Frasier Season 2, Episode 8's Guest Caller Is A Hollywood Legend

One neat aspect of the original "Frasier" series is that it featured a bunch of bonafide Hollywood legends as guest stars we never actually got to see. While many renowned actors showed up in the physical — from Michael Keaton to Linda Hamilton — many more only lent their voice to the beloved sitcom, calling into Frasier's KACL talk radio show for some advice from the good doctor. In fact, before she appeared on the show's fourth season as Molly, a potential love interest for Frasier who quickly gets away, Linda Hamilton herself called into Dr. Crane's radio show in the pilot episode, voicing the character of Claire, a woman struggling to get over her ex-boyfriend.

Over the course of 11 seasons, many more prestigious guest stars called Frasier for advice. Kevin Bacon, Mary Tyler Moore, Carrie Fisher, Billy Crystal, Macaulay Culkin, Helen Mirren, and Bill Paxton are just some examples. But it wasn't just actors. Art Garfunkel and Stephen King were among the many Seattle citizens seeking guidance from Dr. Crane.

Now, some 20 years after Frasier left his KACL show behind, the "Frasier" revival has moved the titular psychiatrist to Boston, where he works as a Harvard professor. But in episode 8 of the show's second season, "Thank You Dr. Crane," he returns to the Emerald City and his former radio studio, where he briefly revives his show. In true "Frasier" fashion, the caller who contacts Dr. Crane in this moment is yet another Hollywood legend: Carol Burnett.

In "Thank You, Dr. Crane," — which is lamentably a huge missed opportunity overall — Frasier is called away from his radio show at short notice, and Gil Chesterton (Edward Hibbert) takes over and fields a call from Jennifer. The voice on the other end of the line is, in fact, Carol Burnett, who tells Gil, "I really want to start a family but my boyfriend isn't ready, what do I do?" It's a brief guest appearance for the veteran star, with the show thanking her for calling in the credits.

One of the only surviving actors from "The Carol Burnett Show," which originally aired on CBS from 1967 to 1978, Burnett has built an enviable career in Hollywood, winning seven Golden Globes, a Tony, a Grammy, and six Emmys in her lifetime. She's still going strong at 91, too, earning yet another Emmy nomination In 2024 for her work in "Palm Royale," Kristen Wiig's Apple TV+ series.

Burnett can now join the long list of esteemed "Frasier" guest stars who we never actually got to see in the series. Meanwhile, the revival show at least manages to carry on this old "Frasier" tradition, even as it struggles to match the brilliance of the original series.