Dr. Lilith Sternin-Crane is a fictional psychiatrist and psychoanalyst originating from the 80s TV-Series "Cheers" and continuing through the TV-shows "Wings" and Fraiser. She was played by stage actress Bebe Neuwirth.
Bio[]
Dr. Lilith Sternin-Crane is a clinical psychiatrist and psychoanalyst known for being very logical and very few outbursts of emotion. It is known she is Jewish, but other than that, not much is known about her life or schooling. As an adult, she was frequently considered cold and emotionless, even called the "ice princess." Joe Hackett even once called her, "Morticia."
Lilith first appears in 1987 as a rival psychiatrist to Dr. Frasier Crane in a Boston-area TV series about mental health. Initially seen as a rival, Frasier later confesses having an attraction toward her and after a makeover by Diane Chambers, Frasier's former love interest, the two of them confessed their attraction live on air during a repeat episode on sexual relationships. Despite never being allowed on the show again, Frasier and Lilith started dating and started living together. They later married shorty before the birth of their son, Frederick, in 1987.
Through the marriage, Lilith and Frasier had more than a few spats either on their philosophies and scientific views, but also on the mundane. Some of her derision was directed to Frasier's fondness for the friends he had made at Cheers, the local tavern he patronized. They repeated their vows in a church wedding for Lilith's mother in 1992. Later that year, Lilith became jealous to hear that Frasier had been previously married to Nanette Guzman, now known as the popular children's entertainer, Nanny G. She even attacked her at a birthday party for Frederick after Nanette sang a song implying she still had romantic feelings for Frasier. When Frasier wrote a self-help book and went on a tour to promote it, she tagged along with him. Although she was annoyed on the trip by Frasier's non-stop references to their nanny's bosom, she took delight in watching Frasier get confronted by Helen Chapel's bad luck on the advice in the book and even started putting together notes for her own book on the veracity of self-help books.
Later that year, Lilith confessed to Frasier that she had cheated on him with a colleague named Dr. Louis Pascal. She even mentioned that she had intentions to go away for a year with him to live in an eco-pod. To stop her from going, Frasier feigned suicide to stop her from going. However, Lilith still went to live in the eco-pod, which turned out to be a disaster when Pascal realized he was claustrophobic. Distraught, Lilith returned to Boston and found Frasier close to a romantic tryst with Rebecca Howe, the Cheers manager. Distraught, she fled for Cheers, followed by Frasier, Rebecca and Pascal, who then held them and the bar hostage with a gun. Although Lilith talked him down and Frasier forgave her for her discretion, the Crane's marriage didn't last and they divorced later that year.
In the divorce, Lilith kept custody of Freddie and stayed in Boston, but Frasier moved back home to Seattle. Sharing parental custody, Frasier was allowed to have Frederick on intermittant visits, and Lilith tagged along on occaision. While she and Frasier tried to remain cordial, Lilith had a one-sided rivalry with Frasier's brother, Niles and his wife, Maris, which had started when Lilith snickered at the recitation of her wedding vows. Reportedly, Daphne Moon, the physical therapist for Frasier's father, could foretell Lilith's arrival by a headache and chilling drop in the temperature. Flocks of birds also fled the area on her arrival. Martin Crane's dog also fled from her appearance.
In 1994, Lilith called Frasier during his radio show and mocks his psychiatric advice to his callers, especially one who overeats and whom Lilith attempts to help. Attempting a reconciliation, she and Frasier have a brief sexual encounter, but they end up regretting it, strongly indicating no chance of a lasting reconciliation. She later returns to seek sperm from Frasier, hoping to mother a sibling for Frederick, but they call it off. She later marries an MIT seismologist named Brian, but the marriage falls apart after he realizes he's gay. Following their divorce, she heads to Seattle seeking solace from Frasier, ending up having a drunken one-night stand with Frasier's brother, Niles.
In 2003, Lilith's colleague, Nancy, sets her up on a blind date with Frasier, having no idea of their mutual history. Although the two meet up for a drink while she is in Seattle, they both end up cancelling on the blind date, never learning they had been set up with each other. They instead spend the night together watching television and finally falling asleep together on the couch, parting ways as friends without restarting their former romance.
Episode(s)[]
Trivia[]
- Lydia Detmeir has a similar hair styling and speaking pattern.
- Lilith also has bios on the "Lilith Sternin" "Cheers" Fandom Wiki and the "Frasier" Fandom Wiki
- Frasier's father, Martin Crane, refers to Lilith as being weird, adding; "Maris is a little strange. Lilith is just weird." He also once calls her, "Frosty the Snow-Wife."
- Near the end of their Nantucket visit, Joe Hackett refers to Lilith as "Morticia." Bebe Neuwirth, who portrayed Lilith, later played the role of Morticia Addams in the original cast of the 2010 Broadway musical, "The Addams Family."
- Lilith's surname is reportedly taken from Robert Sternin, the writing partner and husband of Prudence Fraser, both of whom were frequent scribes for comedy in the '80s and '90s.
