Dr Niles Crane

48 (born 1957)

The Montana, Seattle, WA.

Psychiatrist. Owns a private practise.

• Martin Crane (father)
  

• Hester Crane (mother, deceased)
  

• Frasier Crane (brother)
  

• Daphne Crane (wife)
  

• Frederick Crane (nephew)
  

• Ronee Crane (stepmother)
  

• David Crane (son)
  

• Walter Crane (uncle)
  

• Zora Crane (aunt)
  

• Nikos Crane (cousin)
  

• Yvonne, Ed, Donald and Dodie (cousins)
  

• Louise (great-aunt, deceased)

• Girlfriend in senior year (c. 1975)
  

• Maris Crane (ex-wife, c.1983 - 1997)
  

• Daphne Moon (1993 - , finally told her in 2000)
  

• Adelle Childs (1996)
  

• Beth Armstrong (1996)
  

• Dr Lilith Sternin (one night stand, 1998)
  

• Vicky (1998)
  

• Alison Landis (1998)
  

• Kit (1999)
  

• Sabrina (1999)
  

• Poppy (1999)
  

• Dr Mel Karnovsky (ex-wife, 1999 - 2000)
  

• Daphne (wife, 2002 - )

Niles is jealous of his brother's fame and feels Frasier is wasting his talents on the radio. However Niles does not tell Frasier this - he says he wouldn't want to do a radio show because he is against the "popularising" of the profession. Niles often has a "war-of-words" with Roz - often making comments about her love life (well, at least she has one!!!) and sometimes failing to remember her name. The two have become friends over the years, especially since Niles got together with Daphne who was good friends with Roz.

Niles has a better relationship with his father than Frasier does, but Martin couldn't live with him after his accident because he and Maris didn't get on. Niles still wants to improve this relationship, like Frasier does, and things were strained when Frasier was living in boston. Luckily as time went on things improved between all the 3 Crane men.

Niles could be described as a "perfectionist" in that he seems to regard himself as perfect. Everyone else is inferior in some way. Niles likes everything to be correct - even the graffiti in the Café Nervosa toilets, which he corrected with a red pen. Niles is no good at sports, just like his brother. Also just like Frasier, he likes going to the opera and fine wines (both brothers are members of a local wine club). Niles drives a black Mercedes E-320 with the personalised plate 5HRINK. He conducts psychiatry groups for things like fear of abandonment, compulsive spending and sexual addiction. Niles, like his brother, often visits Café Nervosa to get away from life's little problems. His "usual" is a latte, with nutmeg and cinnamon. His favourite shoes are Bruno Maglis loafers. Oh, and his IQ is 156 - 27 higher than his brother's.

Dr Niles Crane was born in Seattle in 1957, the second child of Martin and Hester Crane. Just like his older brother Frasier he liked classical music, opera and fine arts. At the age of 8 Niles was already sending back dinners that were not to his liking. Like Frasier, Niles was also bullied a lot as a child and attended John Adams Junior High and Bryce Academy. He broke his leg in 1966 after trying to "fly like a Valkerie!" and broke his collarbone whilst trying to get a kite out of a tree. Niles also had problems with bed-wetting, but overcame this in 1969.

Niles was very intelligent as a child and entered many spelling bee competitions, including one in 1968 where he just walked off stage in the final because he realised he could spell anything. He attended Yale university and did his undergraduate work at Cambridge. He also became a psychiatrist after graduating - although he is a Jungian rather than Freudian. He moved back to Seattle after graduating, although he did spend 6 months living in Paris. Niles went into private practise. In 1983 he met his first wife Maris, when she was banging on the gates of her mansion trying to get in. They got married 3 years later and went on honeymoon to Vienna, Zurich and Gstaad. Niles and Maris lived in her mansion, although in separate rooms. Niles loved his wife dearly but at times she did not return the favour. Niles felt all alone at times - his mother having died in 1987, his brother living on the other side of the country; and he didn't have a good relationship with his father.

In 1993 Frasier returned to Seattle and soon he and Niles were spending all their time with each other, just as when they were children. It was Niles who suggested Martin move in with Frasier, and this led to Niles meeting Daphne in late 1993. He fell in love with her at once, mainly because she treated him nicely and was friendly towards him, unlike Maris. Niles never had the courage to tell Daphne how he felt about her for the next 7 years, although they danced the tango in 1996.

In 1995 Maris went missing for a few days. She had just gone shopping in New York but hadn't told Niles. Frasier told Niles to stand up for himself and she kicked him out of the house, thus beginning their 2 year separation. Niles was devastated by this, and he made various attempts to get back with Maris, but in early 1998 he discovered she'd been having an affair with Dr Bernard Shenkman, their therapist. The divorce took another 2 years, forcing Niles to rent out his apartment at the Montana and seek alternative accommodation. Maris' lawyers tried getting everything they could from Niles, however he discovered her family secret and got a large settlement.

Now a free man, Niles decided to tell Daphne how he felt about her, but she had met his divorce lawyer Donny Douglas. Poor Niles was there when Donny proposed and she accepted. Niles met and married his second wife Dr Mel Karnovsky in 2000, days before Daphne's wedding to Donny, but Frasier had unknowingly told Daphne how Niles felt about her. She left Donny for Niles in 2000 and Niles got a divorce from Mel. Niles and Daphne have been together ever since, getting married in 2002 and having their first child, David, in 2004. Niles had a few problems with his heart in 2002 but thankfully everything went fine and he has now recovered.

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Niles Crane is played by David Hyde Pierce. He first appeared in Episode 1 "The Good Son". We've also seen younger versions of Niles via flashbacks - Michael Welch, Sean Cast and Chase Armstrong have played Young Niles.