Niles Crane
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Dr. Niles Crane is a fictional character on the show Frasier. He is played by David Hyde Pierce. Niles is the younger brother of Frasier Crane and the son of Martin Crane.
Niles Crane, like Frasier, is a psychiatrist. He runs his own Jungian practice in Seattle, Washington and often makes fun of Frasier's Freudian theories and profession as a radio psychiatrist. Even so, the two are very similar: snobby with distinct tastes. He likes fine art and fine wine. Much has been commented on the show about how Frasier and Niles are best friends, even comparing them to the Collyer brothers. Complementing Frasier's attendance at Harvard and Oxford, Niles attended Yale and Cambridge. Yale is the same alma mater as David Hyde Pierce.
Niles often manages to be even more uptight and nerdish than his brother. Physically weak and very uncoordinated, Niles has a long list of phobias and medical conditions, many of which are clearly psychosomatic. Accompanying Martin on the shooting range one day, Niles discovered that he is an excellent marksman.
For years, the main gag on the show was Niles' feelings for Martin's physical therapist, Daphne Moon. Because of his shyness, Niles never expressed his love for Daphne, resulting in humorous situations.
Niles has been married three times on the show. His first wife was Maris. Maris was never shown on the show, so all the audience got was descriptions of an uptight, physically weak, thin, waspish woman. The descriptions of Maris became more outlandish with each passing season, to the point where she sounded almost inhuman. His second wife was Mel Karnofsky in 1999. This marriage was short-lived when Niles professed his love for Daphne. Both Maris and Mel tortured Niles with long, drawn-out divorces. Mel's divorce stipulated he must pretend to be married to her so that their high society friends wouldn't find out, and that he musn't be seen with Daphne in public. Eventually they got divorced and Niles married Daphne Moon in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Niles and Daphne's son, David, was born on the series finale, "Goodnight, Seattle" which aired on May 13, 2004.
Originally, Frasier Crane was an only child. David Hyde Pierce was hired as the newly written in younger brother after producers saw his headshot and commented on how much he looked like a young Kelsey Grammer.