Latest news with #KayteWalsh
Daily Mail
12-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Daily Mail
Frasier star Kelsey Grammer says the spirit of his late mother continues to haunt him at home
Kelsey Grammer believes he felt his dead mom Sally's presence during an argument with his wife Kayte Walsh. While promoting his book Karen: A Brother Remembers on Thursday, the actor spoke about the ghostly encounter on The Jamie Kern Lima Show. The couple, who got married in 2011, were living in Sally's house at the time when they got into 'a bit of a tussle' before going to bed and heard a loud noise. Sally passed away peacefully at her home in Westlake, California, in 2008, aged 80. Grammer said: 'We had a great moment when Kayte and I were having a fight when we were in our early [days], our first year together basically. 'We climbed into bed kind of mad with each other, and I heard this huge bang in the living room and said, "What the heck?" 'I reached out the bed and I grabbed a golf club that I kept there for that reason.' After a brief chat about who should go and look into the noise, Grammer said went. The star found the TV on, which he thought was 'weird', because he knew he had switched it off before going to bed. Grammer continued: 'I looked around a little bit, turned it off, and thought, "Thanks mom." You know? "Don't go to bed angry with each other."' When he returned to the bedroom, he discovered his wife had also had something of an interesting moment. Walsh, who got a whiff of flowers at the time her husband left, said to him: 'What did your mom smell like?' He said: 'It was really something, really something. I thought, "This is real, this is not something heretical going on."' The star, who was raised a Christian Scientist, previously said he's religious but he did not adhere to any particular religion, admitted he did not care if other people believed the story or not. He said: 'I don't try to convince people they should think the way I think or see God the way I see God or experience this universe the way I experience it, but I will not deny my faith.' Grammer revealed another spiritual connection compelled him to write the book about his sibling Karen, and he worked with a psychic medium who helped him received the message. He said: 'I got a very strange imperative saying, "Write this..." Well, it didn't say "write" actually, it just said, "Tell. Tell my story," from my sister, through [psychic] Esther, somebody we were working with at the time. It's just turned into the book. 'Esther's pretty gifted. I've known a few gifted people. I produced a show called Medium and that was part of it. 'I was always kind of in that community a little bit. I found out, of course, everybody who's a medium actually wants a television show. So a lot of people contacted me for a while. 'You do find out that some are really gifted... But if you've got somebody who doesn't know you, who's accurate about your life 70 per cent of the time, pulls names out of the air, you may as well pay attention, whatever your point [of view] is, or whatever jaundiced view you may have of the whole mediumship issue.' The star's memoir Karen: A Brother Remembers is in bookstores.
Daily Mail
09-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Daily Mail
Frasier vet Kelsey Grammer, 70, reveals his mother's GHOST has visited him
Kelsey Grammer believes he received some help from the other side of the veil in calming an argument with his wife. The actor, 70, who was promoting his new book, Karen: A Brother Remembers, which revisits her grisly murder and its aftermath, on The Jamie Kern Lima Show on Thursday, revealed what happened. The Frasier star and bride Kayte Walsh, with whom he tied the knot in 2011, were living in his late mother's house at the time when they got into 'a bit of a tussle.' Before going to bed, the couple heard a loud noise. 'We had a great moment when Kayte and I were having a fight when we were in our early [days], our first year together basically,' he began. 'We climbed into bed kind of mad with each other, and I heard this huge bang in the living room and said, "What the heck?"' The Cheers star said, 'I reached out the bed, and I grabbed a golf club that I kept there for that reason.' After a brief chat about who should go and look into the noise, Grammer said he got up and went into the living room. The TV was on, which the Paper Empire actor thought was 'weird,' because he knew he had switched it off before going to bed. 'I looked around a little bit, turned it off, and thought, "Thanks mom." You know? "Don't go to bed angry with each other."' When he returned to the bedroom, he discovered Walsh had also had an interesting moment. 'What did your mom smell like?' she asked, revealing she 'had smelled flowers' while he was in the living room. 'It was really something, really something,' he said. 'I thought, "This is real, this is not something heretical going on."' The Emmy winner, who was raised as a Christian Scientist, has said he is religious, but does not adhere to any particular religion, admitted he doesn't care if people who hear about this story believe it or not. 'I don't try to convince people they should think the way I think or see God the way I see God or experience this universe the way I experience it, but I will not deny my faith,' he asserted. Walsh asked the actor what his 'What did your mom smell like?' she asked, revealing she 'had smelled flowers' while he was in the living room; Pictured in West Hollywood, CA in September 2002 The God Committee actor said it was a spiritual connection that compelled him to write the book about his sister. He was working with a psychic medium who helped him received the message. 'I got a very strange imperative saying: "Write this..." Well, it didn't say "write" actually, it just said: "Tell. Tell my story," from my sister, through Esther, somebody we were working with at the time. It's just turned into the book,' he explained. 'Esther's pretty gifted. I've known a few gifted people. I produced a show called Medium, and that was part of it,' he said. 'I was always kind of in that community a little bit. I found out, of course, everybody who's a medium actually wants a television show. So a lot of people contacted me for a while,' Grammer said of how he met the medium. 'You do find out that some are really gifted... But if you've got somebody who doesn't know you, who's accurate about your life 70% of the time, pulls names out of the air, you may as well pay attention, whatever your point [of view] is, or whatever jaundiced view you may have of the whole mediumship issue.'
Daily Mail
07-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Daily Mail
Actor Kelsey Grammer shares the turmoil he faced over his ex-lover's decision to have an abortion
opens up about his life and past experience with abortion in his new book Karen: A Brother Remembers, where he also recalls the horrifying 1975 rape and murder of his beloved sibling. Regarding the termination of his child by a former lover, he wrote: 'I know that many people do not have a problem with abortion, and though I have supported it in the past, it eats away at my soul.' Grammer, 70, revealed that he and a previous partner got the abortion in 1974. SCROLL DOWN FOR VIDEO Grammer wrote that of his regret when trying to talk his ex-partner out of the abortion, as he was 'willing' to become a dad at the time. The actor said he felt bad that he 'did not plead with her to save [the unborn child's] life'. He said in his memoir that he felt bad about what had occurred - which was six months prior to his sister Karen's tragic death on July 1, 1975. Grammer wrote that he 'volunteered' to have his son's 'body vacuumed out of his mother's'. He added: 'I regret it. That's all I meant to say.' The star was also critical of the medical professionals involved in the procedure: 'The doctor, or so-called doctors, who have executed generations of children in this manner - I have no idea how they call themselves doctors. 'Something about the "first, do no harm" thing. But I offer no controversy.' He also touched on how he and wife Kayte Walsh had been expecting twins when tragedy ensued for them. Grammer said that a fetus sack ruptured more than three months into the pregnancy, and wrote about how it would not repair, endangering the life of his spouse. Grammer explained: 'Doctors advised us his continued growth without the safety of his amniotic fluid would surely kill him and probably take Faith, too.' Following extensive prayer, Grammer wrote that he and his spouse made the heart-wrenching decision to abort the male fetus to spare Walsh. He said: 'We killed our son so Faith might live. We wept as we watched his heart stop. It is the greatest pain I have ever known.' Grammer said Walsh's 'scream was enough to make a man mourn a lifetime'. The actor's dad to seven children in total, with previous partners and his wife.
Yahoo
03-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
They have no idea who Kelsey Grammer is, but they want to stop him destroying a 200-year-old cottage
Set opposite a freshly tilled field of red earth, Squires Cottage sits quietly against the expanse of the Bristol Channel, as it has every day for nearly 200 years. Its red tiles colour-match with the soil here in the ancient village of Walton-in-Gordano, just outside the port town of Portishead, near Bristol. Its pinkish stone merges with the still-bare hedgerows. Apart from the luminous splash of primroses on its lawn, seeded and spread over decades, it blends seamlessly with its landscape on this narrow coastal road as if to say 'nothing to see here'. And indeed very soon there won't be – at least, you won't see unassuming Squires Cottage anymore. Because 'the American' is in town, and he has bigger plans for this nook of quintessential rural England. 'Prior Notification of Demolition Works' reads the crumpled notice on the worn wooden gatepost with Forget-Me-Nots at its base. 'Site to be cleared, levelled, and made good'. The American, as he's repeatedly referred to in these parts, is actor Kelsey Grammer, 70, the A-list star of sitcoms Frasier and Cheers. Along with his Hartlepool-born wife, Kayte Walsh, 46, who he met on a transatlantic flight when she worked as an air stewardess, he has bought Squires Cottage, one of few remaining buildings here which features on the 1840s tithe map of north Somerset. Last year he applied to extend it by nearly 150 per cent (50 per cent is the usual 'rule of thumb'). After this was refused, in February he applied to flatten it completely. It is not a listed building and now north Somerset council has confirmed this can go ahead, stating 'prior approval is not required'. He can demolish it to make way for an entirely new home, reportedly complete with a gym and games room. One of few conditions is the demolition must be carried out 'on or before 12 February 2030'. Stardust will soon become very real indeed – and waft through his neighbours' gardens. 'He's the TV star from Friends?' queries retiree Philip Hawkesby, who's lived just off this grass verged coastal road for nearly 20 years. 'I knew it started with an 'F',' he adds with a shrug. He's stunned about the cottage, his usually level Bristolian twang rising. 'It's beautiful, there's nothing wrong with it,' he says. 'If it was derelict I could understand it.' He adds: 'If he wants to do something, keep the facade and do a new build inside… I'd hate for him to build a brand new house of glass and steel, because that would be completely out of character.' Hawkesby bought his own new-build on a development sloping towards the water for the view, but would have loved a period property. There aren't many remaining. 'You'd think he'd have a bit more respect for the area that he's moved into, it's a lovely looking cottage.' He adds: 'We should be looking after old buildings like that, even if they're not listed. Our local council should be looking at buildings like that and coming up with another solution.' He believes they should have worked harder to allow a sensitive extension. 'I think this is a wrong decision,' he says. Others don't pick their words so carefully. Further along the road, outside his bungalow built on the hill behind which slopes towards Walton Bay, Jeff, 76, is straight to the point. 'Bloody cheek,' he says. 'It's a disgrace.' He leans on his fence and gazes across the water to hazy Newport in the distance. 'Come over, plonk yourself down, knock the place down, build an eyesore and then disappear back off to America for nine months,' he speculates. 'There's loads of new properties for sale if he wants a new property. Why do you want to get rid of that history?' The fact the demolition of this 'coastal road treasure', as it's described by the parish council, can proceed is particularly confusing given Grammer's previous application to extend was refused. He first requested to demolish only the garage, carport and existing modern extensions on the cottage, creating a huge new two-storey extension and basement level. Reasons for refusal stressed the cottage's historic and cultural importance. 'Squires Cottage is a non-designated heritage asset that is recorded on the North Somerset Historic Environment Record, which means it is a historic building of local significance,' the report reads. A conservation and heritage officer added the cottage, which used to sit in thick heathland, 'represents a vernacular built from possibly local stone with additional red clay roof tiles' with parts predating 1840. 'The significance of the property… is important within the landscape as it reflects the traditions and rural history of it,' explained the council. It added the size of the build would 'unacceptably harm the openness of the Green Belt…' as well as 'unacceptably harm the character and appearance of the dwelling and its place in the local landscape.' So why, many now ask, is it suddenly okay to flatten it? Although it needs restoration it has charm in abundance, its cosy terracotta chimney pots and sleepy window lintels a calming contrast to the fast country lane traffic outside. Simon Rix, senior planning permission consultant at Planix UK, explains it's simply down to procedure. 'The extension and the demolition are considered under different processes,' he says. 'The application for the extension was a standard planning application, which the council assessed based on its planning policies and ultimately refused. In contrast, the demolition falls under a different process called 'prior approval', which is often a more streamlined process and, in some cases, not required at all.' He adds: 'In this instance, the council determined prior approval wasn't needed for the demolition. That's generally the case unless the building is listed, within a conservation area, or there are specific protections in place, such as environmental concerns.' But although procedure has been followed, comments on the council's planning portal reveal more anger at it being 'razed to the ground'. 'If we do not value our architectural heritage such as this, then what stands in the way of unscrupulous developers and apathetic bureaucrats?' reads one. 'The cottage should be cherished not swept aside,' it continues, adding: 'the overt and callous submission to demolish, having been refused planning permission to expand, only serves to publicise the arrogant forces at play and their disregard for NSC [north Somerset counil] decision-making. I urge the decision makers to take a stand against these behaviours, in a time where bullying and bluster is commonplace on the world stage.' Not all immediate neighbours are concerned though. There are detached properties scattered along the road, set back from the verge. Most are newer builds after the owners knocked down bungalows or chalets that existed before. A number are contemporary. Squires Cottage sits next to some dramatic architecture including three slanted black roof tops like ski slopes. A few doors up, Louie Bracey, 75, opted to build his new home in 2009 in a cottage-style, however. And even then came up against planners, so he has some sympathy with Grammer. 'It took me 18 months fighting with the council to build this,' he says, pottering in the garden. 'I prefer olde world things, but it's personal. It's an old cottage, damp, not economical to heat and run. Personally I would rather it was kept in the traditional style, but that would suit me.' He adds of Grammer: 'Somebody told me he's quite famous. I don't care as long as he keeps his garden tidy.' In a BBC interview in 2023, Grammer revealed he loved his time in Portishead with his wife's family and was going to refurbish a home there. 'We bought a little place we're going to be working on,' he said. 'We won't be taking up residence for a while but, yeah, we're pretty excited about it.' Lunching at The Ship pub, Jon Jones, 63, admits he knows Grammer's son-in-law, and has met Grammer himself on one of his visits, in another Portishead pub. 'He sang there once at an open mic night.' He admits he can't see the 'rationale' for pulling down the cottage.'There's plenty of other places around here,' he says. 'It's a shame. It adds something to that coastal road. We haven't got many old buildings left in Portishead, every one is quite valuable. It's a bit of history getting erased.' Landlord Vic Long, 81, who built his pub back in 1973, is 'sitting on the fence', but can't help confessing his disappointment. 'It would have been nice if it remained as one of the last cottages around,' he says. He's unlikely to recognise Grammer if he pops in for a pint, though. 'Never heard of him,' he grins. Grammer has been contacted for comment Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 1 month with unlimited access to our award-winning website, exclusive app, money-saving offers and more.
Telegraph
03-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Telegraph
They have no idea who Kelsey Grammer is, but they want to stop him destroying a 200-year-old cottage
Set opposite a freshly tilled field of red earth, Squires Cottage sits quietly against the expanse of the Bristol Channel, as it has every day for nearly 200 years. Its red tiles colour-match with the soil here in the ancient village of Walton-in-Gordano, just outside the port town of Portishead, near Bristol. Its pinkish stone merges with the still-bare hedgerows. Apart from the luminous splash of primroses on its lawn, seeded and spread over decades, it blends seamlessly with its landscape on this narrow coastal road as if to say 'nothing to see here'. And indeed very soon there won't be – at least, you won't see unassuming Squires Cottage anymore. Because 'the American' is in town, and he has bigger plans for this nook of quintessential rural England. 'Prior Notification of Demolition Works' reads the crumpled notice on the worn wooden gatepost with Forget-Me-Nots at its base. 'Site to be cleared, levelled, and made good'. The American, as he's repeatedly referred to in these parts, is actor Kelsey Grammer, 70, the A-list star of sitcoms Frasier and Cheers. Along with his Hartlepool-born wife, Kayte Walsh, 46, who he met on a transatlantic flight when she worked as an air stewardess, he has bought Squires Cottage, one of few remaining buildings here which features on the 1840s tithe map of north Somerset. Last year he applied to extend it by nearly 150 per cent (50 per cent is the usual 'rule of thumb'). After this was refused, in February he applied to flatten it completely. It is not a listed building and now north Somerset council has confirmed this can go ahead, stating 'prior approval is not required'. He can demolish it to make way for an entirely new home, reportedly complete with a gym and games room. One of few conditions is the demolition must be carried out 'on or before 12 February 2030'. Stardust will soon become very real indeed – and waft through his neighbours' gardens. 'He's the TV star from Friends?' queries retiree Philip Hawkesby, who's lived just off this grass verged coastal road for nearly 20 years. 'I knew it started with an 'F',' he adds with a shrug. He's stunned about the cottage, his usually level Bristolian twang rising. 'It's beautiful, there's nothing wrong with it,' he says. 'If it was derelict I could understand it.' He adds: 'If he wants to do something, keep the facade and do a new build inside… I'd hate for him to build a brand new house of glass and steel, because that would be completely out of character.' Hawkesby bought his own new-build on a development sloping towards the water for the view, but would have loved a period property. There aren't many remaining. 'You'd think he'd have a bit more respect for the area that he's moved into, it's a lovely looking cottage.' He adds: 'We should be looking after old buildings like that, even if they're not listed. Our local council should be looking at buildings like that and coming up with another solution.' He believes they should have worked harder to allow a sensitive extension. 'I think this is a wrong decision,' he says. Others don't pick their words so carefully. Further along the road, outside his bungalow built on the hill behind which slopes towards Walton Bay, Jeff, 76, is straight to the point. 'Bloody cheek,' he says. 'It's a disgrace.' He leans on his fence and gazes across the water to hazy Newport in the distance. 'Come over, plonk yourself down, knock the place down, build an eyesore and then disappear back off to America for nine months,' he speculates. 'There's loads of new properties for sale if he wants a new property. Why do you want to get rid of that history?' The fact the demolition of this 'coastal road treasure', as it's described by the parish council, can proceed is particularly confusing given Grammer's previous application to extend was refused. He first requested to demolish only the garage, carport and existing modern extensions on the cottage, creating a huge new two-storey extension and basement level. Reasons for refusal stressed the cottage's historic and cultural importance. 'Squires Cottage is a non-designated heritage asset that is recorded on the North Somerset Historic Environment Record, which means it is a historic building of local significance,' the report reads. A conservation and heritage officer added the cottage, which used to sit in thick heathland, 'represents a vernacular built from possibly local stone with additional red clay roof tiles' with parts predating 1840. 'The significance of the property… is important within the landscape as it reflects the traditions and rural history of it,' explained the council. It added the size of the build would 'unacceptably harm the openness of the Green Belt…' as well as 'unacceptably harm the character and appearance of the dwelling and its place in the local landscape.' So why, many now ask, is it suddenly okay to flatten it? Although it needs restoration it has charm in abundance, its cosy terracotta chimney pots and sleepy window lintels a calming contrast to the fast country lane traffic outside. Simon Rix, senior planning permission consultant at Planix UK, explains it's simply down to procedure. 'The extension and the demolition are considered under different processes,' he says. 'The application for the extension was a standard planning application, which the council assessed based on its planning policies and ultimately refused. In contrast, the demolition falls under a different process called 'prior approval', which is often a more streamlined process and, in some cases, not required at all.' He adds: 'In this instance, the council determined prior approval wasn't needed for the demolition. That's generally the case unless the building is listed, within a conservation area, or there are specific protections in place, such as environmental concerns.' But although procedure has been followed, comments on the council's planning portal reveal more anger at it being 'razed to the ground'. 'If we do not value our architectural heritage such as this, then what stands in the way of unscrupulous developers and apathetic bureaucrats?' reads one. 'The cottage should be cherished not swept aside,' it continues, adding: 'the overt and callous submission to demolish, having been refused planning permission to expand, only serves to publicise the arrogant forces at play and their disregard for NSC [north Somerset counil] decision-making. I urge the decision makers to take a stand against these behaviours, in a time where bullying and bluster is commonplace on the world stage.' Not all immediate neighbours are concerned though. There are detached properties scattered along the road, set back from the verge. Most are newer builds after the owners knocked down bungalows or chalets that existed before. A number are contemporary. Squires Cottage sits next to some dramatic architecture including three slanted black roof tops like ski slopes. A few doors up, Louie Bracey, 75, opted to build his new home in 2009 in a cottage-style, however. And even then came up against planners, so he has some sympathy with Grammer. 'It took me 18 months fighting with the council to build this,' he says, pottering in the garden. 'I prefer olde world things, but it's personal. It's an old cottage, damp, not economical to heat and run. Personally I would rather it was kept in the traditional style, but that would suit me.' He adds of Grammer: 'Somebody told me he's quite famous. I don't care as long as he keeps his garden tidy.' In a BBC interview in 2023, Grammer revealed he loved his time in Portishead with his wife's family and was going to refurbish a home there. 'We bought a little place we're going to be working on,' he said. 'We won't be taking up residence for a while but, yeah, we're pretty excited about it.' Lunching at The Ship pub, Jon Jones, 63, admits he knows Grammer's son-in-law, and has met Grammer himself on one of his visits, in another Portishead pub. 'He sang there once at an open mic night.' He admits he can't see the 'rationale' for pulling down the cottage.'There's plenty of other places around here,' he says. 'It's a shame. It adds something to that coastal road. We haven't got many old buildings left in Portishead, every one is quite valuable. It's a bit of history getting erased.' Landlord Vic Long, 81, who built his pub back in 1973, is 'sitting on the fence', but can't help confessing his disappointment. 'It would have been nice if it remained as one of the last cottages around,' he says. He's unlikely to recognise Grammer if he pops in for a pint, though. 'Never heard of him,' he grins.
