The scrappy dog that stole scenes from Kelsey Grammer on TV’s “Frasier,” has died. The Jack Russell terrier, whose real name was Moose, died late last week in Los Angeles. Moose’s trainer Mathilde Halberg tells PEOPLE magazine the 16-year-old fan favorite died of old age.
Moose, considered by some as the “Lassie of the ‘90s,” spent 10 years on “Frasier.” His canine character Eddie was technically the four-legged companion of Frasier’s father, Martin, but he will be best remembered for tormenting Kelsey Grammer’s character on the long-running Emmy-winning NBC sitcom. It wasn’t all acting on Moose’s part, though. His trainer says he was “extremely mischievous, always escaping, chewing up things and running off. When he killed a neighbor’s cat and chased some horses, that was it.” And like many Hollywood success stories, Moose’s has a rags-to-riches theme. “I saved him from the pound. His owners called me as a last resort,” Halberg recalled.
After being rescued, Moose got his big break as Eddie on “Frasier.” His character served many purposes on the show. Frasier disliked him because he constantly sat on the furniture and stared at him; Martin considered him to be his third son; and Daphne (Martin’s in-home nurse) used him as an excuse to go to the dog-park to meet single male dog owners. My favorite Eddie memory is from the episode in which Frasier’s brother Niles carries around a bag of flour to see if he really wants to have a child. Niles makes the mistake of setting the flour bag/baby down and Eddie tears it apart, thrusting Niles into a hilarious tizzy.
While much of his career was spent as Eddie on “Frasier,” Moose also starred in the 2000 Frankie Muniz-Kevin Bacon movie “My Dog Skip” (as the older Skip). Moose retired from showbiz when he was 10 and was replaced by a younger look-alike named Enzo for the final two seasons of “Frasier.”
You can watch Moose in action on “Frasier” by visiting Amazon.com.