Chris Calkins (2009-present),Paul Dorman (1984-1991)
Years Active
1980–present
Biography
Beatrice "Bebe" Neuwirth (born December 31, 1958) is an American actress, singer and dancer. She has worked in television and is known for her portrayal of Dr. Lilith Sternin, Dr. Frasier Crane's wife and ex-wife, on both the TV sitcom Cheers (in a starring role), and its spin-off Frasier (in a recurring guest role). On stage, she is also known for originating the role of Velma Kelly in the revival of Chicago and for the role of Morticia Addams in The Addams Family musical. Her screen credits include Green Card, Bugsy, Say Anything..., Jumanji, Summer of Sam, Liberty Heights, Tadpole (for which the Seattle Film Critics named her Best Supporting Actress), The Associate, How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days, Malice, The Big Bounce, The Faculty and Woody Allen's Celebrity. On television, from 1986 to 1993 Neuwirth played Dr. Lilith Sternin, the conservatively dressed and emotionally repressed psychiatrist who married Dr. Frasier Crane on the hit comedy series Cheers. From the fourth to the seventh season, Neuwirth portrayed Lilith in a regular recurring role, and she appeared on the show as a main star from season eight to the final season, season eleven. Like Kelsey Grammer when he started on the show as Frasier Crane, she was not immediately given star billing in the opening credits, but at the end for seasons eight and nine; she appeared in the opening credits with her own portrait in seasons ten and eleven. She auditioned for this role with her arm in a sling, following a fall a week earlier. She won two Emmy Awards for the role, in 1990 and 1991. The character also made an appearance in the series Wings and in 12 episodes of the Cheers spin-off Frasier, which earned her a 1995 Emmy Award nomination as Outstanding Guest Actress in a Comedy Series. Her additional small screen credits include a guest appearance in the first season of NewsRadio on an episode called "Friends", voicing the villainess Mirage, a recurring character in the spin-off television series from Disney's Aladdin, a small role on The Adventures of Pete and Pete (episode: "The Call"), Deadline (2000), Hack (2003), Law & Order: Trial by Jury in (2005), Law & Order: Special Victims Unit in 1999 as a modeling agent/suspect, and again in 2005 as A.D.A Tracey Kibre, as well as the miniseries Wild Palms and an episode of Star Trek: The Next Generation. She has appeared as herself in episodes of Will and Grace, Strangers with Candy and Celebrity Jeopardy!. She also had a small role in An Extremely Goofy Movie in which she voices Sylvia Marpole, the college librarian and Goofy's new love interest. In 2009, she co-starred as Ms. Kraft in the remake of Fame. She currently has a recurring role as Caroline, the literary editor of Jonathan Ames, on the HBO series Bored to Death, which also stars Cheers co-star Ted Danson.
By Posted on