ‘Cheers,’ that would be just right.” The rare spinoff that has suc ceeded, “Frasier” has eclipsed “Cheers” in quality, Grammer said. “We did it in a way that was a lot more challenging creatively,” he said. “ ‘Cheers’ had the great insight to realize that they could retool the show by adding new characters. We have not done SURFYOURSELF Read more about the show and its characters at www.nbc.com/frasier that.” His only regret over the years is that “Frasier” dealt only tan gentially with the fallout from the Sept. 11,2001 terrorist attacks. At the time, entertainers de bated whether to address it or provide the country with a respite. The only response from “Frasier” — a story line where Frasier was angered when a neighbor’s flag draped over his balcony — was so subtle viewers may not have known there was a connection. “There was this big, giant ele phant in the room,” Grammer said, “and we didn’t acknowledge it.” Although “Frasier” will stop producing new episodes next spring, the show will live on for many years in syndication, en riching Grammer beyond his dreams. It also means as an actor, he will be competing with himself. Grammer, 48, said he plans to take about a year off, then contin uing acting. He’s talked about a fu ture in politics, musing on Fox News Channel last week about running for the U.S. Senate in California, but said that’s several years in the future. He doesn’t expect a melodra matic end to the series, only to leave the characters “in a place where we can hopefully imagine them going on to someplace else.” Will Frasier Crane himself ever be happy, ever settle down? “I think Frasier is going to find true love,” Grammer said. “But I don’t know if it’s going to be this season.” Friends, fans of Springsteen create personal appeal for charities BY LARRY MCSHANE THK ASSOCIATED PRESS NEW YORK — Without picking up his guitar, Bruce Springsteen sounded a chord for charity. A double CD of Springsteen songs, featuring cover versions from 37 artists spanning his 30 year career, was released this month to raise money for two charities close to the Boss’s heart. All of the net proceeds and the artists’ royalties from “Light of Day: A Tribute to Bruce Springsteen” will be evenly divid ed between the Parkinson’s Disease Foundation and the Kristen Ann Carr Fund. • “It’s really a terrific record,”" said Springsteen pal Garland Jeffreys, who contributed a mov ing version of the Boss’ Oscar winning “Philadelphia.” “It’s nice to be a part of something like this — a good thing.” Jeffreys brought something per sonal to his track: a close friend suffers from Parkinson’s. But personal connections were an integral part of this project. The Kristen Ann Carr Fund was started in 1993 by Carr’s par ents: Barbara Carr, Springsteen’s co—manager, and Dave Marsh, Springsteen’s biographer. Springsteen visited 21-year-old Kristen in the hospital before she died of sarcoma, a rare and dead ly kind of cancer; the fund began with a Springsteen benefit show at Madison Square Garden and has since raised more than $3.5 mil lion. “Kristen knew Bruce from ear ly childhood,” Marsh writes in the “Light of Day” liner notes. “She loved his music intensely.” The Parkinson’s Foundation is tied to Bob Benjamin, a New Jersey shore music scene fixture who first met Springsteen in Buffalo before a 1978 concert. Seven years ago, the 44-year-old Benjamin was diagnosed with Parkinson’s, a degenerative dis order of the central nervous sys tem. This year, he became one of the driving forces behind the trib ute CD. When the disc was finished this summer, Benjamin managed to slip a copy to Springsteen. The two later crossed paths before Springsteen’s September shows at Fenway Park in Boston. “I saw him a couple of weeks ago, and he said that he liked it a lot,” Benjamin said. “He knew that I’d been working on it for a year.” Springsteen put his musical im primatur on the project in May. After hearing Elliott Murphy’s version of “Better Days,” a track from 1992’s “Lucky Town,” Springsteen invited Murphy — a friend of 30 years — onstage to play the song in Madrid. Bruce "The Boss" - a rock 'n' roll icon for almost 30 years and symbol of blue-collar pride - Has spent most of his career singing about American places, people, hopes and frustrations. Vital statistics Born: Sept. 23, 1949, in Freehold, N.J., to middle class parents Early missteps: Tried his hand at Dylan-styte folk singing, song writing in New York's Greenwich Village after high school; returned to New Jersey, playing with several Asbury Park took bands Fame: inducted into Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, 1999 Family: Divorced from actress Julianne Phillips; married to E Street Band backup singer Patti Scialfa; they have three children • Did you J Breakthrough: 1975 album "Bom to • Run” with E Street Band led to natt • acclaim; title song was a hit • Red, white and blue: “Bom in the J U.S.A." (1984) spinned off seven hit l singles, sold more than 10 million • copies, led to a two-year tour I Oscar: “Streets of Philadelphia," I soundtrack for the film "Philadelphia" J won a best song Academy Award, j several Grammys • All-American Jersey boy: Writes al l dignity of everyday people and work; l takes local citizen role seriously, giving J benefit concerts for Freehold. N.J., • neighborhood Si I Ordinary heroes: Latest album, "The « 'ri l Rising" about Sept. 11 heroes Source: Mew York Times. Los Angeles Times. Rolling Stone. KRT Photo Service Graphic: Pat Carr. Tim Goheen Tartuffe CONTINUED FROM PAGE 5 engagements, including that of Orgon’s daughter, Mariane, to the villainous Tartuffe. Steven Fenley plays Tartuffe perfectly, mixing diabolical humor with lewd be havior in his attempts to seduce Orgon’s wife, Elmire. Increasingly, though, the play comes to belong to Orgon and Elmire (Pamela Vogel). Jennings, as Orgon, wears realistic looking attire but stays with us through a laughably fake penciled-in mous tache. Although his Duke is the prime dupe of the play, Jennings clearly has a fuller grasp of the language, and he imbues his iron ic dialogue with a welcome and much needed subtlety. Vogel is even more understated, and is just as effective. They both a clown, and sporting an accent that seemed to come equally from ao meir oesi naiy anu rires work in a scene “Jartllffe ” & 17th- native Brazil, with Tartuffe, as_._the effeminate Elmire attempts Century French comedy, courtier wasn’t to seduce the centers on a noble onstage much cleric so orgon family dealing with a but stole every treachery first- nypOCntlCal Clergyman. pearedin. hand. Orgon is “Tartuffe” slow to come to his wife’s rescue, preferring to switch hiding places and interact with the audience. Elmire’s biting dismay at her hus band’s performance produces some of the funniest lines in the play. Other cast notables are Mary Helen Floyd as Dorine, an audi ence favorite for her frank sexual dialogue and gestures. Although Dorine’s act became a bit tedious, Mariane’s suitor Valere (Fabio Pires) was well loved. Dressed like may not be high art, but it is a whole lotbf fun. The entire cast rises to the challenge of translat ing a 17th-century French farce into a current production, and there’s not a dull moment in the action. If the rest of the USC main stage productions meet this high standard, we are in for a great sea son indeed. Comments on this story?E-mail gamecockmixeditor@hotmail.com Eating CONTINUED FROM PAGE 5 limited dining options. She said, however, “this year is better than the last” and enjoys the renovations. Ashley Walker, a first-year pub lic relations student and Chicken Finger Wednesday devotee, eats turkey sandwiches with lettuce the other days of the week and also takes advantage of the new sushi being offered. She wishes, however, that Fire and Ice would use less oil. “I would like to make the sug gestion of a potato bar being added,” she said. Davin Emmel, a second-year psychology student, agrees that a potato bar would be a healthy addition. 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