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You know what always amazes me. I Love Lucy. At the same time that they set the format for the three camera sit-com they may have also invented the reality T.V. show since all them family members WERE actually the husband and children of Lucille Ball and the set-up was somewhat based on their real life. On You Tube you can probably find the special that PBS did on Lucille Ball. She was tremendous and an absolute pioneer.

Isn't "Frasier" a reasonably skilled pianist in real life? I know Hugh Laurie (House) is.

I don't watch it often, but another person in my household does. At one point, early on Frasier, I noticed it wasn't a S&S. Perhaps it was a Baldwin, I can't remember anymore. If memory serves, Hollywood Piano (Glenn Treibitz, a PW forum member) placed a piano on the set...if not, then they did many other sets of shows and movies.

Rich in Philly also has a good piano placement story that I believe has been mentioned in a prior PW thread. Since Philly is a rougher town, it was subjected to more violence...

No, Kelsey Grammer is a decent singer, but it was his TV brother Niles, played by David Hyde Pierce who is the classically trained pianist. He played all the piano scenes on Frasier. Grammer only did some basic noodling.

This thread seems to have mixed Cheers with Frasier. My response to Rich was about the piano in the apartment on Cheers. In looking at it I couldn't make out a brand name. I've been watching Cheers Season 5 recently and had just seen the episode with the piano. I'm much more a Cheers fan than one of Frasier.

I mentioned both shows in the opening post, and the Frasier character exists in both, so some confusion is understandable. The 5/20 comment was ambiguous as to which series. After referencing an episode guide, it is definitiely 5/20 of Cheers that I had just watched. It would be quite a coincidence if 5/20 was also the episode in which the Steinway switch was made in Frasier! Both are good shows, of course, but I think I'd say I prefer Frasier to Cheers overall.

"Oh Baby I hear the blues a-callin', tossed salad and scrambled eggs..."

One of my favorite Frasier episodes features Pierce on piano and Grammar singing. The premise is that they're helping their dad finish a song he's been struggling to write for Frank Sinatra.




Unfortunately, Frank rejects the song, but Frasier finds an unlikely venue in which to have it performed.

I'd love to hear and play that piano. I bet it's quite unique. How does it compare to a Steinway Model C?

I just came back from listening to Olga Kern. That Steinway D sounded glorious. Her playing was out of this world which always helps.

A strange optical illusion. Unless I zoom in, it looks like she has her right foot crossed over the left one, and she's using it to press the shift pedal.

Yes. It’s definitely an optical illusion. She pedalled in the traditional fashion.

She recently became a US citizen and as a tribute she played some Gershwin, along with her favorite Rachmaninoff and Scriabin of course.

♪ ♫ She's such a groovy lady ♫ ♪

Dont' you understand ? it always was a Yamaha in a Steinways body ! (or the other what ? )

There was also a piano on Two and a Half Men that Charlie Sheen played on some episodes. Anyone know what brand??

From occasionally watching that show in the early day’s, the Charlie Sheen character would have a Fazioli.
And if Frasier had a Steinway, Niles would have a Steingraeber at his first wife’s, Maris, insistence. Because of her overly sensitive ears.
I don’t remember which brand of piano was on the set of Two and a Half Men.

This made me smile! Wonder what the outcome would be if also done in reverse! Something tells me there's more to creating a specific tone but the idea of creating a "hybrid" i.e something "new" appeals to me. We might be on to something great!
[P.S. how much could a new soundboard and set of hammers cost anyway?]

Norbert

That is an interesting idea Norbert. In collector cars they swap engines, trannies, shocks, and rear ends from other brands or vehicles to make a “resto-mod”. A ‘32 Ford coupe with a big Chevy engine and transmission. The one thing I remember is it’s a ton of manual labor to do and takes considerable time. When my hammers wear out or my soundboard’s crown is gone, it’s something I might consider. Although at my age, my fingers will go before the hammers and soundboard need replacing.😁

Back to Frasier, nobody's identified the interesting-looking piano in Nile's house - anyone know what that was?

I don't think we see much of Nile's house, but, yea, I vaguely remember a piano in some sort of all-purpose anteroom (the one room they used for any scene in Nile's house).

I recall one scene where they had a sword fight on top of it. It was a big, brown vintage-era looking grand. I remember Niles played it in at least one episode.