‘Cheers’ star George Wendt dead at 76
NEW YORK AP George Wendt an actor with an Everyman charm who played the affable beer-loving barfly Norm on the hit s TV comedy Cheers and later crafted a stage career that took him to Broadway in Art Hairspray and Elf has died He was Wendt s family mentioned he died early Tuesday morning peacefully in his sleep while at home according to the publicity firm The Agency Group George was a doting family man a well-loved friend and confidant to all of those lucky enough to have known him the family explained in a message He will be missed forever The family has requested privacy during this time Despite a long career of roles onstage and on TV it was as gentle and henpecked Norm Peterson on Cheers that he was bulk associated earning six straight Emmy Award nominations for best supporting actor in a comedy series from - The series was centered on lovable losers in a Boston bar and starred Ted Danson Shelley Long Rhea Perlman Kelsey Grammer John Ratzenberger Kirstie Alley and Woody Harrelson It would spin off another megahit in Frasier and was nominated for an astounding Emmy Awards winning of them Wendt who spent six years in Chicago s renowned Second City improv troupe before sitting on a barstool at the place where everybody knows your name didn t have high hopes when he auditioned for Cheers My agent declared It s a small role honey It s one line Indeed it s one word The word was beer I was having a hard time believing I was right for the role of the guy who looked like he yearned a beer So I went in and they explained It s too small a role Why don t you read this other one And it was a guy who never left the bar Wendt narrated GQ in an oral history of Cheers Where everyone knows your name Cheers premiered on Sept and spent the first season with low ratings NBC president Brandon Tartikoff championed the show and it was nominated for an Emmy for best comedy series in its first season Selected million people would tune in to watch its series finale years later Wendt became a fan favorite in and outside the bar his entrances were cheered with a warm Norm and his wisecracks dependably landed How s a beer sound Norm he would be demanded by the bartender I dunno I usually finish them before they get a word in he d respond While the beer the cast drank on set was nonalcoholic Wendt and other Cheers cast members have admitted they were tipsy on May when they watched the show s final episode then appeared together on The Tonight Show in a live broadcast from the Bull and Finch Pub in Boston the bar that inspired the series We had been drinking heavily for two hours but nobody thought to feed us Wendt explained the Beaver County Times of Pennsylvania in We were nowhere near as cute as we thought we were After Cheers Wendt starred in his own short-lived sitcom The George Wendt Show too bad he had to step out of Norm and down so far from that corner stool for his debut stanza sniffed Variety and had guest spots on TV shows like The Ghost Whisperer Harry s Law and Portlandia He was part of a brotherhood of Chicago Everymen who gathered over sausage and beers and adored Da Bears on Saturday Night Live Second career on stage But he revealed steady work onstage Wendt slipped on Edna Turnblad s housecoat in Broadway s Hairspray beginning in and was in the Tony Award-winning play Art in New York and London He starred in the national tour of Angry Men and appeared in a production of David Mamet s Lakeboat He also starred in regional productions of Death of a Salesman The Odd Couple Never Too Late and Funnyman A it s by far the majority fun but B I seem to have been kicked out of television Wendt communicated the Kansas City Star in I overstayed my welcome But theater suits me Wendt had an affinity for playing Santa Claus donning the famous red outfit in the stage musical Elf on Broadway in the TV movie Santa Baby with Jenny McCarthy in and in the doggie Disney video Santa Buddies in He also played Father Christmas for TV specials by Larry the Cable Guy and Stephen Colbert I think it just proves that if you stay fat enough and get old enough the offers start rolling in the actor joked to the AP in his Broadway dressing room Born in Chicago Wendt attended Campion High School a Catholic boarding school in Prairie du Chien Wisconsin and then Notre Dame where he rarely went to class and was kicked out He transferred to Rockhurst University in Kansas City and graduated after majoring in economics He revealed a home at Second City in both the touring company and the mainstage I think comedy is my long suit for sure My approach to comedy is usually not full-bore clownish he notified the AP If you re trying to showboat or step outside it doesn t consistently work There are certain performers who almost specialize in doing that and they do it really well But that s not my approach Cheers for beer He had a lifelong association with beer He had his first taste as an -year-old and got drunk at at the World s Fair in New York His beer knowledge was poured into the book Drinking With George A Barstool Professional s Guide to Beer co-written with Jonathan Grotenstein One line Will Rogers once declared he never met a man he didn t like I feel the same about beer Part autobiography part beer drinker s guide the book had Wendt s conversational tone and lists such as Five Good Bar Bets Toasts from Around the World and More Than Means to Say That You re Drunk which alphabetically lists synonyms from annihilated through zozzled He is survived by his wife Second City alum Bernadette Birkett who voiced Norm s never-seen not-so better half Vera on Cheers From his early days with The Second City to his iconic role as Norm on Cheers George Wendt s work showcased how comedy can create indelible characters that feel like family Over the module of seasons he brought warmth and humor to one of television s the bulk beloved roles National Comedy Center Executive Director Journey Gunderson stated in a message
