'Frasier' tributes: How John Mahoney and Martin Crane received a final, touching send-off

Kelsey Grammer's "Frasier" revival is all about paying respects to actor John Mahoney, who died in 2018 at age 77, and Martin Crane, the beloved character Mahoney portrayed in the series original NBC run from 1993 to 2004.

Mahoney played a pivotal part in the Seattle-based series' success as the unpretentious retired police detective father to his fussy psychiatrist sons Frasier (Grammer) and Niles Crane (David Hyde Pierce).

"It was clear the impact both John himself and the character Martin Crane had on everyone around him," says Chris Harris, who created the "Frasier" reboot with Joe Cristalli. "It was a priority for Kelsey that we honor this legacy."

The salutes start with the new Boston bar Frasier frequents in the revival series, called Mahoney's Taproom, with a painted sign saying "since 1940" (Mahoney's birth year). Another tribute can be seen in Frasier's son Freddy (Jack Cutmore-Scott), a down-to-earth Boston firefighter, who's very much a chip off the grandfather Martin.

But the Mahoney and Martin honors are especially prominent in Tuesday's CBS premiere (the first two episodes air at 9:15 EDT/PDT). Here's how:

Frasier arrives in Boston after Martin's funeral: 'He will be missed'

The real reason Frasier comes to Boston is to mend fences with his son Freddy, who was primarily raised by his mother Lillith (Bebe Neuwirth), Frasier's ex. Freddy had missed Martin's recent funeral. But as Frasier arrives at Boston's airport, his Harvard professor friend Alan (Nicholas Lyndhurst) asks how the funeral was.

"Emotional," Frasier responds. "But it was a good sendoff. He will be missed."

Later, Frasier gives more details about the (off-camera) funeral, which had been fully planned by the meticulous Martin. As Frasier relates, it featured a police send-off and key moments from original series' characters. There was a toast by Martin's former housekeeper Daphne (later Niles' wife, played by Jane Leeves) and "Ave Maria," sung by sports broadcaster regular Bulldog (Dan Butler).

Frasier paid a final tribute, which represented Grammer's thoughts on Mahoney

One of the final scenes in the premiere features Frasier giving Freddy the flag flown over the Washington state Capitol building "in honor of Detective Martin Crane" who was also a veteran.

"I'm going to miss him," Freddy says.

"Me too," Frasier responds. "He was a hell of a guy, a tough act to follow."

"Cheers" creator James Burrows, who directed many original "Frasier" episodes and the first two episodes of the revival, says filming that scene was emotional for everyone. Frasier's words "absolutely" represented Grammer's view on Mahoney, Burrows says; "John was wonderful. We all miss him."

Cristalli says there were multiple takes of the salutary scene, including versions in which Grammer "was in tears the whole time."

Mahoney ends the episode saying, 'It all works out'

An "In Loving Memory" segment at the episode's end honors script supervisor Gabrielle James, who worked on both "Cheers" and "Frasier." James died in December 2022 at age 88.

Actor Archie Lyndhurst, Nicholas' son, is also recognized. Archie tragically died in September 2020 of a brain hemorrhage at 19.

The last scene is a brief vintage clip of Mahoney as Martin, in his trademark flannel shirt, in front of a roaring fire. "It all works out," Mahoney says simply with a smile.

"You can craft memories with the simplest of lines," says Burrows of the final nod to Mahoney. "It's very effective."

Cristalli says they wanted to show to go out with a final look at the endearing actor in his most admired role.

"We wanted to hear John talk," says Cristalli. "He's talking about life in general, but also Freddy and Frasier's relationship. It's like, maybe not everything goes everybody's way all the time, but it'll work out if you just keep working it."

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: John Mahoney 'Frasier' tributes: How reboot honors Martin Crane on CBS