Jane Leeves Reveals What Betty White Was REALLY Like On Set

Summary

Podcast Summary: Dropping Names ...and other things

Hosts: Brent Spiner & Jonathan Frakes
Guest: Jane Leeves (with guest co-host Kelsey Grammer)
Episode: “Jane Leeves Reveals What Betty White Was REALLY Like On Set”
Release Date: June 17, 2026

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Overview

In this rich, playful episode, Jane Leeves—beloved for her roles on Frasier and Hot in Cleveland—joins Brent Spiner, Jonathan Frakes, and guest co-host Kelsey Grammer for a vibrant, story-filled conversation. The trio goes deep into Hollywood memories, sitcom legend lore, and behind-the-scenes tales with classic British wit and effervescent banter. Special focus is given to Leeves’s time with Betty White, her unique path to stardom, and the art of sustaining meaningful friendships—and marriages—in show business.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Hollywood Anecdotes and Name-Dropping (00:00–05:41)

• The hosts open with amusing stories from their early careers and set mishaps.
• Notable moments include Frakes’ memories of Paper Dolls and Kelsey’s recall of Leeves’ sitcom ubiquity.
• There’s a playful bell every time a famous name is dropped, underscoring the show’s irreverent tone.

Quote:
"You know, it's funny, they pop that in right here, they'll find a picture of you." — Jonathan Frakes (14:38)

2. Jane Leeves’s Unconventional Hollywood Beginnings (03:39–16:47)

• Jane describes her early days as a “guest star du jour,” starting out as a dancer in sketch television in the UK, including Benny Hill and Monty Python’s Meaning of Life.
• She reflects on her move into American TV through dance gigs and small acting roles, with encouragement from colleagues.
• Recounts the somewhat awkward but ultimately professional invitation to Benny Hill’s flat for an audition (11:31).

Quote:
"He opens the door and he's in his pajamas... I just don't think he had that female influence. No one told him it was creepy." — Jane Leeves (11:35, 13:34)

3. The Magic of Legendary Leading Ladies (06:00–09:14)

• Leeves nostalgically recalls working alongside Mary Tyler Moore, Cloris Leachman, Valerie Harper, Carol Burnett, and especially Betty White on Hot in Cleveland.
• Standing on the stage watching these icons rehearse was a “remarkable” privilege.

Quote:
"We were all standing on the edge of the stage watching them... just watching all these fabulous women rehearse together." — Jane Leeves (06:16)

4. What Betty White Was Really Like (07:36–10:00)

• Leeves shares glowing memories: Betty was always positive, never unkind, endlessly inclusive, and “suggestive but never vulgar.”
• Betty White’s early TV career and pioneering inclusion, even in the face of network pushback, are celebrated.

Quote:
"Every day, I never heard her say an unkind word... She was always such a positive force on the set, kind to everyone." — Jane Leeves (07:41)

5. Hollywood Friendships and Life Off-Set (02:29–04:40, 23:29–24:43, 29:23–30:39)

• The conversation reveals serendipitous real-life connections, like Jane befriending Bruce Greenwood after Malibu fires.
• Personal traditions: Jane’s Boxing Day soup parties with Kelsey’s family.
• Tales of how Jane met her husband—who oversaw the Star Trek franchise at Paramount—at a shared studio Christmas party.

Quote:
"I make the cauliflower soup and I make the carrot." — Jane Leeves, on Boxing Day traditions (29:45)

6. The Fragility and Rarity of Long-Running Cast Families (38:02–41:12)

• All three speak on the deep bonds formed from multi-season runs in series like Frasier and Star Trek: TNG.
• Compare the ephemeral nature of theater friendships to the sincerity of bonds built over years on a hit series.

Quote:
"It's very rare as actors that we get to spend that length of time together... usually you do a job and you're used to saying goodbye." — Jane Leeves (38:06)

7. The Book: Daphne and Me—Writing, Memories & Loss (32:41–41:12)

• Leeves discusses her forthcoming memoir, written with her daughter, focusing on the Frasier years: “funny stuff... so much heartbreaking stuff.”
• She details how the writing process forced her to revisit both celebrated and painfully tragic moments, including the loss of Frasier’s co-creator David Angell in 9/11.
• Kelsey and Jonathan reflect on the healing and complications of memoirs and fiction about TV years.

Quote:
"There are some tough chapters, but mostly it's uplifting and lots of funny stories about the green room." — Jane Leeves (34:26)

8. Green Room Stories & Guest Stars Galore (34:34–37:52)

• The Frasier green room was described as “the shabbiest... but the people that we had in there were just... extraordinary.”
• Notable guests included James Earl Jones (“the voice of Darth Vader”), Donald O’Connor, Elvis Costello, and more.
• The realities of celebrity—lines of cast and crew waiting for autographs, especially from pop culture legends.

Quote:
"James Earl Jones had to sign everybody's Star Wars thing... he was absolutely adamant that... because David Prowse was the guy, the body in the suit." — Jane Leeves (37:15)

9. On the Absurdity of Residuals and Awards (25:25–27:12)

• The trio shares funny showbiz tales about non-existent syndication profits, being paid in drinks for under-a-dollar residual checks, and award show experiences.
• Leeves talks about presenting a Golden Globe to Gregory Peck.

Quote:
"Well, they used to have that bar in Studio City called Residuals. If you brought your check in for under a dollar, they'd give you a drink." — Jonathan Frakes (25:47)

10. Decision to Keep Her Name & Career Highs and Lows (43:15–43:34)

• Jane reveals she once considered changing her professional name’s spelling, but ultimately honored her family and kept “Leeves.”
• Recaps on working in movies (The Hunger, To Live and Die in LA) even when her scenes ended up cut.

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Notable Quotes & Moments with Timestamps

• On Betty White’s Character:
  "She was always, you know, sort of risque... suggestive. But she was never vulgar."
  — Jane Leeves [08:02]
• On Getting Started in Showbiz:
  "I was really young, probably 18 or 19... the phone rang in my flat in London... 'My name's Benny Hill'... Of course, I was 18 and I was like, oh, sure, okay."
  — Jane Leeves [10:22]
• On the Frasier Green Room:
  "It was the shabbiest... but the people that we had in there were just... extraordinary."
  — Jane Leeves [34:49]
• On Frasier’s Loss on 9/11:
  "We lost our executive producer and co creator of the show, David Angell and his wife in, in the 9/11 attacks. They were in the first plane that hit the towers..."
  — Jane Leeves [34:14]
• On Sustaining Relationships:
  "It's an absolute gift... to have stability as an actor."
  — Jane Leeves [40:07]
• On Writing the Memoir:
  "We handed in a draft, we're just addressing notes now. I actually wrote it myself with my daughter... It's called Daphne and Me."
  — Jane Leeves [32:48]
• On Soup:
  "I make the cauliflower soup and I make the carrot... I got that New York Times recipe, but it's like literally three ingredients. Onion, water, and cauliflower. And it's just the cooking time is long and slow, but it is unbelievable."
  — Jane Leeves [29:45–30:09]

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Important Segment Timestamps

• On early career, sitcom guest spots: [03:39–04:14]
• Betty White & Hot in Cleveland stories: [05:45–10:00]
• Mary Tyler Moore and icons memory: [06:34–07:14]
• Benny Hill and Monty Python stories: [10:22–15:33]
• Holiday and family traditions: [29:23–30:39]
• Reflections on Frasier family & 9/11 loss: [34:14–35:08]
• Book reveal and process: [32:41–41:12]
• On the Frasier green room energy: [34:34–37:52]

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Tone & Style

The episode is casual, warm, and jovial—filled with banter, friendly teasing, and a clear sense of camaraderie between co-stars and friends. Name-dropping is both a running joke and a genuine window into decades of entertainment history. Jane Leeves is candid, funny, and heartfelt, especially when discussing her mentors, collaborators, and personal turning points.

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Takeaway

This episode is a must for sitcom fans, Frasier devotees, Betty White admirers, or anyone curious about the private side of celebrity. Jane Leeves’s stories are a reminder of the talent, humility, and humor that keep showbiz both magical and human.

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[End of Summary]

Transcript

[Jonathan Frakes]

I'll tell you a story about the MGM lot.

[Kelsey Grammer]

Okay. Was Rod Steiger in it?

[Jonathan Frakes]

No.

[Kelsey Grammer]

Oh, okay.

[Jonathan Frakes]

I was doing a short lived series called Paper Dolls.

[Kelsey Grammer]

Yeah, I remember that.

[Jonathan Frakes]

I played Morgan Fairchild's bisexual male secretary. His name was Sandy Paris.

[Kelsey Grammer]

Okay.

[Jonathan Frakes]

He talked a little like that and wore very flamboyant sweaters. And Morgan and I had lunch together at the commissary and she said to me two things. She said, when you're smiling for a photograph, think about your smile, but try to push your mouth down instead of up.

[Kelsey Grammer]

Huh?

[Jonathan Frakes]

Then she said, if you want to stay at your current weight, only eat half the food on your plate.

[Kelsey Grammer]

Well, that I've heard is very effective. Yeah, Even more effective, I'm, I'm told is eating a quarter of the food on your plate.

[Jonathan Frakes]

Well, that's, that's just physics.

[Kelsey Grammer]

Dropping names and other things. Where the whiskey flows and the laughing sings. Pull up a seat joint. The game of bread and Johnny Potash.

[Jonathan Frakes]

Jane leaves is with us.

[Kelsey Grammer]

Jane leaves who? I don't know if you remember Jane from the little show called Frasier.

[Jonathan Frakes]

I loved Daphne was my favorite character on the show.

[Jane Leeves]

Oh, you're joking.

[Jonathan Frakes]

Really, without any, any remorse. I say that honestly and fairly. And I liked what's his name, the grumpy father.

[Jane Leeves]

Oh, John Mahoney.

[Kelsey Grammer]

Oh, he was fabulous.

[Jonathan Frakes]

And David Hyde Pierce. We have mutual.

[Jane Leeves]

Mutual.

[Jonathan Frakes]

But I want to start with the resident, which I went to when I ran out of the pit because I was so involved with the thing I said. And we had just had dinner with Bruce Greenwood.

[Jane Leeves]

I love Bruce.

[Kelsey Grammer]

Who doesn't?

[Jonathan Frakes]

Bruce Greenwood and Brent and Denise Crosby were at a table with me and I was the only person at the table who hadn't lost their house in the fire. So it was very intriguing and painful and so I fell in love with the show. And then I remembered having gotten to know Malcolm, may he rest in peace. Malcolm Jamal Warner, who went to the same dentist I went to, who was spectacular on the show.

[Jane Leeves]

Yeah, magnificent.

[Jonathan Frakes]

And then when you came on the show, it sort of filled in what was missing because the other women left. And it was much fun, much more fun to see you with Bruce. That relationship was spectacular.

[Jane Leeves]

We just, we hit it off immediately.

[Jonathan Frakes]

We'd never known before.

[Jane Leeves]

No, I'd never met him. And we became instant friends. In fact, after the fire, he and his lovely wife Susan lost their house.

[Jonathan Frakes]

Yes.

[Jane Leeves]

And they would come and stay with us for a few days just to do laundry and yeah, we're really, really good friends with them now.

[Jonathan Frakes]

He's Spectacular.

[Jane Leeves]

He's a wonderful guy.

[Kelsey Grammer]

We want to have him on the show. I think Bruce would be a great guy. I've worked with Bruce.

[Jane Leeves]

Pain in the butt. Yeah.

[Kelsey Grammer]

You know how I met Jane? Do you know this?

[Jonathan Frakes]

I'd love to.

[Kelsey Grammer]

Yeah. I've known Jane longer than I've known you.

[Jonathan Frakes]

No way.

[Kelsey Grammer]

Yeah, I. I met Jane. Very bizarre. I have a cousin who is my second cousin. My. My father's brother's daughter. No, my father's brother's granddaughter. And she called me out of the blue in la and she said, would you like to have dinner? And I said, yeah. I don't think I'd seen her since she was like, three, but she was a grown woman now. And she said, would you mind if I bring my roommate? And I said, that's fine. And we meet, and her roommate happens to be Jane Leeves.

[Jonathan Frakes]

Moi?

[Kelsey Grammer]

Yeah. Who at the time you were on Murphy Brown?

[Jane Leeves]

I've been doing. Yeah, I was doing sort of. I was the guest star du jour on every single sitcom at the time, I think.

[Kelsey Grammer]

Well, I. I know I have in my notes, actually. Is there a sitcom you have never been on?

[Jane Leeves]

I'm sure there are many. Yeah, I'm sure there are many.

[Kelsey Grammer]

It really reads like you've been on every single show ever, but. Because you were famously on Seinfeld.

[Jane Leeves]

Yes. There's Marla the Virgin.

[Kelsey Grammer]

Marla the Virgin, exactly.

[Jane Leeves]

Typecasting.

[Jonathan Frakes]

Typecasting.

[Kelsey Grammer]

Type casting.

[Jane Leeves]

You know what's really weird about that is I'm sure I get recognized for so many different things now that I've done, but in New York, it's Marla the Virgin.

[Jonathan Frakes]

Of course.

[Jane Leeves]

Hey, would the Virgin. You know, and I'm like, wow, yes, that's me.

[Kelsey Grammer]

Yes, I was.

[Jane Leeves]

Yes, I was. Not anymore.

[Kelsey Grammer]

I was. Yeah, yeah, but that. But my cousin Elizabeth.

[Jonathan Frakes]

Have you been friends ever since?

[Jane Leeves]

I think she was trying to set us up, don't you?

[Kelsey Grammer]

Do you think?

[Jane Leeves]

I think so.

[Kelsey Grammer]

Yeah. Maybe.

[Jane Leeves]

Maybe.

[Kelsey Grammer]

Who knows?

[Jonathan Frakes]

How'd that go?

[Jane Leeves]

Well, neither of us were sort of aware of it. But afterwards, didn't you think, oh, maybe that was.

[Kelsey Grammer]

Maybe I missed a bet. That's what I thought at the time. I was too shy. Too scared.

[Jane Leeves]

I'm shy.

[Kelsey Grammer]

Yeah.

[Jane Leeves]

Very shy.

[Kelsey Grammer]

And we. That you.

[Jonathan Frakes]

I believe you. I know you are not shy.

[Kelsey Grammer]

Oh, yes. I, I. As a matter of fact, I. I feel uncomfortable even talking to you.

[Jane Leeves]

It shows.

[Kelsey Grammer]

But I had that night that we were at this restaurant, which is now a really cool restaurant. It's on. On La Brea. Yeah, it's a great restaurant on La Brea that. Well, anyway. Starts with that.

[Jonathan Frakes]

That's what happens. Yeah, right there, what we were talking

[Jane Leeves]

about, that you can't remember a thing the older you get.

[Kelsey Grammer]

Yeah, exactly. I've explained that to the people who are watching this. They come to expect it every episode. But when we were there, Warren Beatty and Madonna came in together. Yeah. That's another thing. Whenever a name is dropped, the bell rings. Just so people at home know that.

[Jonathan Frakes]

You let me know when it gets annoying.

[Jane Leeves]

I will.

[Jonathan Frakes]

Okay. Brent hates to.

[Kelsey Grammer]

It won't stop. But just let him know anyway.

[Jonathan Frakes]

You want to drop some names? Hot in Cleveland.

[Kelsey Grammer]

Hot in Cleveland. Oh, yeah, yeah. Well. And you worked with a Lady White. What was Betty White?

[Jane Leeves]

Betty White. Valerie Bertinelli.

[Jonathan Frakes]

Valerie Bertinelli.

[Jane Leeves]

Wendy Malik.

[Kelsey Grammer]

Wendy Malick.

[Jane Leeves]

Wendy Malick. Also, we did an episode where we reunited the entire cast of, well, the women from the Mary Tyler Moore Show.

[Kelsey Grammer]

Oh, really?

[Jane Leeves]

Georgia Engel. Mary Tyler Moore. Cloris Le. Valerie Harper.

[Jonathan Frakes]

Oh, my God.

[Kelsey Grammer]

Can I see that right now?

[Jane Leeves]

I know. We just. It was a. It was one of those experiences where we just, you know, we were all standing on the edge of the stage watching them, you know, just watching all these fabulous women rehearse together.

[Kelsey Grammer]

Unbelievable.

[Jane Leeves]

It was unbelievable.

[Kelsey Grammer]

Well, I mean, I could ask you something about every one of them.

[Jonathan Frakes]

I know. I felt the same way.

[Jane Leeves]

Oh, I had an experience with Mary Tyler Moore. What a lovely, lovely woman. We're sitting in the makeup room together. She's getting her makeup and hair done. And I'm sitting, and I have this pair of sneakers on. They're little French bins, Simone's sneakers. And we started talking. She was like, oh, I really like those shoes. Where are they from? And it's one of those moments where we're just sort of chatting, you know, and I just had to sort of go, oh, take a deep breath, and say, I'm sitting, chatting about shoes with Mary Tymore. It's just a remarkable.

[Kelsey Grammer]

Well, it's one of the great things about being in show business. I mean, if you get to play in the quote, unquote, big leagues, and, you know, you meet people like that,

[Jonathan Frakes]

especially when they're that kind, and you feel so. It's such a relief.

[Jane Leeves]

It's very rare that you meet someone who on that level that is not just because their soul is. Same thing with Carol Burnett did the show, and she was just, you know, thank you. There's something about their soul that just shines.

[Kelsey Grammer]

Yeah. And. And, well.

[Jane Leeves]

And kindness in their eyes, you know,

[Kelsey Grammer]

and what what about Betty?

[Jane Leeves]

Oh, well, you know.

[Jonathan Frakes]

Right.

[Kelsey Grammer]

I mean, Betty White. I mean, every.

[Jane Leeves]

Every day that I never heard her say an unkind word to anybody. She was full of. She was always such a positive force on the set, kind to everyone.

[Jonathan Frakes]

And blue.

[Jane Leeves]

Oh, yeah.

[Kelsey Grammer]

Not blue.

[Jane Leeves]

Not blue. She was always, you know, sort of risque.

[Jonathan Frakes]

Yes. Suggestive.

[Jane Leeves]

Suggestive. But, you know, she was never vulgar.

[Kelsey Grammer]

There was always the double entendre.

[Jane Leeves]

Yeah, the double entendre. And she kept that up and. And the crew just loved her. Well, yeah, everybody treated her like, you

[Kelsey Grammer]

know, she was one of the great. I mean, she was like.

[Jonathan Frakes]

She's still working.

[Kelsey Grammer]

She's the original icon. I mean, the original icon, practically.

[Jane Leeves]

Well, she. She told us that she started basically when television first started. She went live for hours every day. She hosted a program. Live every day for hours and hours.

[Kelsey Grammer]

Well, I'm old enough to remember the Betty White show.

[Jane Leeves]

Oh, really?

[Kelsey Grammer]

Yeah. And Betty White. Well, I was a little kid at the. But I do remember Betty White was this pretty young woman who had her own show, and I loved the Betty White show. She was also very good about inclusion on her show. I think she got in trouble back in the day.

[Jane Leeves]

Oh, really?

[Kelsey Grammer]

Yeah. And just refused to cave. And so they let her have whoever they want. Her own show. Good for her.

[Jane Leeves]

Yeah, she was. She was. You know, because you always think elderly people as not being that way, but she was inclusive and, you know, she respected everyone.

[Jonathan Frakes]

She loved her husband.

[Kelsey Grammer]

Yeah,

[Jane Leeves]

she loved him.

[Jonathan Frakes]

You could feel it every time she talked about it.

[Jane Leeves]

Yeah. And we went through a few anniversaries with her of his, you know, birthdays and when he died and. Oh, you could just feel that love

[Kelsey Grammer]

and the harmony that happened.

[Jane Leeves]

I wasn't here. But didn't the world see them fall in love on.

[Kelsey Grammer]

On Match Game?

[Jane Leeves]

Match Game, was it?

[Kelsey Grammer]

No, no. Password, password, password. Yeah, yeah, yeah.

[Jane Leeves]

Watch them fall in love, I think.

[Kelsey Grammer]

Oh, I believe so.

[Jonathan Frakes]

Yeah.

[Jane Leeves]

But she said it was sort of the spark they immediately had.

[Kelsey Grammer]

Yeah.

[Jane Leeves]

I mean, and they weren't together very long before.

[Kelsey Grammer]

Not very long, no. But it. It lasted her the rest of her life, which was quite long.

[Jane Leeves]

Yes. Quite long.

[Jonathan Frakes]

Yeah.

[Kelsey Grammer]

Wow.

[Jane Leeves]

She has her own postage stamp.

[Kelsey Grammer]

There is a Betty White. I have. Have a sheet of Betty White postage stamps. Yeah, I. I had. I had a lot of postage stamps that no longer exist. But don't want to talk about my house burning down again.

[Jonathan Frakes]

How about the Monty Python stuff?

[Kelsey Grammer]

What about even pre Monty Python? Pre Monty Python is Benny Hill, Right.

[Jane Leeves]

Oh, this is really weird. Yeah. All right. Because I was like, I was really young, probably 18 or 19, and the phone rang in my flat in London that I was sharing with four other girls. It was a real dump, you know, but mattresses on the floor and we were all working as dancers and trying to make it, you know. And the phone rang and a voice in the other says, hello, could I speak to Jane Leeves? And I'm like, she's speaking. Who, who is this, please? And he said, my name's Benny Hill. And I was like, okay. I was just thinking, sure, sure, you know, it's my brother, because he's good at that sort of thing. And he said, you've been recommended to me by some of my, you know, some of the other dancers he's worked with that you might be good for some sketches. I' Would you mind coming over to my flat on Thursday at around 11 o' clock and we can read through some of the scenes together. And of course, I was 18 and I was like, oh, sure, okay. Well, he lived in like, Belgravia in one of those beautiful white stucco. And so I arrived there, you know, bit nervous, sort of. Was this okay alone?

[Kelsey Grammer]

Alone, of course.

[Jane Leeves]

Knock on the door. He opens the door and he's in his pajamas.

[Jonathan Frakes]

Oh, shit.

[Kelsey Grammer]

Well, you know.

[Jane Leeves]

But the place is. It looks spectacular, except it's a bit smelly. And he's got a can of air freshener. He said, oh, I'm sorry, I had some friends over last night and they were smoking cigars and he's walking around in his pajamas spraying air freshener everywhere. And he says, take a seat. And I said, well, this very lovely or flat? And he said, well, yes, the, the Radio Times, which is sort of the TV Guide of England. They said they wanted to take some pictures of it. So they did it up for me because, of course, he's a guy and he just had a couch and, you know. Anyway, he disappears. He says, I'm just going to get some scripts. And I thought, oh, he's gonna get dressed as well? No, in his pajamas still. But he, he just kept coming back with all these sketches for me to read. And I just, I mean, it was so much fun. He was brilliant, you know, And I read through these sketches and he said, lovely, come to Thames Television on Thursday and they'll put, you know, and we'll film these sketch that. It was the easiest.

[Jonathan Frakes]

You booked it?

[Jane Leeves]

Yeah, I booked it.

[Kelsey Grammer]

And how many heard of you?

[Jane Leeves]

I, you know, I'm trying to remember, but I think there was a dancer that I worked, maybe he Knew my cousin. Maybe it's your cousin again. It's your cousin. But I think he just had heard from. Because I was always a bit of a clown on, you know, on dance jobs, and he'd heard from one of these girls that I might be good for the show.

[Kelsey Grammer]

Oh, well, I mean, he definitely saved on casting director.

[Jane Leeves]

Yeah.

[Kelsey Grammer]

You know, but he cast himself small roles.

[Jane Leeves]

Yeah. But, you know, the funny thing about him was he was a very. Because people say, well, what was he like? And I didn't really ever get to know him, but there were a core group of people who worked with him on his shows, and I think that he was just a very lonely man. And so he had nobody in his life to say, you know, maybe don't wear your pajamas. Maybe don't have girls. Because he would literally show up to work in pajamas with a coat over.

[Kelsey Grammer]

Really?

[Jane Leeves]

Yeah. I just don't think he had that female influence.

[Jonathan Frakes]

No one told him it was creepy.

[Kelsey Grammer]

No, no, he could. He could. He could do that today. I don't know.

[Jonathan Frakes]

I don't think so.

[Jane Leeves]

Yeah.

[Kelsey Grammer]

So then, okay, so Benny Hill kind of got you. Your. Your feet wet.

[Jonathan Frakes]

You get an equity card or whatever it was.

[Jane Leeves]

Oh, I had an equity card from dance jobs and things like that, but I just sort of started to get little bits and bobs here and there because I was a dancer still in England, but, oh, she can say the line, you know, on. She can do that. And it just started that way. And then I eventually did a couple of. I did an American. The Mike Douglas show.

[Kelsey Grammer]

Yeah.

[Jane Leeves]

I don't know if you remember that. Oh, yes, they filmed that. They were filming that on board the QE2 traveling from, you know, Southampton to New York. And so they hired some of us English dancers to do some, you know, dancing and modeling of clothes for the series of shows he was going to be shooting on the ship.

[Jonathan Frakes]

Great gig.

[Jane Leeves]

And all the people there kept saying, oh, you do great in the States, honey. And they just kept saying, you should. And so that sort of planted the seed in my head, I think.

[Kelsey Grammer]

Wow. And I've seen a picture of you posed with Benny Hill and some other. Oh, you have some other ladies. Yeah, yeah. You know, it's funny, they pop that in right here, they'll find a picture of you.

[Jonathan Frakes]

But it was funny because I really

[Jane Leeves]

only did that one show, but I did a bunch of sketches that he sort of inserted into different shows throughout the season that he did, you know. Wow.

[Jonathan Frakes]

Did that lead to the Monty Python stuff?

[Jane Leeves]

No, I just auditioned for the Meaning of Life and was one of the dancers in that. And then, funnily enough, cool credit. I know.

[Kelsey Grammer]

Yeah.

[Jane Leeves]

It was the Graham Chapman Christmas in Heaven.

[Kelsey Grammer]

Oh, yes.

[Jane Leeves]

Yeah. And I. I was actually. You can see me. I'm sort of front and center coming down the stairs. We've got those big fake plastic boobs on and it's Christmas. It's Christmas in heaven. Hip hip, hip, hip, hip, hooray.

[Kelsey Grammer]

So you never forget.

[Jane Leeves]

No, you never do. But it. Terry Jones directed it.

[Jonathan Frakes]

Wow.

[Jane Leeves]

Yeah, it was so much fun. And then, of course, later I started working with Eric Idle. I remember some of the plays that he's done.

[Kelsey Grammer]

I saw you in a play of Eric Idols.

[Jane Leeves]

What about Dick?

[Kelsey Grammer]

Yeah. Is that what it was? Yeah. The one in Hollywood.

[Jane Leeves]

Yeah, we did it. I did it twice. We did it in Hollywood. But the. What's that one on Vine?

[Kelsey Grammer]

The Ricardo Montalban.

[Jane Leeves]

Yeah, that's. We did it first there and then we did it.

[Kelsey Grammer]

Don't he get Ricardo Dungeon? Of course, yes.

[Jane Leeves]

And then we did it again somewhere else. But it was a mad cast of English comedians who.

[Kelsey Grammer]

Who was.

[Jane Leeves]

Do you remember Eddie Izzard?

[Kelsey Grammer]

Eddie Izzard, Yeah.

[Jane Leeves]

Oh, Billy Connolly.

[Kelsey Grammer]

Billy Connolly.

[Jane Leeves]

Tracy Ullman.

[Kelsey Grammer]

Tracy, I want to see that show again.

[Jane Leeves]

Who's. The guy who's not. He's not allowed to say his name anymore. Are you.

[Kelsey Grammer]

You're not. Is it. Was it Matt Lauer?

[Jane Leeves]

No, no. But it's. It's along those lines. Oh, Russell Brand.

[Kelsey Grammer]

Oh, Russell Brand.

[Jane Leeves]

Yeah.

[Kelsey Grammer]

All those people, they weren't here on the. At the Montalban when I saw it. Really?

[Jane Leeves]

Yeah.

[Kelsey Grammer]

Because I, I. You were the only famous person I knew.

[Jane Leeves]

Eddie is out. Was there.

[Kelsey Grammer]

Eddie was there.

[Jane Leeves]

And Tracy. Russell came in later. Billy was there in the first time we did it. Yeah.

[Kelsey Grammer]

He's brilliant.

[Jane Leeves]

Mortimer.

[Kelsey Grammer]

Emily Mortimer. Yeah. Oh, my God. He's producing something now. Yeah.

[Jonathan Frakes]

Emily Mortimer. Yeah.

[Kelsey Grammer]

I mean, how. Oh, Emily Mortimer wrote the George Clooney movie.

[Jonathan Frakes]

Oh, the Jay Kelly.

[Kelsey Grammer]

Jay Kelly, Yeah. And she's in it. But she wrote it with Noah Bombach. Is that who directed the movie? I think so. Yeah.

[Jane Leeves]

Yeah.

[Jonathan Frakes]

He gets one.

[Kelsey Grammer]

Yeah, for sure.

[Jane Leeves]

He should, too.

[Jonathan Frakes]

Yeah.

[Kelsey Grammer]

Yeah. Give Greta Gerwig one while you're at it. Wow, that's fascinating. So, but how was sailing on the QE2? Was that.

[Jane Leeves]

It was tricky because it was just before Christmas, so it was really good. It was like that Titanic crossing, if you think about it.

[Kelsey Grammer]

Yeah, yeah.

[Jane Leeves]

So they had to take the stabilizers off at a certain point because we were, you know, we were in storms all the way.

[Kelsey Grammer]

Right. Oh, Jesus.

[Jane Leeves]

And they just had to make up time so they had to take the stabilizers off. But it was interesting.

[Kelsey Grammer]

And you were at the bottom of the ship the way Leo was in Titanic, right?

[Jane Leeves]

Yeah, they put the dancers, performers.

[Jonathan Frakes]

Those are.

[Kelsey Grammer]

They're tractors. Yeah. Have you ever seen them eat? Yeah.

[Jane Leeves]

Oh, they feed you non stop on cruises.

[Kelsey Grammer]

Oh, yeah, we. We've been on cruises, so we've done Star Trek cruises. You know about that. You've been on one, haven't you?

[Jane Leeves]

No, I haven't.

[Kelsey Grammer]

Oh, no, you haven't.

[Jonathan Frakes]

It's ridiculous.

[Kelsey Grammer]

Yeah, but they, they. The food, it's. It's like.

[Jane Leeves]

It's insane, Right?

[Kelsey Grammer]

You get a menu. If you go into the main dining room, you get a menu this long and it's different every night and it's just anything you can think of. And yeah, people just graze the entire time.

[Jane Leeves]

Yeah, well, they say elevens is now being served only and the whole ship tips that way.

[Kelsey Grammer]

Exactly. Okay. So then you came over and you started doing.

[Jane Leeves]

Before I came over, though, I started doing a lot of things, but I did a movie with Catherine Deneuve and David Bowie.

[Kelsey Grammer]

Catherine Deneuve and David Bowie.

[Jane Leeves]

But I was cut out of it and Susan Sarandon was in it, but I didn't really.

[Kelsey Grammer]

Oh, I know. The hunger.

[Jane Leeves]

Yeah, that's right.

[Jonathan Frakes]

Yeah.

[Jane Leeves]

I was cut out of it, but, you know, they were vampires and we. I was hired to play a sort of flapper from the 1920s, part of a couple that they were eyeing up in a nightclub for dinner, you know.

[Kelsey Grammer]

Yes, yes, exactly.

[Jane Leeves]

I got to spend time with David Bowie and he was fascinating, you know, he was learning to play the violin because he was supposed to play the violin in the movie. And we were all sort of like hunkered down in a house somewhere else just outside of London, filming stuff. And I just remember he was such a curious man. He went through the entire contents of my purse.

[Kelsey Grammer]

Really?

[Jane Leeves]

Yeah.

[Jonathan Frakes]

With your permission.

[Kelsey Grammer]

Did he steal anything?

[Jane Leeves]

Yeah, no. He was just sitting there and he's like, so what's in here? What is this? And what is that? You know? And I had a sort of magnifying magnifying mirror, you know, to sort of look at myself. Very. And he was fascinated with that.

[Jonathan Frakes]

Was he flirting with you?

[Jane Leeves]

I don't think so.

[Jonathan Frakes]

I do.

[Jane Leeves]

I don't think so. But he was a really, really sweet, sweet man. Catherine Deneuve, I think she was nice. But she did have a conversation about my face with her makeup artist in French. So I don't know what she was saying. I didn't hear Kelshien or anything.

[Kelsey Grammer]

But I wonder what the, the subtext was like, make her look ugly.

[Jane Leeves]

No, hardly.

[Kelsey Grammer]

Well, who directed that movie?

[Jane Leeves]

Oh, it was Tony Scott.

[Kelsey Grammer]

Tony Scott?

[Jane Leeves]

Yeah.

[Kelsey Grammer]

Wow.

[Jane Leeves]

Thing. Wow.

[Kelsey Grammer]

That's Oliver.

[Jonathan Frakes]

Shalom.

[Kelsey Grammer]

Yeah.

[Jane Leeves]

Yeah, but I got cut out of it. Yeah, there were many flashbacks that got cut out because they'd sort of flashback to the Egyptian times, you know, they'd lived a long time, the vampires.

[Kelsey Grammer]

I've been cut out of a number of films. Yeah, I have been.

[Jonathan Frakes]

Not Master of Disguise.

[Kelsey Grammer]

No, I'm still in Master of Disguise and proud of it, to be honest. I don't know if I've mentioned it before. Well, Alticea, certainly I'm in that, but. But I'm more proud. I mean, I, I aviator. Yeah, I'm still an aviator. Okay, but you could, they could have cut me out of Master of Disguise and I've been okay with it. But now I feel like it's one of the all time classics. I don't know if you've ever seen it, Jane. Master of Disguise. But my opinion, it goes.

[Jane Leeves]

I'm definitely watching that.

[Kelsey Grammer]

Well, it goes. Citizen Kane, Schindler's List, Master of Disguise, Casablanca and something like that. Master of Disguise may be second. I don't know. Anyway, I'm intrigued. Yeah.

[Jane Leeves]

Who else is in it?

[Kelsey Grammer]

Master of Disguise, Dana Carvey, James Brolin, Jennifer Esposito.

[Jane Leeves]

Wait. Come on.

[Kelsey Grammer]

Kevin Nealon.

[Jane Leeves]

Oh, wow. Oh, Kevin Nealon. I love Kevin.

[Kelsey Grammer]

Don't you love Kevin Nealon?

[Jane Leeves]

Well, I did. He did a Hot in Cleveland.

[Kelsey Grammer]

Oh, he did.

[Jane Leeves]

The two of us just spent the whole time absolutely laughing. I mean, doubled over with laughter.

[Kelsey Grammer]

Yeah, he's a good guy too.

[Jane Leeves]

Yeah, he's very funny.

[Jonathan Frakes]

Was Kirstie Alley on that show too?

[Jane Leeves]

Yeah, dear Kirsty Alley.

[Jonathan Frakes]

Yeah, I loved her.

[Jane Leeves]

Oh, wasn't she great?

[Kelsey Grammer]

She was great.

[Jane Leeves]

She. Did you work with her on.

[Jonathan Frakes]

She was. I was in north and South.

[Jane Leeves]

Oh, north and South. Right.

[Jonathan Frakes]

She was the matchmaker for my wife Jeannie and I, I was flirting with Jeannie Francis, who I had worked with prior, but when I. She was too young for me. But we're on location in Charleston, South Carolina and Natchez, Mississippi. And Patrick Swayze and Kirstew are like the leaders of the, the troops. When we go to the club, it's the 80s, right. Say no more.

[Jane Leeves]

Say no more.

[Jonathan Frakes]

Kirsty says, you know, Frakes, you should really ask Jeanie Francis out. I said, what are you Talking about she's. No, she's number five in the call. She'd have number 30. She said, no, no. Then she said to Jeanne, apparently, I think Frakes really likes you. I think. So she made this.

[Kelsey Grammer]

She.

[Jonathan Frakes]

And we had a little date at 82 Queen in Charleston. And then we broke for the Memorial Day weekend and we all got on a bus in Natchez, Mississippi, to go to New Orleans. And everybody had hotel rooms in New Orleans. And it was Jeannie's birthday. It was Memorial Day weekend, she was turning 23. And the producer took us to a strip club. And the guys are shaking their dicks at her. And the people. Oh, God. And she's got a sweater and pearls, and she. So she leaves the club and I follow her out of the club and it's about two in the morning on Bourbon Street. Have I told this story on the show, Rick?

[Kelsey Grammer]

I've never heard this.

[Jonathan Frakes]

And I said, I'm sorry. She said, yeah. I said, can I get you anything? She said, I really love a grilled cheese sandwich. And I said, so I found a grilled cheese sandwich for Jeannie at 2 in the morning. And then we went back to the hotel and I sat on the couch in her hotel room and I said, good night. And we've been together for 40 years.

[Kelsey Grammer]

The rest is history.

[Jane Leeves]

And the rest is history.

[Kelsey Grammer]

Yeah. I was at your wedding.

[Jonathan Frakes]

Kirsty Alley.

[Jane Leeves]

Kirsty Alley.

[Jonathan Frakes]

She rest in peace.

[Jane Leeves]

Yeah. Oh, wow. Oh, my God. I kind of. I met my husband at Paramount and.

[Kelsey Grammer]

Paramount. Yeah, I remember.

[Jane Leeves]

Yeah.

[Jonathan Frakes]

Was he our boss? Was he. Oh, he was. The TV movies.

[Jane Leeves]

He. No, he actually did oversee the Star Trek franchise. He did, yeah, he oversaw the whole thing. I, you know, I don't know what these executives do, but he was. He was the keeper of the book. You know, the, the, the, the whole.

[Jonathan Frakes]

Yeah, the Bible.

[Jane Leeves]

The Bible. The Bible.

[Kelsey Grammer]

I didn't know that.

[Jane Leeves]

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

[Kelsey Grammer]

He never introduced himself to us.

[Jane Leeves]

He didn't.

[Kelsey Grammer]

But I've subsequently met him a number of times.

[Jane Leeves]

A number of times. Well, I don't think he did that for long because I think they transferred him over to something else. But he was. He was originally on Wings. You know, the.

[Jonathan Frakes]

Oh, yeah, I was on Wings.

[Kelsey Grammer]

Stephen Weber, tv.

[Jonathan Frakes]

Stephen Weber, as he calls himself.

[Jane Leeves]

Yes. Ding.

[Kelsey Grammer]

Oh, of course.

[Jane Leeves]

And yeah, we met at the Christmas party because we had. We shared a Christmas party with Wings. Ah, yeah. And he was the sort of executive on that show, looking after that show.

[Jonathan Frakes]

It was a great show.

[Kelsey Grammer]

Was my cousin at that party. That's new I didn't think.

[Jane Leeves]

Yeah.

[Jonathan Frakes]

And you've been together ever since?

[Jane Leeves]

Yeah.

[Kelsey Grammer]

I love that. Yeah. And so that's how.

[Jane Leeves]

30 years.

[Kelsey Grammer]

Oh, 30 years, yeah.

[Jonathan Frakes]

40 years.

[Jane Leeves]

Yeah.

[Kelsey Grammer]

That's how. You guys know Rick Berman, right? Because he handled the Star Trek stuff.

[Jane Leeves]

Exactly. Yeah. Wow.

[Jonathan Frakes]

Yeah, he was the cheese.

[Kelsey Grammer]

What about. Did you ever play a character called Blue?

[Jane Leeves]

Oh, yes.

[Kelsey Grammer]

What was that? Was that Throb?

[Jane Leeves]

Throb? Yeah, everyone said Throb. What was that about?

[Kelsey Grammer]

Yeah, it was.

[Jane Leeves]

It was the first actual sitcom made purely for syndication.

[Kelsey Grammer]

Oh, is that right? That's what our show was.

[Jonathan Frakes]

First syndicated drama made directly for syndication.

[Jane Leeves]

Wow. Wow.

[Jonathan Frakes]

You know why they did that to both of us?

[Jane Leeves]

Why?

[Jonathan Frakes]

They had. Could pay 40 of SAG minimum for residuals.

[Jane Leeves]

Oh, well, that. That show didn't last very long, so I'm glad about that. Yours ran forever, though.

[Kelsey Grammer]

Our first residuals were like $600, something like that.

[Jonathan Frakes]

We're still getting $7 an episode.

[Kelsey Grammer]

About that.

[Jonathan Frakes]

Seven, maybe a lot of years ago.

[Jane Leeves]

I know.

[Kelsey Grammer]

Yeah.

[Jane Leeves]

Don't you love when you get those SAG residuals? It's like 23.

[Jonathan Frakes]

Well, they used to have that bar in Studio City called Residuals. If you brought your check in for under a dollar, I guess they give you a drink.

[Jane Leeves]

They give you a free drink.

[Kelsey Grammer]

Yeah, we've all got them.

[Jane Leeves]

Yeah.

[Jonathan Frakes]

God bless them.

[Kelsey Grammer]

So Throb, that was. That was the first syndicated half hour.

[Jane Leeves]

Yes. Yeah.

[Kelsey Grammer]

But now you have been nominated how many times?

[Jane Leeves]

Not very many.

[Jonathan Frakes]

No. Oh, come on. More than once.

[Jane Leeves]

I've had a.

[Kelsey Grammer]

You've been nominated for Emmys.

[Jane Leeves]

A Golden Globe.

[Kelsey Grammer]

Golden Globes.

[Jane Leeves]

SAG Awards. We won a SAG Award. As a cast.

[Kelsey Grammer]

Right, As a cast, but. But yourself to get a Golden Globe nomination. Because that category, it's.

[Jane Leeves]

It's like everyone but Spanish explorers in that category, Right? They've done all the. It's best supporting actress in a miniseries, you know, half El comedy, you know, it's best supporting actress in telev.

[Kelsey Grammer]

So it was pretty impressive that you were in there.

[Jane Leeves]

Oh, well.

[Kelsey Grammer]

Yeah. And who'd you sit with? Do you remember?

[Jane Leeves]

Oh, well, you all sat with the Frasier cast. Yeah.

[Kelsey Grammer]

Yeah.

[Jane Leeves]

But I'll tell you one Golden Globes was the. Here comes a really.

[Jonathan Frakes]

Yeah. I knew it. I felt it.

[Jane Leeves]

I got to present an award to Gregory Peck.

[Kelsey Grammer]

Oh, wow. Wow. I almost left to you.

[Jonathan Frakes]

Are they lovely?

[Kelsey Grammer]

Train is grand. I love your work. Train.

[Jane Leeves]

Yes. Oh, what? And still. I mean, he had a cane and he was just wandered up to the. Oh, it was just.

[Kelsey Grammer]

Oh, yeah. I want to Know, is this hotel restricted or not?

[Jonathan Frakes]

Very nice, Paul.

[Kelsey Grammer]

Mr. Green, please. That's very. I want. Is it because I'm a Jew? You know.

[Jonathan Frakes]

Nice, Paul.

[Kelsey Grammer]

Well, thank you. I. I haven't seen it recently. That gentleman's agreement for everyone who's watching.

[Jane Leeves]

The one with it was tied. He. Oh, sorry, I hit that. That gonna make a noise.

[Kelsey Grammer]

I know what he won for.

[Jane Leeves]

I'm sure you do. And Don Cheadle, and I can't remember what either of them were.

[Kelsey Grammer]

I know what Gregory Peck won for. He won for Moby Dick.

[Jonathan Frakes]

Yes.

[Kelsey Grammer]

Because that's Sir Patrick Stewart, our friend Sir Patrick Stewart, as Ahab.

[Jane Leeves]

Right.

[Kelsey Grammer]

And the irony was that Gregory Peck had played Ahab in the John Huston movie of Moby Dick. And so they went and asked him, would you be in this? He had one scene as the preacher and he gave a sermon, and he won the Golden Globe for that. But Patrick told me that when they went to his house, he had them come in, come downstairs, and he had a kind of a bar, you know, party room downstairs. And there was a plaque on the wall in his house that said, this is the last place that Fred and Adele Astaire ever danced together. And then they broke up. But they danced. They had broken up for years, but they were both at the party and they did a dance together, and he put a plaque on his wall to say they'd been there.

[Jonathan Frakes]

Gregory Peck allegedly was strapped to the fake whale which preceded the fake Jaws.

[Kelsey Grammer]

That's right.

[Jonathan Frakes]

Shark.

[Jane Leeves]

Oh, really?

[Jonathan Frakes]

And spun upside down in the tank. I think it's pinewood.

[Kelsey Grammer]

Yeah.

[Jonathan Frakes]

And was kept underwater too long. Dangerously too long.

[Kelsey Grammer]

Yeah. John Huston, he was like, keep rolling. Yes. He's fine.

[Jonathan Frakes]

The other Star Trek connection is Gregory Peck. He's not dead yet. Gregory Peck is the father. Grandfather, grandfather of Ethan Peck, who plays Spock on new Star Trek. Starfleet Academy.

[Kelsey Grammer]

He's a terrific guy.

[Jonathan Frakes]

Yeah.

[Jane Leeves]

Just like his grandfather.

[Kelsey Grammer]

Just like his grandfather. You know, I go every Boxing Day, my family goes to Jane's house for soup. For soup.

[Jane Leeves]

I don't know why we serve soup,

[Kelsey Grammer]

but the soup is so good. I remember one year. Well, like, we just made it one

[Jane Leeves]

year, and everybody just loved it, so.

[Kelsey Grammer]

Yeah. Well, she makes this. Great. Your sister Katie makes this make it, too. Well, you make the.

[Jane Leeves]

I make the cauliflower soup and I make the carrot.

[Kelsey Grammer]

Oh, you made the carrot. Well, this year you made the carrots, too.

[Jane Leeves]

And the cauliflower.

[Kelsey Grammer]

Carrot soup. Cauliflower soup. I'm not a big carrot fan, but I must have Eaten a gallon of it.

[Jane Leeves]

It's carrot and caraway. It's not, you know, it's different. And it's got that sort of rye bread taste to it, doesn't it?

[Kelsey Grammer]

It does. It does two kinds of soup.

[Jane Leeves]

Yeah.

[Kelsey Grammer]

I make sure cauliflower soup's awesome, too, that she makes.

[Jane Leeves]

And that's like. I got that New York Times recipe, but it's like literally three ingredients. Onion, water, and cauliflower. And it's just the cooking time is long and slow, but it is unbelievable.

[Kelsey Grammer]

You know, if you send in folks, Jane will send you that recipe, and

[Jonathan Frakes]

maybe the New York Times cooking app would be a good sponsor.

[Jane Leeves]

There you go.

[Kelsey Grammer]

There you. Yeah.

[Jane Leeves]

Last year you have that.

[Kelsey Grammer]

Jane was saying, oh, I don't know if we're gonna do it this year. And I said, what?

[Jane Leeves]

What?

[Kelsey Grammer]

No soup? Where's my soup? So she did it.

[Jane Leeves]

Yeah. And, well, if you remember, the fires and the rain, not a good combination. And so a lot of people couldn't, because we live in, you know, sort of an area where the mudslides and it sort of was difficult for people to get to. But you live just down the road, so.

[Kelsey Grammer]

Right. Some people didn't get there.

[Jane Leeves]

Yeah. Katie, my sister.

[Kelsey Grammer]

Yeah. Katie didn't get there, but fortunately, I did.

[Jane Leeves]

You did you.

[Jonathan Frakes]

You sing. Beautiful soup so rich and green Waiting in a hot terrine I did not for such dainties would not stoop Soup of the evening Beautiful soup What is that from Alice in Wonderland? Oh, soup of the evening.

[Kelsey Grammer]

Is that from the Disney.

[Jonathan Frakes]

My high school production? No, it's an old. It might be.

[Jane Leeves]

Who did you play in your.

[Kelsey Grammer]

As best he could.

[Jane Leeves]

As best he could.

[Jonathan Frakes]

As well as could be expected.

[Kelsey Grammer]

Yeah.

[Jonathan Frakes]

Oh, God in heaven. You don't remember bad reviews. You must not have gotten them, because

[Jane Leeves]

I remember one that said I was out of my depth and I can't remember what that was for.

[Jonathan Frakes]

It's easy to live with.

[Jane Leeves]

Yeah. I mean, I'm sure it wasn't for anything.

[Kelsey Grammer]

Well, the fact of the matter is they're never good enough. When they're good, that's what.

[Jane Leeves]

You know. Typically, you don't read them.

[Kelsey Grammer]

Right. You try not to read them.

[Jane Leeves]

Yeah.

[Kelsey Grammer]

Because you always blows it.

[Jane Leeves]

Because you want to believe. If you. If you believe the good reviews, then you have to believe the bad.

[Jonathan Frakes]

Yes, but I think that's the truth. I believe in that, but I almost always doubt what people say. I don't read my reviews.

[Kelsey Grammer]

I'm too vain.

[Jane Leeves]

First of all, I don't. I honestly don't well, I've made decisions

[Kelsey Grammer]

not to read them. And then someone walks in and goes, I'm so sorry, I know. And you go, oh, I thought it was going to be good. Don't tell me that.

[Jane Leeves]

Yeah, don't listen to them. They don't know what they're talking about. You were lovely.

[Jonathan Frakes]

It's like the comments now, now in the, on the interwebs. You have to, if you read the

[Jane Leeves]

good ones, you have to read the bad ones too.

[Kelsey Grammer]

Yeah, yeah. You don't have to believe them.

[Jonathan Frakes]

No.

[Jane Leeves]

You don't have to believe anything you read on that.

[Kelsey Grammer]

No. Yeah. So is that the truth? You have a book, you're writing a book?

[Jonathan Frakes]

Yes. Oh my God, you buried the lead. Go ahead.

[Jane Leeves]

Yeah, no, yeah, I'm still, I mean it. We handed in a draft, we're just addressing notes now. And I actually wrote it myself with my daughter. They did offer me a, you know, a writer. Yeah, A ghostwriter, A ghost writer. But I, I, it was going to be too personal and I thought, well, I'll just, I was sort of, my arm was twisted into doing it by my husband and daughter and she's a brilliant writer and so she has, and she's actually working on it right now as we speak. She's in the car, right? No, she, yeah, just helped her in this. And you get to work. But she, yeah, we've, it's, it's called Daphne and Me.

[Kelsey Grammer]

Yeah.

[Jane Leeves]

And they approached me to write it about the Frazier years. And a lot happened during the Fraser years. You know, I met my husband, I had my kids, and so it's full of wonderful stories. I didn't want to write anything. I said, I, when they approached me, I said, I'm not going to write a tell all. It's just funny stuff. So much funny stuff happened on that show and so much heartbreaking stuff as well. We lost our executive producer and co creator of the show, David angel and his wife in, in the 911 attacks. They were in the first plane that hit the towers, which was just one of those out of body experiences because the whole, you know, the day starts with you like staring at the TV like you whole heart is just like you cannot believe what's going on. And then to realize that somebody, you know, was, it just sent us into, all into a tailspin, you know.

[Kelsey Grammer]

Sure.

[Jane Leeves]

So there are some tough chapters, but mostly it's uplifting and lots of funny stories about the green room. Were you ever in our green room?

[Kelsey Grammer]

Yes, I was. I sat there.

[Jane Leeves]

Speaking of dropping names, we had a Green room. Oh, boy, Frasier. And it was the shabbiest. You know, it looked like, you know, in need of modernization would be a. It was really.

[Jonathan Frakes]

This is. At Paramount.

[Jane Leeves]

At paramount. On stage 25. It was really crappy, but the people that we had in there were just. I don't know, it just had this way of bringing us all together and. And any guest star who came in, we just have the best time from James Earl Jones, you know, would sit there and hold court, and we'd just ask him, so what happened? You know?

[Jonathan Frakes]

Yeah, yeah.

[Jane Leeves]

Donald o'. Connor.

[Kelsey Grammer]

Yeah.

[Jane Leeves]

Even people like Elvis Costello, who was fantastic, you know, so great on the show. He played like an annoying busker who started showing up at Cafe Nevosa. Frasier was like, oh, get him out of here. You know, but he was. He was great.

[Kelsey Grammer]

Patrick did your show.

[Jane Leeves]

Patrick did our show. Yeah. And he fell in love with the wardrobe. And I said, take it home. Yeah. They were really.

[Jonathan Frakes]

We weren't allowed to take ours.

[Kelsey Grammer]

We just stole ours.

[Jane Leeves]

But would you want to take your little jumper, your spacesuits home?

[Kelsey Grammer]

Well, you know, we tried to go for a pretty penny on the open market.

[Jane Leeves]

Do you remember when we did that 30th anniversary? It was the 30th anniversary of the Star Trek franchise.

[Jonathan Frakes]

Oh, in the parking lot.

[Jane Leeves]

And we did a skit in it. The Frasier cast.

[Kelsey Grammer]

Yes.

[Jane Leeves]

With Kate Mulgrew.

[Kelsey Grammer]

Right. Yeah.

[Jane Leeves]

I think it wasn't. It was.

[Kelsey Grammer]

Stiller hosted it or something.

[Jane Leeves]

Yeah, it was Ted. Ted Danson. But it was. Was set up as we were part the carts that were rejected. Only one. You know, we all auditioned and these were our auditions, but it was. Yeah, that was really fun.

[Kelsey Grammer]

Oh, I remember. It was a TV special.

[Jane Leeves]

It was a TV special. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.

[Kelsey Grammer]

I sat in that green room with John Mahoney, his chair.

[Jane Leeves]

Did I say Bill Gates was.

[Kelsey Grammer]

No, you didn't mention Bill Gates. Perhaps it's better not to.

[Jane Leeves]

Yeah.

[Kelsey Grammer]

Oh, really? No, no, no, I'm kidding.

[Jane Leeves]

I don't know anymore.

[Jonathan Frakes]

Who can. It's hard to say, isn't it?

[Jane Leeves]

It is, it is. It's like a minefield out there.

[Kelsey Grammer]

It really is.

[Jane Leeves]

I mean, am I all right saying, you know, I said Russell Brand before.

[Kelsey Grammer]

Yeah, of course.

[Jonathan Frakes]

Opened with a disclaimer.

[Jane Leeves]

Yes. I mean, you just don't know anymore. I'm trying to think. Who else? Oh, John Glenn, the astronaut.

[Kelsey Grammer]

Wow.

[Jane Leeves]

He came in and did an episode. I mean, just some extraordinary people, but in this shabby, shabby little room, but perfectly willing to sit and talk and you know, but also there were lines out the door, especially with Elvis Costello and James Earl Jones, because they wanted them to sign, you know, albums and guitars. James Earl Jones had to sign everybody's Star wars thing.

[Kelsey Grammer]

Oh, sure.

[Jane Leeves]

But he was always very. He'd write James Earl Jones, the voice of Darth Vader. He was absolutely adamant that, you know, because David Prowse was the guy, the

[Kelsey Grammer]

body in the suit. That's true.

[Jane Leeves]

But I thought that was so sweet that he was just so like protective of that, that, you know.

[Kelsey Grammer]

Yeah.

[Jane Leeves]

Protective of.

[Kelsey Grammer]

You had some. Did Emma Thompson do the show?

[Jane Leeves]

No, she did a. She did a Cheers episode.

[Kelsey Grammer]

Oh, yeah.

[Jane Leeves]

Nanny McPhee.

[Kelsey Grammer]

Right.

[Jane Leeves]

And then she got pregnant. They wanted her to come and do Frasier, but she was pregnant, heavily pregnant at the time and couldn't come. So. Laurie Metcalfe.

[Kelsey Grammer]

Oh, Lori, great actress.

[Jane Leeves]

Fantastic. And just so unhinged and brilliant.

[Jonathan Frakes]

Oh, good.

[Jane Leeves]

She's just so exciting to watch.

[Kelsey Grammer]

It's nice, really nice to be on a long running series with people you like to be with. There's nothing like it because you really do become family.

[Jane Leeves]

You do.

[Kelsey Grammer]

And I mean, that happened with us. It doesn't happen every time.

[Jane Leeves]

No. And it's very, very rare. But it's very rare as actors that we get to spend that length of time together on anything, usually do a

[Jonathan Frakes]

job and then you say. And you're used to saying goodbye and that family is gone.

[Jane Leeves]

Yeah.

[Jonathan Frakes]

There's the long series is something else

[Kelsey Grammer]

that Kurt Vonnegut wrote called something Wanda June.

[Jonathan Frakes]

Oh, it's a long title.

[Kelsey Grammer]

Yeah. I don't know what, I can't remember the title.

[Jonathan Frakes]

Where'd you go? Where are you now? I don't know.

[Kelsey Grammer]

Anyway, Kurt Vonnegut wrote a play. Yeah. Anybody's looking at the play again, that might be worth looking at. Certainly his books are worth looking at all the time. But he wrote a preface to it where he talked about how close he got to the cast while they were rehearsing and previews and working. He said, I thought everybody, when we finished, when the show closed, everybody said, I'll call you next week or, you know, let's get together, let's have dinner, let's blah, blah. And he said, I thought I was under the assumption that we had actually all become friends, like real friends, and they meant it, that we were really going to have dinner. But he said, I didn't realize that in the theater that's just what you say at the end of the show. And you never see those people again unless you do Another show with them,

[Jane Leeves]

for the most part. But it's not the case. When you're on something that long, you become such a part of that person's life. I mean, we went through births, deaths, marriages.

[Jonathan Frakes]

We all stood at each other.

[Jane Leeves]

How long was the.

[Jonathan Frakes]

We did 182 episodes, seven seasons and four movies.

[Jane Leeves]

All movies.

[Kelsey Grammer]

Y. And then we came back together again.

[Jonathan Frakes]

Picard. Yeah.

[Kelsey Grammer]

Yeah. And. And we have all maintained really good friendships.

[Jane Leeves]

Yeah, we did 11 years and 260 something episodes, I think.

[Jonathan Frakes]

Yeah.

[Kelsey Grammer]

Yeah.

[Jane Leeves]

It just. It boggles the mind. I mean, it's a gift. Yeah, it is. It's an absolute gift.

[Kelsey Grammer]

It really is.

[Jane Leeves]

To have stability as an actor.

[Kelsey Grammer]

Yeah.

[Jonathan Frakes]

Unheard of. So what's the deal with the book? Is your daughter editing?

[Jane Leeves]

She's. We're. Yeah, we're. We're fine tuning because they, you know, we handed in the first draft. They've sent it back to us, and we're sort of fine tuning things.

[Jonathan Frakes]

Did the publisher give you notes?

[Jane Leeves]

Yeah, publisher, editor, you know, everybody's got a note, of course. But no, it's. They're good notes and.

[Jonathan Frakes]

So do you have a hard release date planned?

[Jane Leeves]

It's October, I think. October this year? Yeah.

[Jonathan Frakes]

Perfect.

[Kelsey Grammer]

So is that the. Is that before or after the book tour?

[Jane Leeves]

Gosh, do I have fun? Yeah.

[Kelsey Grammer]

Yeah.

[Jane Leeves]

It's a really interesting experience, though, because it forces you back to look at things that were good and. Forces you to look at things were bad and. And, you know, when you. You. I felt like after I'd written it, I was just sort of coming out of this fog of. Because you're living in the past for

[Jonathan Frakes]

days and days of pictures in the book.

[Jane Leeves]

There are pictures. Yeah. Backstage stuff that happened and stories and Benny Hill picture.

[Kelsey Grammer]

Is that in the book?

[Jane Leeves]

I think there might be, actually.

[Kelsey Grammer]

Yeah.

[Jane Leeves]

There's some scary pictures of me as a child and. But, you know, it's. It's mostly sort of around those Frasier years.

[Kelsey Grammer]

Yeah. I. I don't know if you know this. I wrote a book and.

[Jane Leeves]

Yes, I do. I have it.

[Kelsey Grammer]

Fan fiction.

[Jonathan Frakes]

Have you not listened to it?

[Jane Leeves]

I haven't listened to it, no.

[Kelsey Grammer]

It's pretty fun. He does his own voice on.

[Jane Leeves]

Oh, really?

[Kelsey Grammer]

As we all do. All of the cast.

[Jonathan Frakes]

He wrote To Satisfaction, but I've got

[Jane Leeves]

to listen to it.

[Kelsey Grammer]

Yeah. It's fun, but I. It took place in the third season of Next Generation, so it was, you know, 25 when I wrote it. 25 or so years after experiencing that. What's in the book?

[Jane Leeves]

Right.

[Jonathan Frakes]

You know, you know the basis of the book.

[Kelsey Grammer]

Well, it.

[Jonathan Frakes]

No, no, you'll read it.

[Kelsey Grammer]

It's a surprise. Yeah. But anyway, the. But I got to that thing that you're talking about, actually. I got into my head of my young head. It was like I got to be young again while I was writing the book because my character was the age I was back then.

[Jane Leeves]

But did you find it hard at some points, like revisiting stuff?

[Kelsey Grammer]

Well, yes. Yes, there is some stuff in there. You know what? In the preface to the book, I say that none of it's true because the legal department at macmillan asked me to say that because they didn't want to get sued and neither did I, for that matter. But some of it is true and some of it is not.

[Jane Leeves]

Right.

[Kelsey Grammer]

And when you read it, just have this in mind. What seems like it's true is not. What doesn't seem like it's true is

[Jonathan Frakes]

very, very well put accurately. So thank you.

[Jane Leeves]

That's a disclaimer.

[Jonathan Frakes]

That's a disclaimer.

[Kelsey Grammer]

Oh, I want to ask Jane one last question. There was something you were in where you were. Jane Leaves. L E A V E S. Your credit is Jane Leaves, L E A V E S. I'll tell you what it is. Just a minute. See if I can find Leaves. Jane Leaves in To Live and Die in la.

[Jane Leeves]

Yes, yes, yes.

[Kelsey Grammer]

Great movie.

[Jane Leeves]

Dancer in that. But I was toying with the idea of changing it to that.

[Kelsey Grammer]

So L E A V E S. But you thought better of it.

[Jane Leeves]

I thought better of it. I thought, my dad's worked all his life with that name. I'm keeping it.

[Kelsey Grammer]

Yeah, Well, I thought, when I read it, I thought, well, maybe her name really is L E A V E S. But. But that was Willem Dafoe and William Peterson.

[Jane Leeves]

William Peterson.

[Kelsey Grammer]

That's a great movie. A really good director, too.

[Jane Leeves]

Oh, God.

[Kelsey Grammer]

To Live and Die in la.

[Jane Leeves]

French Connection.

[Jonathan Frakes]

Friedkin.

[Kelsey Grammer]

Friedkin. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Great movie. All right, enough of this, enough of that. Thank you so much, my dear. I appreciate you being here so much.

[Jane Leeves]

It's been lovely. Thank you for having me.

[Kelsey Grammer]

Delighted.

[Jane Leeves]

I'll go and put the soup on.

[Kelsey Grammer]

When I found out I was going to be a parent, I immediately felt a lot of anxiety and worry. So I went on to betterhelp to try to look for a therapist to help me with that.

[Jane Leeves]

My relationship with my family and with my boyfriend and with myself were suffering. I really needed help. I was ruminating a lot. Really getting those thoughts out to a therapist and getting feedback was just life changing.

[Jonathan Frakes]

Discover what BetterHelp online therapy can do for you. Visit betterhelp.com today.