George Wendt: 11 of the best Norm Peterson quotes
From the first episode of Cheers to the very last, a decade later, George Wendt's teddy bear barfly Norm Peterson was a fully formed sitcom dream. Like Howard Borden before him and Cosmo Kramer after him, his entrance alone was a highlight in every episode – and Wendt, who
has died aged 76
, appeared in all 275 episodes of Cheers, a feat matched by only Ted Danson and Rhea Perlman.
Every single time he opened the door, perpetually sweaty and tie always askew, the bar gave a huge cheer – 'NOOOORM!' – as he trudged to his favourite stool for that first beer. Every weary walk to his seat came with a zinger. (The very first: 'Norm! Whattya know?' 'Not enough.')
Though Norm was in every episode of Cheers, it is hard to identify a singular moment that made him a great sitcom character. Instead, the affection we felt was accumulative: for his world-weariness, his insistence on awful food, the loathing and love he felt for his unseen wife Vera – and of course, the simple pleasure he took in having a cold one with friends. (Which led to a bar tab so big by the final episode that Sam threatened to send it to Nasa to calculate.)
While we got to see only a little of Norm beyond the bar, so many of his best lines conveyed the great and ordinary tragedy that was his life: the unseen bad days at work, the unseen bad nights at home. 'How's life treating you Norm?' would be greeted with: 'Like it caught me in bed with its wife', 'Like I just ran over its dog' or 'Like a baby treats a diaper.' Once, when asked how he's feeling, he responded: 'I'm on top of the world . . . it's a dismal spot in Greenland somewhere.'
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'I have a hard time talking about Norm,' Wendt said in a 1989 interview. 'It's like he's too close to me, but I don't think he's changed over the years. They moved him from being an accountant to [a] painter and decorator, but that was basically for some storylines. He's still the same Norm. I think he's the toughest to write for because he's not really anything. He's just funny.' But no man ever walked into a bar quite like Wendt.
11 of the best Norm one-liners
1. Snow Job (season 2, episode 18)
Coach:
'What's shakin', Norm?'
Norm:
'All four cheeks and a couple of chins.'
2. No Help Wanted (season 2, episode 14 )
Coach:
'Can I draw you a beer, Norm?'
Norm:
'No, I know what they look like. Just pour me one.'
3. The Executive's Executioner (season 3, episode 21)
Sam:
'What'll you have, Normie?'
Norm:
'Well, I'm in a gambling mood, Sammy. I'll take a glass of whatever comes out of that tap.'
Sam:
'Looks like beer, Norm.'
Norm:
'Call me Mister Lucky!'
4. The Heart Is a Lonely Snipe Hunter (season 3,
episode
14)
Sam:
'What's new, Normie?'
Norm:
'Terrorists, Sam. They've taken over my stomach. They're demanding beer.'
5. The Belles of St Cletes (season three, episode 24)
Sam:
'Norm! What brings you in at this time of day?'
Norm:
'Same thing that always does.'
Sam:
'A bit early for a beer, isn't it?
Norm:
'So, float a cornflake in it.'
6. The Peterson Principle (season 4,
episode
18)
Sam:
'Hey – what's happening, Norm?"
Norm:
'It's a dog-eat-dog world, Sammy, and I'm wearing Milk Bone underwear.'
7. Diane's Nightmare (season 4,
episode
5)
Norm
(Coming in from the rain): 'Evening, everybody!'
Everybody:
'Norm!'
Sam:
'Still pouring, Norm?'
Norm:
'That's funny, I was about to ask you the same thing.'
8. Strange Bedfellows, Part 3 (season 4,
episode
26)
Woody:
'How's it going, Mr Peterson?'
Norm:
'Poor.'
Woody:
'I'm sorry to hear that.'
Norm:
'No, I mean pour.'
9. Let Sleeping Drakes Lie (season 6,
episode
18)
Woody:
'Can I pour you a beer, Mr Peterson?'
Norm:
'A little early isn't it, Woody?'
Woody:
'For a beer?'
Norm:
'No, for stupid questions.'
10. Bar Wars III: The Return of Tecumseh (season 8,
episode
21)
Sam:
'What are you up to, Norm?'
Norm:
'My ideal weight if I were 11 feet tall.'
11. The King of Beers (season 11,
episode
3)
Norm:
'Boy meets beer. Boy drinks beer. Boy meets another beer. In this performance, the role of the boy will be played by Norm Peterson.'
– Guardian
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