Laughing Legend: Patriots Hall of Famer Vince Wilfork Appears on TV Sitcom Revival

In the episode entitled "Frasier's Birthday," Fraiser engages in an emotional war of attrition with ex-wife and on-again, off-again adversary Lilith Sternin (Bebe Neuwirth) as they attempt to one-up each other to impress their son Freddie (Jack Cutmore-Scott) on his birthday. Whereas Frasier bestows Freddie a pen once owned by renowned author J.D. Salinger, Lilith offers a mere football ... which she has arranged to be signed by former psychiatry patient Wilfork, who spent a majority of his 13-year NFL career with the Patriots. 

"He won the Vincent Lombardi Trophy," Lilith explains. "I'm told that's a big deal."

Freddie and his jovial friends attempt to have WIlfork, who credits Lilith for helping "tackle" his shyness, sign the ball with a shell-shocked Frasier's gift. As Frasier struggles to comprehend what's transpired, his friend and colleague Alan (Nicholas Lyndhurst) sheepishly asks if he can take a picture with the two-time Super Bowl champion and five-time Pro Bowler.

"Frasier" executive producer Joe Cristalli said that Wilfork was a last-minute addition to the episode but referred to him as the "best person" for the job in an interview with Meredith Jacobs of TV Insider.

“There was something nice about sort of that super old school throwback of the celebrity guest star,” Cristalli said. “I think we had started with a baseball player, but then honestly any Red Sox, Celtics, Patriots, (or) Bruins player would’ve been amazing.

"We were lucky to get Vince Wilfork by the end. We talked to a bunch of different people, and we wanted to make sure we had a recognizable name. I feel like he was maybe cast a couple days beforehand.“

"Frasier" is a revival of the sitcom of the same name, which ran for 11 seasons (1993-2004) on NBC. Both focus on Grammer's eponymous psychiatrist, who debuted in the Boston-based sitcom "Cheers." While the original edition of "Frasier" situated the character in Seattle, "Cheers" featured appearances from Beantown sports stars like Wade Boggs, Kevin McHale, and Luis Tiant.

New episodes of "Frasier" debut on Thursdays on Paramount+.