Goodnight
Seattle
Peter
Casey Bids a Final Farewell to "Frasier"
San
Francisco native Peter Casey (B.A., '75) brought a little
of his hometown to Seattle when he created "Frasier."
"My father was a San Francisco police officer for 34 years
and my grandfather was a captain. That was the inspiration for
Martin [Frasier's father] being a policeman. Many of his police
buddies were named after police friends of my dad's."
After 11 years of phenomenal success, the show has come to an
end. SFSU Magazine caught up with Casey a few weeks before the
heavily anticipated last episode aired on May 13 (on which he
made a guest appearance) to ask him about his time with the Crane
brothers and to find out what's next. While he admits that he
will miss the routine, the laughs from the studio audience and
being in a room with "a dozen amazingly talented, funny,
witty writers," Casey also feels that it was time to go.
"We filmed 264 episodes. You don't want to hang around until
they're showing you the door."
After
more than a decade of demanding production and writing schedules,
the producer is looking forward to a little time off. Casey plans
to spend more time with his sons and his wife, Rosemary (B.A.,
'81). The Caseys are major donors to SFSU's Broadcast and
Electronic Communication Arts Department.
Casey has won seven Emmys for himself (the show has won a record
31) and countless other awards. In 2002, SFSU named him Alumnus
of the Year. "I was so touched and flattered. … That
my alma mater chose to single me out of so many worthy graduates
was immensely gratifying and just an enormous thrill for me."
What's been the most rewarding part of "Frasier"? "Being
the co-creator of a show that is so widely admired and enjoyed,"
Casey says.
A few years ago, while vacationing in Scotland with his wife,
he picked up a local newspaper and found a headline declaring
the start of a new season of "Frasier." "That was
pretty cool," he says.
Now
that "Fraiser" is over, is there any celebrity gossip
Casey's willing to dish? Well, yes. But it's about the dogs. Apparently,
Enzo, who played the original Eddie, wasn't the most cuddly animal
in the world. "He would just stand there as you petted him
-- you might as well have been petting an ottoman," Casey
says. When Enzo's son, Moose, came on the set to play Eddie part-time,
the movie star egos really started to flare. "For a while
we used both dogs and you couldn't let them see each other or
they'd go after each other. Call it professional jealousy."
He admits that although Enzo was a little more of a "real
dog" -- he liked to be petted -- Casey still calls him a
"treat whore."
And who was responsible for more out-takes, Eddie or his human
colleagues? "It's no contest," Casey says. "The
humans made far more mistakes. Maybe we should have been throwing
them bits of boiled chicken all those years."
--
By Samantha Schoech
