‘Frasier’ Star Must Pay Agency $2 Million

“Frasier” star Kelsey Grammer, one of the highest-paid actors on U.S. television, must pay his former talent agency more than $2 million in back commissions, a federal appeals court ruled.

The U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals, upholding a lower court ruling, found that Grammer and his production company, Grammnet Inc., owed the Artists Agency of Los Angeles the money under a 1995 agreement that renegotiated their contract.

Grammer, who reportedly secured a record $1.6 million per episode when he signed to renew the NBC hit “Frasier” last year, changed his contract with Artists in 1995 to reflect the fact that the agency had failed to win him any major motion picture projects. The deal extended Grammer’s TV and commercial obligations with the agency by two years but set him free to negotiate his own movie deals.