David Hyde Pierce

Everywhere David Hyde Pierce goes, someone has a bright idea of how his Dr. Niles Crane character on "Frasier" (Thursdays, 9-9:30 p.m., NBC) should relate to British home-care provider Daphne Moon (Jane Leeves). Seven years of unrequited love is long enough.

Pierce has been pursued by persistent American tourists in Paris bistros brimming with ideas of how to take the relationship to greater heights. A restaurant employee at an Italian restaurant in Los Angeles had no hesitation about cornering him in a booth.

"The maitre d` came over and said, `When are you going to get Daphne? You should at least boff her,`" says Pierce, laughing.

He always promises to take up the issue with the writers of "Frasier," then discards the notion on his way out the door.

"We have some of the most creative writers in the business, and they don`t need any help from me or anyone else," Pierce says pointedly. "And in our recent season finale, they came up with things lots of viewers were hoping for and some things they weren`t expecting."

For those who missed the final episode of the 1999-2000 season and prefer to wait for the reruns or see it in syndication a couple of years down the line, suffice it to say that Niles and Daphne have been launched into a new orbit as his marriage to Mel, his ex-wife Maris` plastic surgeon, turns sour after three days and her plans to wed Donnie are imperiled by an unusual string of circumstances.

Meanwhile, the dimple-chinned, 41-year-old actor is eagerly anticipating the eighth season of "Frasier" as his agents are hammering out new contract terms on the strength of two Emmy Awards, a Golden Globe Award, a Screen Actors Guild Award, four American Comedy Awards and four Viewers for Quality Television Awards for his portrayal of the fussy, priggish and snobbish shrink.

"I`m absolutely committed to [`Frasier`] as long as the writers, cast and crew feel we can keep it up, so to speak," says Pierce. "It is such a rare opportunity to work with nothing but successful and talented people I also regard as friends, family. We are proud of the show and don`t intend to let it slide downhill. We don`t want episodes with flashback and everyone suddenly being part of a company talent show. But when it goes, I`ll be absolutely devastated."

The youngest of four children born to a homemaker and the owner of a profitable insurance agency, Pierce grew up under comfortable circumstances in scenic Saratoga Springs, N.Y., where his initial interest in the performing arts was focused on music. While studying the piano in high school and with private teachers, he picked up spare change as an organist at Sunday services for local Episcopal and Catholic churches.

"A wonderful benefit that went with the job was getting keys to the churches so that I could go in and practice on their magnificent pipe organs after doing my homework," he recalls. "I would play religious, classical and contemporary music on these beautiful instruments for hours, all alone in these huge rooms. All that practice paid off when I played at one of my sisters` wedding. During the recessional, I cried so hard that I couldn`t see the notes and had to improvise."

There was only one true disaster during his short-lived career as an organist, which came in the middle of a chorale concert at one of the houses of worship. Using both hands for the keyboard and both feet for the pedals, he enlisted a friend to turn the pages on his sheet music.

"In the middle of a very dramatic Easter passion piece, an air leak apparently developed in one of the pipes and caused a loud - to put it indelicately - farting noise," he recalls. "Only after the conductor stopped the concert did I discover that my friend had accidentally stepped on the highest pedal of the organ the entire time.

"Still, I went to Yale as a piano and organ performance major - looking for a broad-based education. But bored with too many music history classes and not willing to practice the 12 hours required for a concert pianist, I changed my major to English and theater arts a couple of years later. My father, who once acted in summer stock with the Barrymores, probably influenced me."

In 1981, with a bachelor`s degree from one of the most prestigious Ivy League universities (distinguished Yale alumni include George Bush and George W. Bush), Pierce headed for New York to become a neck-tie salesman at Bloomingdales department store during the Christmas rush. Befuddled by the retailer`s electronic cash register programmed to deliver the merchandise to recipients automatically, he guarantees that no one received Bloomingdales ties for Christmas that year.

Although furious that the store management neglected to retain him after the holidays, Pierce managed to keep alive until he made his acting debut two months later in the Broadway production of "Beyond Therapy" with John Lithgow and Diane West. It opened, with his proud parents in front-row seats - to terrible reviews and disappeared without a trace three weeks later. But it was enough encouragement to keep looking for acting jobs, while making a living as a paralegal for the next 18 months.

Regional theater productions and the New York Shakespeare Festival egged him on long enough to break into feature films with a 30-second part in James Cameron`s "The Terminator" (1984). Four years later, he managed a speaking part in the ill-fated "Bright Lights, Big City" with Michael J. Fox.

"I played the bartender, whose one line was, `I`m sorry, the bar is closed,`" he recalls. "I had been acting professionally for six years on stage but was terrified before the cameras."

A 1989 Broadway production of "The Heidi Chronicles" finally brought him to the attention of casting directors and producers, leading to a season as a suicidal U.S. congressman on the short-lived sitcom "The Powers That Be" (1991-92) - which came to the attention of the producers of "Frasier" and sparked the idea of giving Kelsey Grammer an even more uptight brother. Though hampered by the series` time constraints, he also managed supporting roles in such motion pictures as "The Fisher King," "Wolf," "Sleepless in Seattle," "Nixon" and "Shiny New Enemies."

Single, Pierce maintains an exceedingly low profile off the set, reportedly sharing a West Hollywood home with his Wheaton terriers, Mabel and Emma, and former "Caroline in the City" producer Brian Hargrove. Having lost both parents in recent years, he maintains solid contacts with his older brother and two sisters.

"Like on [`Frasier`], we have a very close family that loves and cares for each other," he says. "There`s a palpable bond there, on and off the set."

(c) Copley News Service

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Author: Eirik Knutzen