Why Frasier's Famous First Wife Has Been Played By 3 Different Actors
TV character switcheroos are nothing new. Who can forget the two faces of Darrin Stephens on "Bewitched," when Dick York vacated the role and was replaced by Dick Sargent more than halfway through the series? And on "Roseanne," an ever-changing Becky (Lecy Goranson/Sarah Chalke) had the Conner fam seeing double. On "Frasier," producers went the extra mile when recasting the ex-wife of lead character Dr. Frasier Crane (Kelsey Grammer) for a second (and third!) appearance.
When fans met the barstool psychiatrist on the NBC sitcom "Cheers" 40 years ago, he was dating Shelley Long's character, Diane Chambers. Dr. Frasier Crane's introduction came in a two-parter titled "Rebound," but it wasn't long before Frasier rebounded into the arms of Lillith Sternin (Bebe Neuwirth) after Diane dumped him at the altar. But who knew Frasier was actually married before Diane jilted him and he went on to marry Lilith?
In the Season 10 "Cheers" episode "One Hugs, the Other Doesn't," it is revealed that Frasier was once married to Nanette Guzman, aka iconic children's performer Nanny G. The character is played by British actor Emma Thompson, who would go on to win an Academy Award for her role in the movie "Howards End" soon after. In the 1992 "Cheers" episode, Thompson's Nanny G spots Frasier in the audience, and his secret first marriage — and chemistry with his ex — is outed for the first time. But by the time producers brought Nanny G back for the "Frasier" spin-off, she was a new woman.
Frasier's ex was played by two different actors in the spin-off
It would be nearly a decade before fans would get another look at Frasier's first wife. She finally reappears in a Season 9 episode of Kelsey Grammer's "Frasier" spin-off, titled "Don Juan in Hell: Part 2." In the 2001 episode, Nanny G is played by Dina Spybey-Waters in a dream sequence that shows Frasier reuniting with all of the women from his past. Three years later, Nanny G is back again in the 2004 episode "Caught in the Act." But this time, Frasier's ex-wife is played by "Roseanne" alum Laurie Metcalf, who puts Frasier in a compromising position at a Nanny G show.
The noticeable casting switch was addressed in a blog post by "Frasier" writer Ken Levine. In a 2013 post titled "Friday Questions," Levine confirmed that producers did attempt to get Emma Thompson back to reprise the Nanny G role but that she was unavailable. "I will say it was a great thrill to work with her on 'Cheers.' She's as incredibly nice as she is Oscar awarded," Levine wrote of Thompson.
Skipping right past Spybey-Waters, the screenwriter added that Metcalf was one of the few actors worthy of replacing Thomspon in the role, although even she, an Emmy Award winner herself, couldn't quite fill those Nanny G shoes. "She was great in 'Frasier,' but it wasn't the same," Levine admitted of Metcalf. "I couldn't ask her what Kenneth Branagh was really like." Even so, Grammer once credited Metcalf's show, "Roseanne," for planting the seed for the 2023 "Frasier" revival.