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So Far
by Kelsey Grammer
Product Group: Book
Publisher: Viking Penguin Inc (1995-11)
ISBN: 0670866717
EAN: 9780670866717
Hardcover: 240 pages
SKU: 27879
Condition: Collectable Like New
Comments: THE HARDBACK BOOK! DUTTON, 1995. THE UNABRIDGED 1ST EDITION. WITH TERRIFIC PHOTOGRAPHS! HARDCOVER W/GILT LETTERING, DUST JACKET AND PAGES ARE NEW! Rapid shipping w/FREE tracking. GREAT PACKAGING . Air Mail.
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Editorial Reviews
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Product Description
Now in his own words, Kelsey Grammer sets the record straight on his often painful yet uplifting life. Provocative, heartwarming, and hysterical, this book reveals the candid side of an actor committed to the passion of his craft while overcoming life's constant trials. Contains a hilarious new chapter, plus 16 pages of photos. National ads/media. HC: Dutton.
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Customer Reviews
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Misses the mark
Rating  (3)
Date: 2008-11-08
3 out of 3 customers found this reveiw helpful
Kelsey Grammer's 1995 book is a brisk and interesting, if somewhat shallow, memoir. The defining moment of his life was the horrific murder of his young sister, yet even here his prose is reminiscent of poster captions, always skirting real self-examination and having less depth than a People magazine story.
Though he played the character of Frasier Crane for twenty years, that part of his life rates relatively little space. He devotes much more time to his early stage career and his romantic entanglements. He cavalierly dismisses his many girlfriends and wives as neurotic and needy, while taking no responsibility for the failure of any of his relationships.
I still enjoy watching Frasier, but after reading this book, the man seems a lot like his character - a self-centered elitist who sees himself through rose-colored glasses. I think a ghost writer might have written a more in-depth book.
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The things I keep finding at the Sally Army...
Rating  (1)
Date: 2008-09-27
3 out of 4 customers found this reveiw helpful
Yet again I sit in my favorite rocker at my local Salvation Army reading a book for a buck. (25 cents for a paperback.) Loving "Frasier" (the show, not Kelsey Grammer, and not so much Frasier as Niles), I thought it might be a bit of a witty breeze. Well. Mr. Grammer is not witty. He's as dull witted, heavy handed, and flat footed as they come. But he is windy. Mostly it was an insight into the conservative mind. He has virtually no understanding of, or sympathy for, others. And he actually believes he is a great actor. Compared to the incomparable David Hyde Pierce (Niles), he's a ham and a buffoon. Fascinating to read his innermost thoughts which are about as profound as a teenager's secret journal, one of those pink plastic covered things with a tiny lock and key. One of the most astonishing things in the whole of this man's odd life is the loss of his beloved dog, Goose. When another of his charming choices in female company ends up misplacing his dog, a lifelong companion, what does he do? Answer: nothing. If I lost a dog I loved as much as he says he loved this dog which is as much as he says he loved his murdered sister, I'd go where the dog was last seen, I'd put up posters on every available surface, I'd knock on doors, I pound the pavement for months, I'd offer a huge reward (he had the money)...in short, I'd find my dog. Grammer summed up his relationship with the only really loving creature he'd ever known (at the time of writing this awful book) by saying this: I never saw her again.
Here's hoping Goose was found by someone who would have looked for her if she went missing again. I like to think so. I like to think that Goose lived a long and happy life without Kelsey Grammer.
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I could listen to Kelsey Grammer read the phone book.
Rating  (5)
Date: 2006-06-23
0 out of 1 customers found this reveiw helpful
What an amazing experience it has been spending the last few days with Kelsey Grammer in my car. The book is written simply and honestly using beautiful language. The story of his life is captivating. I found his story funny and sometimes devastatingly sad. My only complaint about this tape is even the unabridged version is just too short. Well, there is always Frasier (on at midnight) if you want more of Mr. Grammer! Enjoy!
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Actor vs character
Rating (3)
Date: 2005-06-25
1 out of 2 customers found this reveiw helpful
I should mention that my impression of Kelsey Grammer has been vastly dominated by the character he played on the popular sitcom "Frasier". Although not really a sitcom regular, this show has struck a chord with me. There's been something about its main character that has kept me engrossed.
Grammer has played this character for about 20 years. And I've been intrigued by the question who has rubbed off onto whom. How much of the neuroses and obsessions as well as of the learned self of the fictitious character do we find in the actor who portrays him?
Sadly, while Grammer bares his personal life to us, sometimes at length (although it's a quick read), from this book we learn precious little about the true person. What remains is the picture of a guy who likes (or liked) surfing, motorcycling, poems by W H Auden, dogs, and the company of attractive, yet often fatally flawed women. Oh, and his vocation is acting, perhaps spun from a seemingly passing thought as a young boy to do something big at the Lincoln Centre someday.
One cannot help but admire his persistence to pursue a career in a field that can be rewarding as it can be perilous and daunting (not being an actor myself, I take licence to make this assumption). It requires tenacity and gusto for his chosen profession to camp out in Central Park to make ends meet during meagre times on a slim budget. But the driving motivation lying beneath remains somewhat in the dark (until perhaps "...so good" or "...so bad" see the light of day).
Narrative and prose of the book are even, but reveal only skeletal outlines of the persons and events described. Were it not for some of the pictures in the book, most of the people would remain oddly faceless, even the ones the author feels closest with. An exception is Goose, his first dog, who comes to life more than any other character (even Christopher Plummer seems dim and faint by comparison).
One small but important note. It irked me immensly that in one passage Grammer assigned New York the status of a holy city, where, to take the gist of his words, some divine providence has deigned to fulfil man's dreams in this universe. It is this kind of thinking that has brought and continues to bring a lot of hurt into the world.
Perhaps it can be explained by the fact that, at least at the time he penned this book and unlike many other great actors, Grammer hadn't spent much (any?) time working outside his native US. Thus, he may have been unable to get a lasting impression of the irrepressible power of human culture and spirit in so many other places in this fragile world of ours.
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Worthwhile Reading, Especially for Fellow Actors
Rating  (4)
Date: 2004-08-13
3 out of 3 customers found this reveiw helpful
While this is not the most tightly woven book I have ever read, I always enjoy reading about the life journey and current thoughts of an actor. I especially respect Kelsey Grammer's long run as Frasier Crane.
Though this memoir, we learn of the details of Grammer's life and also his life philosophy. We hear the truth behind the Hollywood gossip. We also hear the heart behind the actor and the character we have come to know from our weekly "visits".
This book and Grammer's work itself taught me a lot about the power of comedy, and how as an actor, comedy is not as easy as it looks... and yes, it is as significant as high drama.
It can be read very quickly - as an actor as well I try to read as much as I can from other actors. This is a book that can be shared and enjoyed by many.
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