Fri, May 6, 2005
Stage Diving—11:13 AM
Kelsey Grammer took a pretty big fall during a speech at the Disneyland 50th Anniversary this week and, needless to say, the blogs have video for you. It's extremely difficult not to laugh, even though I feel really bad about it.
The Grammer Falls [Defamer]
Update: Defamer's video link is dead: here's the clip
Of course, the first impulse is Schadenfreude: Grammer has a bit of a "stuffed shirt" persona because of his Frasier character, and we're all aware of his past substance abuse problems, so it's easy to blame him. But it's clear that the Disneyland people – in their obsession with whimsy – have created a jagged edge across the front of the stage. With the lights in his eyes, it's easy to understand how Grammer would have failed to notice the gaping crevices that are built into the stage. To add insult to injury, the points are nice and sharp so when he falls into one of these crevasses, he gets a bop on the face and a fairly hard jab in the hip.
It's hard not to laugh at the fall, and the immediate awkward silence that follows as venue officials rush to the celebrity's aid. I think it makes sense for him to be a bit disoriented, though. And the clip ends with, "I'm so sorry for my language." He's a class act, all the way.
Joe Mulder — Fri, 5/6/05 12:47pm
My God, yes, he is a class act. He apologized for his language, and all he said was, "Good Lord!" Why not err on the side of being considerate, just in case "Good Lord!" is going to bother anyone? It actually makes it harder to laugh at the clip (which, since it's a guy falling down, is inherently funny).
The best part is that right away, after he falls, he gives one quick, perfect Peter Griffin "Ssssst-Ahhhhhhhh" inhale-exhale. If only he'd gone on and done 15 more in a row.
Bee Boy — Fri, 5/6/05 2:46pm
One account suggested that he said something along the lines of "Oh, shit!" – if this is true, it may not have been captured on his mic (you can see that the fall ripped the battery pack off his belt) or may have been muted out of the footage we saw. I definitely agree about the best part, though. The way everything happens so suddenly and then it's a full stop for the inhale-exhale.
"Alicia" — Fri, 5/6/05 6:12pm
I'm sorry, I seriously have been laughing at this clip for like five minutes and I feel SO BAD about it because that stage looks ridiculous and for all the other reasons...but the post-fall quiet is just too funny for words.
I'm seriously still laughing.
Bee Boy — Sat, 5/6/06 1:23pm
What a delightful surprise in today's Wayback Machine! (Yes, I read this site more often than any of you do ... does that really come as a shock?)
This is great because I just read an interview with Grammer in "Maxim" for his upcoming role in X3 and he talked about this year-old incident.
Able to laugh at himself – see? All class.
(Don't misread the recent uptick in references; I haven't started subscribing to "Maxim". But if someone hands me a free copy, I'll at least leaf through it. Y'know, for the articles.)