Kelsey Grammer’s Divorce Helped His Return to Television

By Emma Koonse, Christian Post Reporter Tuesday, October 18, 2011

Kelsey Grammer has ended his marriage to “Real Housewife” Camille Donatacci and will return to television on the new series, “Boss.”

The 56-year-old actor says the show is “complex and interesting” and involves intrigue, betrayals, violence, and a marriage of convenience. He also confided that his own life experiences help him portray the dark character on “Boss.”

“My personal life has had an opportunity to, kind of, take a nice little ride along with Tom Kane,” said Grammer speaking to Reuters. “A lot of that is bound to surface, or at least surface in the viewers’ minds as they watch the show.”

Grammer married the ex-Playboy model in 1997 and they had two children together.

Appearing on “Piers Morgan Tonight” Monday, Grammer said Donatacci married him “because I was Frasier.” The television icon added that the show, “The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills,” was a “parting gift” to his third ex-wife.

“Whether or not it worked well for her doesn’t matter,” said Grammer said of Donatacci. “It was my way of saying, ‘Look, you always wanted to be famous. Here you go.’”

Marking his third divorce on Feb. 10, Grammer was married again to Kayte Walsh 15 days later.

The actor, director, and comedian is best known for his role as Dr. Frasier Cane on one of the most successful television spin-offs in history, “Frasier.” Starring on the show and directing many episodes over the course of 20 years, Grammer has earned a number of Emmys, Screen Actors Guild, and Golden Globe Awards for the hit sitcom.

In his return to television, Grammer stars as Tom Kane, a corrupt Chicago mayor. Suffering from a degenerative brain disorder in secret, Kane fights to keep everything together on “Boss,” the new series on the cable channel Starz.

“We’ve borrowed a lot from Shakespeare,” said Grammer according to Reuters. “It’s not a Shakespeare piece – we don’t want to alienate anybody from the show saying, ‘oh dear God, we’re going to tune into a Shakespeare play,’” the actor added.

“Boss” premieres Oct. 21 at 10 p.m. EST on Starz.