Kelsey Grammer reveals how Whitney Houston inspired his 14-year marriage & opens up about his sister Karen’s murder in new book.
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How Did a Whitney Houston Song Inspire Kelsey Grammer’s 14-Year Marriage?
“Love is a contact sport.” Sound familiar? It’s not just a line from Whitney Houston’s 1987 track—it’s the mantra that’s kept Kelsey Grammer and wife Kayte Walsh solid for over a decade.
What’s their secret?
Grammer doesn’t just talk about love; he lives it. “Sometimes, you’ve gotta back it up with action,” the Frasier star shares.
For him, it’s about chasing that dizzy, heart-thumping rush from Day 1. “Remember the blushing,” he says. “That energy that dialed you up.”
How did Kayte help him through his darkest chapter?
Writing Karen: A Brother Remembers—a raw tribute to his sister, murdered in 1975—left Grammer hollowed out.
“I’d stare off for hours,” he admits. But Kayte? “Patient. Loving.” When he finally finished, her reply gutted him: “I’ve missed you.”
The book wasn’t just about grief; it was about rewriting Karen’s story—not as a victim, but as the radiant, wild-hearted woman he adored.
What happened that night in 1975?
Karen was supposed to come home after the Fourth of July. Instead, she was abducted outside her Red Lobster job, raped, and stabbed 42 times.
The killer? Freddie Glenn, still locked up for life.
Grammer forgives—sort of. “You don’t eat yourself alive with hate,” he says. “But forgiveness doesn’t mean freedom.”
How does he teach his kids to handle anger?
When his younger ones rage, “I want to kill him!” Grammer doesn’t shut them down. He gets it.
But he nudges them toward something bigger: “You’ll want more from life than that.”
How did he finally say goodbye?
The book ends with Grammer retracing Karen’s last steps in Colorado Springs.
“I had to hold her,” he says. Closure? Yeah, even if he hates the word.
Karen: A Brother Remembers hits shelves May 6. Not just a true-crime story—a brother’s love letter.