On Frasier, Maris Crane was always an enigma. Niles Crane’s wife was often referenced and even appeared in obscured form on the show twice, but she never delivered any lines, and no actress was ever cast for the role.
But that wasn’t always the plan. At first, the shows co-creators decided to not show Maris as a nod to Norm’s wife, Vera, in Cheers, who was often mentioned but never actually seen. The creators wanted fans to think that they were doing the same thing with Maris on the spinoff series, then surprise them by eventually revealing the character on-screen. Then, as the show progressed, the creators changed their mind for an unexpected reason: they thought no real-life person could pull off the oddball character they’d created.