George Wendt, who played a beloved barfly on ‘Cheers’ and found another home onstage, dies at 76
By MARK KENNEDY - AP Entertainment Writer
NEW YORK (AP) — George Wendt, an actor with an Everyman charm who played the affable, beer-loving barfly Norm on the hit 1980s TV comedy “Cheers” and later crafted a stage career that took him to Broadway in “Art,” “Hairspray” and “Elf,” has died. He was 76.
Wendt’s family said 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 said in a statement. “He will be missed forever.” The family has requested privacy during this time.
George Wendt, who played a beloved barfly on ‘Cheers’ and found another home onstage, dies at 76
Jeff Christensen - AP
FILE - Actor George Wendt posing for a portrait in New York, Oct. 20, 2009.
George Wendt, who played a beloved barfly on ‘Cheers’ and found another home onstage, dies at 76
Chris Pizzello - Invision
FILE - Rhea Perlman, from left, Kelsey Grammar, Ted Danson, John Ratzenberger, George Wendt present the award for outstanding writing for a comedy series during the 75th Primetime Emmy Awards on Monday, Jan. 15, 2024, at the Peacock Theater in Los Angeles.
Chris Pizzello - Invision
FILE - Rhea Perlman, from left, Kelsey Grammar, Ted Danson, John Ratzenberger, George Wendt present the award for outstanding writing for a comedy series during the 75th Primetime Emmy Awards on Monday, Jan. 15, 2024, at the Peacock Theater in Los Angeles.
George Wendt, who played a beloved barfly on ‘Cheers’ and found another home onstage, dies at 76
Rob Grabowski - Invision
FILE - George Wendt participates during a Q&A panel on Day 2 at Wizard World at the Donald E Stephens Convention Center, Saturday, Aug. 24, 2019, in Chicago.
Rob Grabowski - Invision
FILE - George Wendt participates during a Q&A panel on Day 2 at Wizard World at the Donald E Stephens Convention Center, Saturday, Aug. 24, 2019, in Chicago.
George Wendt, who played a beloved barfly on ‘Cheers’ and found another home onstage, dies at 76
Ira Mark Gostin - AP
FILE -Boston Red Sox third baseman Wade Boggs, center, poses, March 2, 1988, with the cast of "Cheers" during rehearsal for an episode in which he appears. Cast members include, John Ratzenberger, Rhea Perlman, George Wendt, Woody Harrelson, Kirstie Alley and Ted Danson.
Ira Mark Gostin - AP
FILE -Boston Red Sox third baseman Wade Boggs, center, poses, March 2, 1988, with the cast of "Cheers" during rehearsal for an episode in which he appears. Cast members include, John Ratzenberger, Rhea Perlman, George Wendt, Woody Harrelson, Kirstie Alley and Ted Danson.
Despite a long career of roles onstage and on TV, it was as gentle and henpecked Norm Peterson on “Cheers” that he was most associated, earning six straight Emmy Award nominations for best supporting actor in a comedy series from 1984-89.
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 117 Emmy Awards, winning 28 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 said, ‘It’s a small role, honey. It’s one line. Actually, 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 wanted a beer.’ So I went in, and they said, ‘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 told GQ in an oral history of “Cheers.”