Tattoo love: Kelsey Grammer inks 4th wife's name to waistline

Maybe she’s really the one.

Actor Kelsey Grammer strolled into a Noble Square tattoo parlor Saturday – and braved a tattoo needle for the first time to get his latest wife’s name inked on his waistline.

The 57-year-old who plays the fictional mayor of Chicago on the Starz series “Boss,” came in to the parlor unannounced, casually dressed, with his wife, Kayte. They chatted with other customers and employees as they sat and waited for his turn.

“He was pretty cool about it,” said Bob Jones, owner of Insight Studios, which has been open at 1062 N. Milwaukee since 2005. “He said it was his first tattoo and he did some research and said, ‘You guys seemed to be the best place to go.’ ”

A 21-year-old employee who works at the front counter at the shop was apparently unaware of his fame.

When Grammer walked to the counter, she said, “ ‘Can I get your ID, please?’ ” Jones said. “He was like, ‘Huh?’ [She said,] ‘Yeah, I need your ID.’ He said, ‘OK.’ She came back to me and said, ‘Is this guy famous or something? He looked at me kind of funny when I asked for his ID.’ ”

Tattoo artist James Eastwood’s 72-year-old grandmother, Christine Darbo, was accompanying a friend planning to get a tattoo when they started chatting with the former “Cheers” and “Frasier” star and his wife.

“They were just normal people. We were talking about tattoos,” said Darbo, a Wheaton plant saleswoman who has two tattoos. “He said, ‘I’m going to get Kayte’s name.’ My friend asked, ‘So how long have you been dating that he wanted to tattoo your name?’ She said, ‘We are married.’ I figured with his background he should just put a ‘K’ with a period to give him some flexibility.”

Grammer has been married four times, including his previous marriage with Camille Grammer, which publicly broke up on the Bravo reality show, “The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills.”

Grammer married Kayte Walsh – a British flight attendant – in February 2011 and she took his last name.

Darbo described her as “darling.” Kayte Grammer said she enjoyed Chicago and said there was “lots of good shopping” in Lincoln Park, where she said they stay when they are in Chicago, Darbo said.

“She was pretty, but not gorgeous, in your face. . . . They were fun. Very friendly and into each other. They were just talking and enjoying each other,” Darbo said.

Darbo said she was pretty sure it was Kelsey Grammer’s idea to get the tattoo.

When it was his turn, Grammer looked over some designs and ended up getting his wife’s first name done in blue ink, in letters about half an inch tall, basically at his waistline, Eastwood said.

Eastwood, 23, who lives in Logan Square, said Grammer asked for “just something small because it was his first one.”

The tattoo cost $60 – the cheapest the store has to offer.

“He’s the only famous person I’ve ever tattooed,” Eastwood said. “He’s a pretty down-to-earth dude.”

Grammer told Eastwood he was in town filming “Boss.”

Afterward, Darbo and her friend saw Grammer as he was leaving – her friend actually let Grammer have her place in line.

“I said, ‘Hey, we want to see it.’ He said, ‘You know, next time.’ ”