George Wendt, ‘Cheers' Star, Dies At 76

Forbes

20-05-2025

AUSTIN, TEXAS - George Wendt attends the "Cheers Reunion" panel during the 12th Season of ATX TV ... More Festival at ACL Live on June 02, 2023 in Austin, Texas. (Photo by Rick Kern/WireImage)
George Wendt, who rose to fame as Norm Peterson on the long-running sitcom Cheers, died in his sleep on Tuesday. 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,' said a representative for Wendt said in a statement. 'He will be missed forever. The family has requested privacy during this time.'
Born October 17, 1948 on the South side of Chicago, George Wendt was discovered by the improvisational group The Second City, where he met his future wife, Bernadette Birkett, who voiced Norm's never-seen wife Vera on Cheers (and appeared on camera as Cliff's (John Ratzenberger) Halloween date in the third season of Cheers).
Bernadette Birkett and her husband George Wendt attend the premiere of 'Forever Young', held at the ... More Academy Theatre in Beverly Hills, California, 10th December 1992. (Photo by)
Wendt's first credited on camera role was in the 1980 film My Bodyguard, and he began guest-starring on television series like Hart to Hart, Soap, Taxi and Alice. His first role as a series regular was in the 1982 six-episode sitcom Making the Grade. That same year came Cheers, which ran for 11 seasons and resulted in six Primetime Emmy Award nominations for Wendt as Best Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series. He also appeared as Norm in episodes of Wings and the Cheers spinoffs Frasier and The Tortellis.
Wendt's claim to fame, of course, was the rousing…NORM…reaction each time he walked into the bar on Cheers.
The cast of Cheers pose together in character. From left to right starting with the front row are: ... More Shelly Long, as bartender Diane Chambers; Ted Danson, as bartender and owner Sam "Mayday" Malone; George Wendt, as regular customer Norm Peterson; Rhea Perlman, as waitress Carla Tortelli; Nicholas Colasanto, as Ernie "Coach" Pantusso; and John Ratzenberger as postal worker and regular customer Cliff Clavin.
Two years after Cheers concluded, Wendt was upgraded to the lead in the sitcom The George Wendt Show, which lasted just eight episodes. In 1997, he also had a one season role on the TV comedy The Naked Truth, and he appeared as a regular in the short-lived sitcoms Modern Men in 2006 and Clipped in 2015.
Wendt was also a frequent guest on Saturday Night Live, and was active as a voice actor (including, most recently, What the Elf!? in 2023). His film roles included Dreamscape (1984), House (1985), Fletch (1985), Gung Ho (1986), Plains Clothes (1987), Never Say Die (1988), Guilty by Suspicion (1991), Forever Young (1992) and Spice World (1997).