A surprise Frasier star became the most popular cast member with fans (Picture: NBC)
One of the most popular stars of Frasier was earning $10,000 an episode, and didn’t even have to memorize a single line in the script.
The acclaimed sitcom ran for 11 seasons between 1993 and 2004, with a revival airing on Paramount+ before it was canceled.
Kelsey Grammer starred as the titular stuffy psychiatrist in the spin-off of Cheers, and was joined in the cast by David Hyde Pierce, John Mahoney, Peri Gilpin, Jane Leeves and, of course, Moose the dog, who played the beloved Eddie across most of the show.
During the latest episode of The Rest is Entertainment podcast, hosts Marina Hyde and Richard Osman discussed the animal actors of Hollywood when talk turned to the adorable Jack Russell terrier, and how much he earned from his starring role.
Richard shared a question from a listener, who asked whether Moose’s owners would have received a royalty fee per episode for repeats, and whether the pooch – as part of the regular cast – would get a per-episode fee similar to that of his co-stars.
‘Oh, yes, they do! Yes, they do,’ Marina replied. ‘Eddie was actually a dog called Moose. Eddie was paid $10,000 an episode. Thought to have earned probably more than $3million over the whole thing.
Eddie the dog was originally played by Moose, before his son replaced him in later episodes (Picture: NBC)
‘I don’t know whether the estate – the estate wouldn’t get residuals but he wouldn’t have been in a union…’
‘Moose was born in the early 1990s, he was the largest pup in his litter. Couldn’t be controlled by original owner, was taken by an animal handler, adopted and taught incredibly well,’ she continued.
‘Basically, what Eddie had to do was give that unimpressed stare to Kelsey Grammer. He could do that for minutes at a time, so he was trained really, really well.
‘If they wanted him to nuzzle one of the cast, they put pate behind the ears.’
Moose earned $10,000 per episode – and also got the most fan mail (Picture: NBC)
She added that Moose was eventually replaced by his son, Enzo, before he died at the age of 15 in 2006 – despite sharing the screen with some huge names over the years, he actually got the most fan mail.
In a wild turn of events, David’s husband, Brian Hargrove, wrote a ‘autobiography’ on behalf of Moose in 2000, titled My Life As A Dog.
After Moose’s death nearly two decades ago, there was a very subtle tribute to the pooch in the recent Frasier revival.
The pooch died in 2006 (Picture: NBC)
The reboot premiered on Paramount+ in 2023 and saw Kelsey return to Boston in a bid to reconnect with his son, Freddy (Jack Cutmore-Scott).
He was surrounded by an all-new line-up including Nicholas Lyndhurst, Jess Salgueiro and Toks Olagundoye, but there were some nods to those no longer in the cast.
In the second episode of season one, one of Freddy’s firefighter pals introduced himself to Frasier as Moose, a moment that left fans emotional.
Frasier is available to stream now on Paramount+.
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