George Wendt, actor who played Norm on ‘Cheers,’ dead at 76

By Alli Rosenbloom and Lisa Respers France, CNN

(CNN) — George Wendt, an actor and comedian who was beloved for his performance as Norm Peterson on the long-running comedy series “Cheers” has died, his family announced.

He was 76.

“George was a doting family man, a well-loved friend and confidant to all of those lucky enough to have known him. He will be missed forever,” a representative for the family said in a statement to CNN.

A Chicago-native, Wendt got his start in acting when he joined in the famed improv school The Second City Mainstage in 1975. He earned six Emmy nominations throughout his nearly five decade Hollywood career.

While at The Second City, Wendt appeared in the revue “One More with Fooling” and spent time in the troupe’s touring company. He left in 1980 to pursue a film and television career.

In the early 1980s, Wendt began appearing in some of his first Hollywood roles, including in TV series “Taxi,” “Alice” and “Making the Grade before landing his big break as Norm in “Cheers” in 1982.

The beloved NBC sitcom ran for 11 seasons and starred Wendt as the lovable, beer-gulping Norm alongside cast mates Rhea Perlman, Ted Danson, Woody Harrelson, Shelley Long and Kelsey Grammer, among others.

Wendt earned six consecutive Emmy nominations between 1984 and 1989 in the supporting actor category for his performance as Norm on the series.

“George Wendt was the sweetest, kindest man I ever met. It was impossible not to like him,” Perlman told CNN in a statement Tuesday. “As Carla, I was often standing next to him, as Norm always took the same seat at the end of the bar, which made it easy to grab him and beat the crap out of him at least once a week. I loved doing it and he loved pretending it didn’t hurt. What a guy!”

She added: “I’ll miss him more than words can say.”

Wendt was one of three cast members to have appeared in every single episode of the show’s run. (The others were Danson and Perlman.) The series ended in 1993.

In 2024 Wendt reflected on his time on the show.

“It was a great job,” he said during an interview at the Motor City Comic Con. “Oh my God, what a great job.”

His costar, John Ratzenberger, who played Cliff Clavin on the show, joked that they felt like they were “stealing money” because they had so much fun on the show.

“We sat at a bar for 11 years cracking jokes,” Ratzenberger said. “Imagine seeing that ad in the newspaper: ‘Looking for people to sit at a bar and crack jokes for a lot of money.’”

Wednt added “Looking for a guy who wants another beer.”

That led to him revealing that the “beer” they drank on the show was fake and not very good, but they would ocassionally crack open the real stuff after the audience had left the taping.

Wendt didn’t shy away from being the “big guy” on the hit series and spoke about relating to Norm during an episode of the “Still Here Hollywood with Steve Kmetko” podcast last year.

“I had to look like a guy who wanted another beer. That I can do!” he said. “So, I didn’t have to put a whole lot of mustard on anything. It was pretty much just me with material supplied by some of the best comedy writers in Hollywood of the era. It was murderers’ row.”

A thriving television career

Wendt appeared in films like “Dreamscape,” “Never Say Die” and the 1992 film “Forever Young” alongside Mel Gibson, Jamie Lee Curtis and a young Elijah Wood. But television proved to be a source of steady work.

Wendt appeared in guest roles on series, including “Seinfeld,” “The Larry Sanders Show,” “St. Elsewhere” and “The Twilight Zone.” and “The Little Rascals.” He also starred in his own series “The George Wendt Show” in 1995 and was a series regular on the first and only season of “The Naked Truth” in 1997.

Between 1991 and 2003, Wendt appeared on several episodes of “Saturday Night Live” to play the recurring character Bob Swerski, a diehard Chicago sports fan, alongside famed “SNL” alums Chris Farley, Mike Myers and Robert Smigel.

During the next two decades, Wendt racked up guest star credits: “Sabrina the Teenage Witch,” “Portlandia,” “Kirstie,” “Fresh Off the Boat,” “Franklin & Bash” and more.

In 2017, Wendt returned to his roots when he appeared in the “I Can’t Believe They Wendt There: The Roast of George Wendt” at The Second City’s Mainstage theater in Chicago, an event hosted by the actor’s nephew, “Ted Lasso” star Jason Sudeikis. The event raised $200,000 Gilda’s Club Chicago and The Second City Alumni Fund.

Wendt spoke last year about how “proud” he was of Sudeikis, who is the son of Wendt’s sister Kathy Sudeikis, saying on the “Still Here Hollywood” podcast that he is “such a great kid” and “so smart, so thoughtful.”

CNN has reached out to a representative for Sudeikis for comment on Wendt’s passing.

Wendt’s final credit, according to IMDb, was 2024’s “Love’s Second Act,” a TV movie starring Jodie Sweetin.

Wendt is survived by his wife Bernadette Birkett and his three children, Hilary, Joe and Daniel, who requested privacy through a representative.

This story has been updated with additional information.

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