Kelsey Grammer has played Frasier Crane for nearly a quarter of a century; most recently in a follow-up series to “Frasier” that last month concluded its second season streaming on Paramount+. So it might be natural for longtime fans to pair the small-screen psychologist with the man who won four Emmy Awards for playing him.
In Sunday Funday, the people of Los Angeles tell us step by step their ideal Sunday in the city. Find ideas and inspiration on where to go, what to eat and how to enjoy life on the weekends.
That's why when we spoke late last month to discuss Grammer's latest Sunday itinerary in Los Angeles, I was curious how much overlap there might be between the actor's downtime and that of his most famous character.
“Honestly, I just play “Frasier,” he said. “But I guess if Frasier could sail, he would, and I'm pretty good on a boat. …And my favorite food is caviar, so I guess [would be something in common]. But that was my favorite food before I played Frasier.” (For the record, Grammer likes to buy his salted sturgeon roe at the Cheese Store in Beverly Hills.)
Beyond that, Grammer, who says he's lived in Los Angeles “basically since 1984,” imagines the perfect Sunday here as one spent at home with his wife Kayte Grammer, their three young children, and a pair of miniature Australian Labradoodles. .
This interview has been lightly edited and condensed for length and clarity.
5:30 am: Coffee, phone calls, and word cookies
I like to wake up in the morning, sit with my cup of coffee and enjoy the misty air coming in from Santa Monica. …I actually like those gloomy June days when there's a little moisture dripping through the kitchen windows from the fog that fell the night before. [that] slowly retreats towards the ocean.
I like to get up early to have a little alone time to write. I've been writing things for the last few years at that sort of magic hour when the sun starts to rise. So I sit down and try to pick out some words, some thoughts on a couple of ideas I have. There is a book about my sister. [Karen Grammer] It will be out in May, and there is another envelope [my experience working with veteran’s group] Operation Restored Warrior I've been working on. And there are several more things in the pipeline.
Years ago, I used to do the New York Times crossword puzzle every morning. I've fallen from grace and now tend to play board games on my phone. I have a ton of apps on my phone, but pretty much the only one I play is Word Cookies. So I'll do a little bit of that; I'll make a couple of phone calls with the east coast. I started a [Margaretville, N.Y.-based] brewing company called Faith American Brewing Co. [in 2015]so there's usually some beer business to catch up on.
7:30 am: Kids and Koala Crisp
Then the children begin to get up and enter, the youngest ones, who are 12, 10 and 8 years old. And they say, “Can I have a bowl of cereal?” which is usually organic. Koala Crisp is what I think. is called. My oldest son, Jude, who lived with us (he's going to college at Emerson right now), wouldn't come down until around three in the afternoon.
And then Kayte usually comes over and offers to make some oatmeal. She makes excellent morning oatmeal. So it's just the five of us just hanging out, plus sometimes people who are in town visiting. And we all sit down and eat some oatmeal.
10 a.m.: Hit the beach (or trail) with the dogs
And then maybe we'd drive to the beach or hike with the dogs (we have a pair of miniature Australian Labradoodles) in the Santa Monica Mountains on a trail that leads into Temescal Canyon. If it's the beach, we would go to the Santa Monica Pier.
Basically that would be the traffic of the day. In the old days I would have gone sailing. I no longer have a sailboat but, on my days off, I went sailing at least twice a week. I had a Baltic 37, a sloop, which was a beautiful sailboat, and I would go out with a couple of friends and enjoy the day. But those days will return; We're talking about getting a boat and maybe keeping it in Florida.
Midday: Midday multimedia multitasking
After that, it's mostly just hanging out with the family, maybe reading a little together. “The Monsterologist” [by Rick Yancey] It's one my daughter Faith is reading. My son Gabriel is reading “Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire” and my son James is reading “The Frog and the Toad.” [book series by Arnold Lobel]. So we will read them. Or they will catch up on their homework.
Sometimes we watch a movie. I have a relationship with the studios and a server in the house, so they'll just send me a first-run movie, and Gabriel is crazy about trying to watch movies the day they come out. I think the last one we watched was “Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire,” and it was fun.
After that, we honestly just hung out. It's a very domestic life. Children love to go swimming; Sometimes we go hiking in the mountains and that kind of thing.
2:30 p.m.: Go out to the garden.
I've been doing some gardening lately and go out every day. So I might go out and sniff around our garden a little if I have a free minute; pull some weeds or pick a tomato. The tomatoes were great this year (the cherry tomatoes were amazing) and we had excellent eggplant, bell peppers, and jalapenos. We also have a spice garden. The kids aren't that interested. [in gardening]although we have planted some strawberries together and they like to go out and pick them.
4:00 p.m.: Steak tartare and martini
At the end of the afternoon, I love to go to the Polo Hall to the Hotel Beverly Hills and eat Steak Tartare and a Martini.
6:30 pm: Head to Nobu or my. baldi
At night, we would all get into the car and head to Nobu because kids love yellowtail jalapeno. we are also going to my. baldi a lot [which is closed on Sundays]. Kayte likes to order penne arrabbiata [off the menu]. She also likes a dish called [My Favorite] childhood memory [“ravioli con la coda” filled with green chard and ricotta in melted butter and Parmigiano].
After that I could watch a football game on TV. My favorite team is the Miami Dolphins, but they have been a tragedy for a long time. I'm still breastfeeding [wounds of the] Season 72-73.
And one of my favorite things, and it's been that way for a long time, is hot fudge sundae. So my ideal Sunday would probably include the best impression of a Denny's hot chocolate sundae I could find: vanilla ice cream (I love Häagen-Dazs) with crushed pecans and all that.
9:30 p.m.: bedtime
Since I get up at 5:30am, I usually go to bed at 9:30pm, so that's when I wrap things up. Pretty exciting, right?
