Latest news with #Heartbreakers
CNN
3 days ago
- Entertainment
- CNN
Hollywood Minute: Stan Lynch and the music of The Speaker Wars
Former Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers drummer Stan Lynch talks about his new band The Speaker Wars with Rick Damigella.
Scottish Sun
21-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Scottish Sun
Who is George Wendt's wife Bernadette Birkett and how long was she married to the Cheers TV star?
BERNADETTE Birkett is an actress, and wife of the late sitcom star George Wendt. As the world looks back on George's legacy following his death on May 20, 2025, here's everything we know about his wife's life, career, and relationship with her husband of almost 47 years. 4 Husband and wife Bernadette Birkett and George Wendt in 2024 Credit: Getty 4 Bernadette Birkett in one of her best-known roles as Rachael in 1985 film St. Elmo's Fire Credit: Columbia Pictures 4 George and Bernadette in 1993 Credit: Getty Who is Bernadette Birkett? Bernadette Birkett is a 78-year-old actress, born on July 8, 1946 in Chicago, Illinois. Not much is known about her earlier years, but according to her IMDB profile, she is the oldest of ten brothers and sisters. The most notable of her younger siblings is Illinois Appellate Court Justice Joseph Birkett, whose term runs from 2012 to 2032. What does Bernadette Birkett do for a living? Much like her husband George, who was best-known for his role as Norm in Cheers, Bernadette is a film and television actress who trained and specialized in comedy. Some of her career highlights have included co-starring as Jackie Schumaker on the self-aware sitcom parody It's Gary Shandling's Show, appearing alongside Demi Moore in the 1985 movie St. Elmo's Fire, and as Jack's mother in 2001's Heartbreakers, which starred Sigourney Weaver and Jennifer Love Hewitt. Bernadette also guest starred on plenty of iconic television shows from the seventies and eighties: such as Family Ties, The Van Dyke Show, and The Twilight Zone, to name a few. And although she wasn't actually seen on-screen for this role, she did also provide the voice of Vera: the wife of her real-life husband's character in Cheers. Bernadette most recently appeared as a guest star on two episodes of Arrested Development's fifth and final season, which aired between 2018 and 2019, and is currently available to stream on Netflix. How long was Bernadette Birkett married to George Wendt? Bernadette and George first met while they were both training with Chicago's iconic improv troupe and theater, Second City, in 1974. Four years later, the couple tied the knot on Bernadette's 32nd birthday: July 8, 1978. The pair would have celebrated their 47th wedding anniversary in 2025. Did Bernadette Birkett and George Wendt have children? 4 George Wendt, Bernadette Birkett, and their children attending a film premiere in 1993 Credit: Getty Bernadette and George shared three children: Hilary, Joe, and Daniel, who are all in their mid thirties to early forties. Their daughter Hilary has shared several sweet snaps to her Instagram page over the years, celebrating the couple's wedding anniversaries with throwback images. Bernadette also has two older children from a previous relationship: Joshua and Andrew.
The Irish Sun
21-05-2025
- Entertainment
- The Irish Sun
Who is George Wendt's wife Bernadette Birkett and how long was she married to the Cheers TV star?
BERNADETTE Birkett is an actress, and wife of the late sitcom star George Wendt. As the world looks back on George's legacy 4 Husband and wife Bernadette Birkett and George Wendt in 2024 Credit: Getty 4 Bernadette Birkett in one of her best-known roles as Rachael in 1985 film St. Elmo's Fire Credit: Columbia Pictures 4 George and Bernadette in 1993 Credit: Getty Who is Bernadette Birkett? Bernadette Birkett is a 78-year-old actress, born on July 8, 1946 in Chicago, Illinois. Not much is known about her earlier years, but according to her The most notable of her younger siblings is Illinois Appellate Court Justice Joseph Birkett, whose term runs from 2012 to 2032. What does Bernadette Birkett do for a living? Much like her husband George, who was best-known for his role as Norm in Cheers, Bernadette is a film and television actress who trained and specialized in comedy. Some of her career highlights have included co-starring as Jackie Schumaker on the self-aware sitcom parody It's Gary Shandling's Show, appearing alongside Demi Moore in the 1985 movie St. Elmo's Fire, and as Jack's mother in 2001's Heartbreakers, which starred Sigourney Weaver and Jennifer Love Hewitt. Bernadette also guest starred on plenty of iconic television shows from the seventies and eighties: such as Family Ties, The Van Dyke Show, and The Twilight Zone, to name a few. And although she wasn't actually seen on-screen for this role, she did also provide the voice of Vera: the wife of her real-life husband's character in Cheers. Bernadette most recently appeared as a guest star on two episodes of Arrested Development's fifth and final season, which aired between 2018 and 2019, and is currently available to stream on Netflix. Most read in Celebrity How long was Bernadette Birkett married to George Wendt? Bernadette and George first met while they were both training with Chicago's iconic improv troupe and theater, Second City, in 1974. Four years later, the couple tied the knot on Bernadette's 32nd birthday: July 8, 1978. The pair would have celebrated their 47th wedding anniversary in 2025. Did Bernadette Birkett and George Wendt have children? 4 George Wendt, Bernadette Birkett, and their children attending a film premiere in 1993 Credit: Getty Bernadette and George shared three children: Hilary, Joe, and Daniel, who are all in their mid thirties to early forties. Their daughter Hilary has shared several sweet snaps to her Bernadette also has two older children from a previous relationship: Joshua and Andrew.
Yahoo
21-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Who Is George Wendt's Wife, Bernadette Birkett & How Many Kids Do They Have?
George Wendt and his wife, Bernadette, were married for well over four decades. Wendt was a noted actor, widely known for playing Norm Peterson in NBC's Cheers. He passed away on May 20, 2025, in his sleep at the age of 76 at his home. Fans are now curious to know more about him, including details about his personal life. So, here's all you need to know about Wendt's wife, her profession, and their kids. George Wendt is married to Bernadette Birkett. Wendt and Birkett's paths initially crossed at Chicago's The Second City theater in 1974. In 1978, they tied the knot in an intimate ceremony. They have appeared together in several projects, including a family skit on Late Night with Conan O'Brien. Additionally, Birkett played Wendt's Norm's on-screen wife, Vera, in the Cheers sitcom (via Variety). The couple's children often share photos of them on their anniversary as a tribute to their long-lasting bond. Bernadette Birkett is an actress. It remains unclear from which institution she completed her studies and her subject. She appeared in an episode of Taxi in 1981, where she played Doris Marie Winslow. She appears to have a vast filmography but is widely known for her performances in Heartbreakers (2001), Mr. Mom (1983), and St. Elmo's Fire (1985). In recent years, she appeared as Rose in two episodes of Arrested Development. George Wendt and Bernadette Birkett share three kids. Their children's names are Hilary, Joe, and Daniel. They never shy away from showcasing love and support to their parents. For instance, Hilary once posted a marquee for The Roast of George Wendt on Instagram. Originally reported by Shazmeen Navrange on ComingSoon. The post Who Is George Wendt's Wife, Bernadette Birkett & How Many Kids Do They Have? appeared first on Mandatory.
Yahoo
18-03-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Mike Campbell Reflects on Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers' ‘Really Poor' Beginnings & Avoiding ‘Stupid' Topics In His Memoir
The depth and detail in the 464-page Heartbreaker: A Memoir (Grand Central Publishing) is impressive — and surprising. To Mike Campbell as well. More from Billboard Benmont Tench on His First Solo Album In 11 Years & What He Thinks About the Posthumous Tom Petty Releases MGK Pays Emotional Tribute to Late Friend Snowboarder Luke 'Dingo' Trembath on 'Your Name Forever' Lucy Dacus Confirms That She & Julien Baker Are Dating: 'I Want to Protect What Is Precious in My Life' The Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers guitarist tells Billboard that he was actually keeping a journal when the band (then known as Mudcrutch) moved to Los Angeles in 1974 from the members' native Florida. 'I did it for the first couple of months,' Campbell recalls. 'Every day the entry was, 'We went into the studio. We couldn't get the track. We couldn't get the track.' It was so depressing I just quit writing it down. But the stuff was still stuck in my memory.' And he credits his co-author, novelist Ari Surdoval (Double Nickels), with helping to pull those out of him. 'As I started thinking back on my memories, a lot of things just popped out that I didn't know were in there,' Campbell says. 'It's kinda crazy how the mind works.' Heartbreaker offers the proverbial long, strange trip through the 75-year-old Campbell's life from an impoverished, single-parent upbringing in Florida through his discovery of guitar and music, the Heartbreakers' ascent and his own success as a sideman and songwriter (starting with Don Henley's 'The Boys of Summer' in 1984), right up through his current endeavor leading the Dirty Knobs, a band he formed as a side project more than a decade ago which has become Campbell's primary musical outlet since Petty's death in 2017. It's spirit-lifting in spots, heart-breaking in others, and it offers a deep and revealing dive that will please Petty fans and guitar geeks alike. 'I didn't want to write a sex, drugs and rock n' roll book,' Campbell says. 'I wanted to talk about the creative energy for the songs and the personal relationships between me and my bandmates. And I wanted to show the struggle it took to get where we got; it wasn't just handed to us, and I wanted to tell the whole story of how we started out really poor and sacrificed for many years before we saw any income. So that was my basic thing. 'Mostly I wanted to touch base on the creative mystery of songs and where they come from. I set those boundaries at the beginning — we're not gonna talk about stupid things that every rock star writes about. I don't find that very interesting.' Campbell does check off all those boxes with Heartbreaker. There's minimal sex; he's been married to his wife Marcie for nearly 50 years, and their meeting at a Halloween party is sweetly recounted in the book. There are some drugs — his own use as well as his bandmates, including Petty's heroin addiction — and plenty of rock n' roll, documenting not only the Heartbreakers but also Campbell's Forrest Gump-like connection to the likes of Bob Dylan, George Harrison, Stevie Nicks and Fleetwood Mac (whom he toured with during 2018-19), Johnny Cash and more. 'I did find myself just looking around and going, 'How did I get here?' a lot,' Campbell says with a laugh. 'When a song would come, 'Why me? How did I get so lucky that this song came out of the air to me, of all people?'' Amidst his positive intentions, however, Campbell is also brutally honest about the sometimes-turbulent inner workings of the Heartbreakers, ranging from Petty's ascent to frontman status and the group's business structure to the delicate dynamics exacerbated by forceful personalities. 'I wanted to be real, and I wanted to be truthful,' says Campbell, who co-produced several Heartbreakers and Petty solo albums, as well as the posthumous 2022 box set Live at the Fillmore 1997. He also co-wrote Billboard Hot 100 top 40 hits such as 'Refugee,' 'You Got Lucky,' 'Runnin' Down a Dream' and others. 'I don't want to dwell on other people's drug and alcohol problems. I have not read the book Tom put out (Conversations with Tom Petty, 2005), but I understand he talks about all that himself. I wanted to illuminate my relationship with my brothers in the Heartbreakers. We all come from the South and we grew up in a very similar way, and I wanted to show how special that brotherhood was. I wanted to let people look behind the curtain, see a little bit about what it's like being in a band like this. 'Bands are very delicate creatures. It doesn't take much to break a band up. You have all the egos and personalities and sometimes wives or girlfriends get involved, money…. But our group, the music always outweighed it. It was so important to keep the music alive that nobody's wives or arguments over money, as far as I was concerned, was ever going to break it up. It was too special…and we cherished it.' To that end Campbell says he shared excerpts of the book with those who were mentioned, including Petty's daughter Adria, who's been running the estate, keyboardist Benmont Tench, Dylan, Roger McGuinn, Jeff Lynne and others. 'I wanted them to sign off that they were comfortable with it,' Campbell says. 'Nobody had anything but thanks for how I treated them. Nobody said, 'No, you can't put me in the book.'' 'The parts that I read I thought were great,' says Tench, who's waiting for the audio version of Heartbreaker, which Campbell recorded himself, to come out. 'Mike's memory is much more reliable than mine; I'm glad he's writing it, and not me.' Campbell's great affection for Petty and the other Heartbreakers aside, he considers Dylan — whom he met during sessions for Dylan's 1985 Empire Burlesque album before the Heartbreakers joined him on tour during 1986-87 — the most surreal character in the book. 'He is a mystery genius, a beautiful creature,' Campbell notes. 'He's so enigmatic, but so brilliant. I've met a lot of my heroes, from George Harrison to Johnny Cash; they're all intimidating and have the aura. But Bob has this special thing around him that's intriguing 'cause he's so brilliant and he's so mystical and so hard to read. But he's so good.' A surprising thread throughout Heartbreaker, however, is Campbell's professed insecurity, an inferiority complex that finds him taking much of the blame for any of the band's shortcomings of failures. 'That's a therapist question,' he says when it's pointed out. 'I think maybe if I dig deep and look at it, maybe my parents' divorce affected me in a very deep way, where my whole world was broken apart. Throughout my whole life I've tried to build a world that won't break up, and keep it together — my band and my marriage. So maybe that's why. Maybe it's genetics. I don't really know the answer, but…I'm still here doing it, so I think I'm dealing with it alright.' Campbell has three author appearances slated so far for Heartbreaker: March 19 at the New Jersey Performing Arts Center in Newark; March 20 at the Powerhouse Arena in Brooklyn; and March 21 at Strand in New York City. Meanwhile, he's been working on songs for the Dirty Knob's follow-up to last year's Vagabonds, Virgins & Misfits, with, he says, 'several songs I'm excited about' already in hand. The quartet, which now includes former Heartbreakers drummer Steve Ferrone, will join Chris Stapleton for All-American Road Show stops on June 12-13 in Grand Rapids, Mich., and will be playing a selection of summer shows with Blackberry Smoke starting July 25-26 at Nashville's Ryman Auditorium. 'I'm just busy,' Campbell notes. 'I love my band and I love the songs I'm doing and the crowds we have so far. I'm writing all the time, and I'm happy. I'm really blessed. It's been a great life, and it's not nearly over.' Best of Billboard Chart Rewind: In 1989, New Kids on the Block Were 'Hangin' Tough' at No. 1 Janet Jackson's Biggest Billboard Hot 100 Hits H.E.R. & Chris Brown 'Come Through' to No. 1 on Adult R&B Airplay Chart
