‘Cheers’ Actor Is Ordered to Stand Trial on Drug Charge

Two judges took action Thursday against actor Kelsey Grammer, a star of the “Cheers” TV series, in separate cases involving failure to enroll in alcohol and drug abuse programs.

Grammer surrendered to a Van Nuys Municipal Court judge, who had issued an arrest warrant for him last week, and was ordered to stand trial on a cocaine possession charge.

A short time later, another judge in the same courthouse scheduled a probation violation hearing into Grammer’s failure to enroll in a court-ordered alcohol abuse program stemming from a 1987 drunk-driving arrest.

Grammer, who plays the comically egotistical psychiatrist, Dr. Frasier Crane, on the popular NBC television series, was surrounded by reporters and photographers as he entered the courthouse to surrender to Judge Aviva K. Bobb. The judge last week issued an arrest warrant because Grammer failed to appear in court to prove he had completed a drug rehabilitation program.

Grammer’s attorney, Robert L. Diamond, requested that Grammer be given another chance to take part in the program, which allows first-time drug offenders to avoid jail and expunge the arrest from their records.

Diamond said Grammer failed to attend the course because his fiancee suffers from a seizure disorder requiring constant medical supervision.

“We all have other responsibilities,” Bobb responded, and ordered Grammer arrested. She scheduled a preliminary hearing on the cocaine charge for May 21 and set bail of $7,500. He faces a maximum three-year jail sentence.

Grammer, 35, of Van Nuys, said that he thought he “was supposed to show up on the 8th. It was just an oversight.

“I’ve been going through a time with my girlfriend who’s been very ill. It has interfered with my complying with the court,” said Grammer. The actor said his girlfriend underwent brain surgery two weeks ago, and the couple went on a cruise to Mexico while she recovered. “I’m ready to go now,” he added.

After the hearing in Bobb’s court, Grammer was taken before Judge Patricia Gorner Schwartz in a courtroom six floors below. Schwartz issued an arrest warrant for Grammer on Feb. 6 after he failed to complete 10 days of community service and an alcohol rehabilitation program imposed after he pleaded no contest to drunk driving.

Grammer was sentenced to community service for previously failing to show up in court to prove that he was enrolled in the alcohol program, court records show.

Diamond said he would guarantee Grammer’s participation in the program this time, but the judge scheduled a probation violation hearing for May 16 and set bail of $10,000.

Grammer posted bail on both charges Thursday afternoon and went free.

Grammer was arrested for possession of a quarter-gram of cocaine after being pulled over by police in North Hollywood in April, 1988, for expired license plate tags. The actor showed up two days late in October for a hearing.