
George Wendt, who played beloved barfly Norm on Cheers, dies at 76
Article content
'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.
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.

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


Canada Standard
4 days ago
- Canada Standard
"I got chills": Billy Bob Thornton on returning to 'Friday Night Lights' football field
Washington DC [US], June 4 (ANI): Actor and filmmaker Billy Bob Thornton opened up on how he felt returning to the football field featured in the 2004 film 'Friday Night Lights'. Speaking on a panel at the ATX TV Festival alongside his co-stars from the Paramount+ series 'Landman', Thornton shared how much of the show is filmed in the oil boomtowns of West Texas. 'Last year we went to the Midland -- Odessa area,' Thornton said. 'So 'Friday Night Lights' was 20 years ago, and I had spent a lot of time on the field, and I walked out on the field and I got chills,' reported People. Thornton played high school football coach Gary Gaines in the 2004 film 'Friday Night Lights', directed by Peter Berg and also starring Tim McGraw, Amber Heard and Connie Britton. On December 11, Peacock announced that an adaptation of the Emmy Award-winning football series was officially in development. In 'Landman', Thornton plays an oilman named Tommy Norris who is always looking out for his daughter Ainsley (played by Michelle Randolph), according to People. Although most of the film 'Landman' was shot in and around Fort Worth, Texas, Thornton said filming in Odessa, where he shot the 2004 film, was 'a really great moment.' 'It's a real special area, it's a wonderful place to be because of the people out there,' Thornton said, adding that the Landman cast and crew 'hope to make people aware of Texas and what it really is and how good the people are down here,' reported People. He added, 'These days in the climate we are in, people hear you are working in Texas and people think you are going to get shot down there. I told my daughter, 'It's like being in LA but you just see more cowboy hats.' ' Thornton noted that filming Landman in Texas is integral to the show's authenticity. 'There is something you have to consider when you are doing a movie project,' he said. 'It's not always the land, the other thing is they don't consider the background actors. If you did it in Vancouver or Santa Fe, you would not get the look with the background actors, and that is very important that they carry themselves as Texans,' reported People. (ANI)

CTV News
5 days ago
- CTV News
Jason Sudeikis pays tribute to his late uncle, ‘Cheers' star George Wendt
Jason Sudeikis has broken his silence to say some lovely things about his late uncle, actor George Wendt. The 'Cheers' star died last month at age 76. (via CNN Newsource Jason Sudeikis has broken his silence to say some lovely things about his late uncle, actor George Wendt. The 'Cheers' star died last month at age 76. Sudeikis made an appearance over the weekend at a fundraiser for Children's Mercy Hospital in Kansas City, Missouri, where he was asked about Wendt. 'With regard to my uncle George, I mean, there's that old saying of like, 'Don't meet your heroes,' usually 'cause 'they let you down,' I assume, is the back half of that statement,' Sudeikis said in a video captured and posted by KSHB 41. 'But he's not one of those people.' The 'Ted Lasso' star said his uncle was 'as fun and kind and as warm as any character he played on television or in films.' 'He was an incredible influence to me,' Sudeikis said. 'Both as someone that blazes the trail, being from the Midwest and teaching me that acting was a career you could actually have, if you really care about it.' That included demonstrating having 'a career where you could meet the love of your life, like his wife, a.k.a. permanent girlfriend, Bernadette,' referencing Wendt's almost 50 year marriage. Family and community were important to his uncle, Sudeikis said. 'He also always kept connected to his family, to his roots, both in Chicago, of course, where he's from, but then also the time he spent here,' he said. He joked about Wendt's fondness for a bar called Mike's, where Sudeikis said his uncle spent a good bit of time. 'It was all in preparation of a job that we all know him for, 'Cheers,'' he said. 'All time well spent. But yeah, we miss him greatly and I love him dearly.' By Lisa Respers France, CNN


Winnipeg Free Press
28-05-2025
- Winnipeg Free Press
Philadelphia honors Quinta Brunson with key, mural at alma mater that inspired ‘Abbott Elementary'
PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Philadelphia's mayor honored actor and producer Quinta Brunson with a key to the city Wednesday in a ceremony dedicating a separate mural at Brunson's alma mater, which was the inspiration for her show 'Abbott Elementary.' The producer, writer and comedian gazed at the shiny key handed to her by Philadelphia Mayor Cherelle Parker and quipped: 'Wow! I want to ask the question on everybody's mind: What does it open?' Brunson used the ceremony held at Andrew Hamilton School to celebrate the power of public education, public schoolteachers and music and arts education. Her parents and siblings were in attendance, along with Joyce Abbott, the teacher who inspired the name of the show's fictional school, the 'real life Gregory' and other teachers and classmates. The mural, titled Blooming Features, was created by artist Athena Scott with input from Brunson and Hamilton students and staff. Its brightly colored depictions of real people from the school wrap around the outside of the school's red brick facade. Brunson described taking inspiration from the murals painted along her subway route as a kid, especially when she saw one of her own teachers featured. She said she hopes this mural has the same effect. The actor said she nixed an initial mock-up brought to her by ABC that featured actors from the Emmy Award-winning show in favor of actual community members — because 'that's how you know there is a future.' 'You don't need to see famous people on the wall. You need to see you on the wall,' she said. 'Painted, beautiful. We are beautiful. It makes a difference. It made a difference for me, so I know even if it makes a difference for just one child, that one child matters.' Jane Golden, executive director of Mural Arts Philadelphia, said she was thrilled when Brunson featured her organization on an episode of the show. Philadelphia is ranked No. 1 in the nation for its murals. 'When people visit Philadelphia they are struck by the works of art that grace the sides of buildings in every single neighborhood of the city,' she said. 'For us, this is a matter of equity. It's great to have world class galleries and museums — that's wonderful — but the fact that everyone everywhere can walk out the door and see large-scale works of public art that represent them, like the school here, that is awesome.'