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David Hyde Pierce

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Biography

Although he is best known for his role as anal-retentive psychiatrist extraordinaire Niles Crane on the celebrated sitcom Frasier, David Hyde Pierce has also done considerable work on the stage and screen. Fair, birdlike, and bearing an uncanny resemblance to Frasier co-star Kelsey Grammer, Pierce is one of the entertainment business' finest purveyors of a certain kind of blue-blooded neuroticism, and, in the eyes of some viewers, has even gone so far as to make insecurity perversely sexy.

Born in Saratoga Springs, New York, on April 3, 1959, Pierce was raised in what he has described as a "very run-of-the-mill, middle-class" household. When he was eight, he began taking piano lessons, and he decided to pursue a career as a concert pianist. He continued to train until he got to Yale University, where he realized that he was better suited to the acting profession. Following graduation, Pierce moved to New York and did a brief stint as a tie salesman at Bloomingdale's before being cast in a Broadway play. Although the production was a flop, Pierce continued to work on the stage in New York and Chicago for several years and was eventually cast as a suicidal congressman on the short-lived sitcom The Powers That Be in 1992. His work on the show, coupled with his resemblance to Kelsey Grammer, led to his casting on Frasier the following year.

Frasier proved to be the turning point in Pierce's career. His portrayal of Niles, aside from winning him a slew of awards, including an Emmy, also provided a number of opportunities for the actor on the big screen. Pierce, who had been acting sporadically in films since the early '80s, could be seen in supporting roles in such films as Sleepless in Seattle (1993), Nixon (1995), in which he played John Dean, the animated A Bug's Life (1998), for which he provided the voice of a stick insect, and Chain of Fools (2000), an independent comedy also starring Jeff Goldblum, Steve Zahn, and Salma Hayek. ~ Rebecca Flint, All Movie Guide

Filmography

Down with Love (2003) .... Peter MacMannus
Treasure Planet (2002) (voice) .... Doctor Doppler
54th Annual Primetime Emmy Awards, The (2002) (TV) .... Himself
Full Frontal (2002) .... Carl
NBC's Funniest Outtakes (2002) (TV) .... Himself
War Letters (2001) (TV) (voice) .... Narrator
Laud Weiner (2001) .... Laud Weiner
Osmosis Jones (2001) (voice) .... Drix
On the Edge (2001) (TV) .... (segment Happy Birthday)
100 Greatest TV Characters, The (2001) (TV) (archive footage) .... Niles Crane
Wet Hot American Summer (2001) .... Henry
Happy Birthday (2000) .... Barney
Tangerine Bear, The (2000) .... Bird
Chain of Fools (2000) .... Mr. Kerner
Isn't She Great (2000) .... Michael Hastings
... aka Ist sie nicht großartig? (2000) (Germany)
51st Annual Primetime Emmy Awards, The (1999) (TV) .... Himself/Host
Just for Laughs: Montreal Comedy Festival (1999) (TV) .... Himself
Mating Habits of the Earthbound Human, The (1999) (voice) .... Narrator
Jackie's Back! (1999) (TV) .... Perry (The Deaf Rehearsal Pianist)
... aka Jackie's Back: Portrait of a Diva (1999) (TV) (USA)
Frasier Story, The (1999) (TV) .... Himself
My Favourite Frasier (1999) (TV) .... Himself
Saturday Night Live: The Best of Chris Farley (1998) (TV) .... Schoolboy in Little Women
Bug's Life, A (1998) (voice) .... Slim
"Hercules" (1998) TV Series (voice) .... Daedalus: Icarus' Father
... aka "Disney's Hercules" (1998) (USA)
"Mighty Ducks" (1996) TV Series (voice) (as David Hyde-Pierce) .... Baron von Lichtenstamp
... aka "Disney's Mighty Ducks" (1996)
... aka "Mighty Ducks: The Animated Series" (1996) (USA)
Kennedy Center's 25th Anniversary (1996) (TV) .... Himself
Outer Limits Phenomenon, The (1996) (TV) .... Himself
Nixon (1995) .... John Dean
Wolf (1994) .... Roy
Addams Family Values (1993) .... Delivery Room Doctor
"Frasier" (1993) TV Series .... Dr. Niles Crane
Sleepless in Seattle (1993) .... Dennis Reed
"Powers That Be, The" (1992) TV Series .... Theodore Van Horne
Fisher King, The (1991) (as David Pierce) .... Lou Rosen
Little Man Tate (1991) .... Garth
Civil War Diary (1990) (as David Pierce) .... Union Soldier
... aka Across Five Aprils (1990)
Vampire's Kiss (1989) (as David Pierce) .... Theater Guy
Appointments of Dennis Jennings, The (1988) (as David Pierce) .... Businessman
Crossing Delancey (1988) (as David Pierce) .... Mark
Rocket Gibraltar (1988) .... Monsieur Henri
Bright Lights, Big City (1988) .... Bartender at Fashion Show

Links

Contact

c/o Frasier Paramount TV
5555 Melrose Avenue
Lucille Ball , Rm 101
Hollywood , CA 90038
USA