was hired to write the screenplay. The script lay dor-
mant for several years until Steve Tisch and Wendy
Finerman, producers ofForrest Gump, decided to res-
urrect the project. Because Groom and the produc-
ers had some royalty squabbles overForrest Gump, the
sequel, which was to be based on Groom’sGump &
Co. (1995), was again postponed, but the issues seem
to have been resolved. The problem then seemed to
be with getting Hanks and Sinise to reprise their
roles.
Further Reading
Gardner, David.The Tom Hanks Enigma: The Biogra-
phy of the World’s Most Intriguing Movie Star. Lon-
don: John Blake, 2006.
Groom, Winston.Forrest Gump: A Novel. New York:
Pocket Books, 1994.
Kagan, Norman.The Cinema of Robert Zemeckis. Lan-
ham, Md.: Taylor Trade, 2003.
Thomas L. Erskine
See also Academy Awards; Film in the United
States; Hanks, Tom;Philadelphia;Saving Private Ryan.
Frasier
Identification Television comedy series
Date Aired from September 16, 1993, to May 13,
2004
In using as its backdrop the postmodern fascination with
psychiatr y as a quick fix for relationship traumas and emo-
tional catastrophes, this sitcom, within the limits of the
genre, offered witty, often insightful investigations into
stressful family conflicts, marriage breakdowns, and the
struggle to find love.
The character of Dr. Frasier Crane (Kelsey Gram-
mer), a pompous, Harvard-educated psychiatrist
with a penchant for overanalyzing his own disastrous
relationships, was first introduced as part of the en-
semble cast of NBC’s successful sitcomCheers, set in a
working-class Boston sports bar in which Frasier’s
narcissism and effeminate fondness for wine and op-
era made him a perfect foil. When that show ended
in 1993, Grub Street Productions recognized the po-
tential for the Grammer character to sustain a spin-
off. Its premise: Dr. Crane, reeling from a second di-
vorce, returns home to Seattle to accept a position as
an AM call-in radio show host specializing in rela-
tionship advice. However, his life is quickly compli-
cated when his father, Martin (John Mahoney), a
crusty ex-cop wounded during a burglary arrest,
must move in with him, along with a live-in physical
therapist, a leggy British nurse named Daphne
Moon (Jane Leeves). Frasier is also frequently visited
by his younger brother, Niles (David Hyde Pierce),
another prominent psychiatrist, who is plagued by
exotic phobias and panic attacks.
The show’s signature comic style—highbrowed,
witty, allusive, with droll Noël Coward-esque puns—
had wide appeal, as did the inevitable collisions be-
tween the blue-collar father and his two foppish sons
and the professional rivalries between the two broth-
ers. Most notably, the show tracked Niles’s growing
affection for Daphne, counterpointed by Frasier’s
own inability to find satisfying love, ironic given his
profession of relationship counseling. Although the
show featured recurring characters, many of whom350 Frasier The Nineties in America
Cast members ofFrasier(from left): Jane Leeves, David Hyde
Pierce, Kelsey Grammer, John Mahoney, and Peri Gilpin.(Hul-
ton Archive/Getty Images)