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Yahoo
3 days ago
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Jason Sudeikis Recalls the 'Incredible Influence' Late Uncle George Wendt Had on Him in Tribute After the 'Cheers' Actor's Death
Jason Sudeikis is paying tribute to his late uncle, George Wendt. The Ted Lasso actor, 49, remembered Wendt — his mother Kathy's brother — and what the late Cheers star meant to him during the Big Slick Celebrity Weekend on Friday, May 30. While kicking off the event — a fundraiser for Children's Mercy Hospital in Kansas City, Mo. — with a star-studded panel, Sudeikis was asked about the late actor, who was also a Big Slick mainstay. "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. But he's not one of those people," Sudeikis said during the panel, which was captured by NBC affiliate KSHB 41. "He's as fun and kind and as warm as any character he played on television or in films,' the star continued on Wendt. 'He was an incredible influence to me, both as someone that plays the trail, being from the Midwest and teaching me that acting was a career you could actually have, if you really care about it." Wendt also showed Sudeikis that it's "a career where you could meet the love of your life, like his wife, a.k.a. permanent girlfriend, Bernadette," the Saturday Night Live alum said, referring to the late actor's wife of nearly 50 years, Bernadette Birkett. "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," Sudeikis continued, highlighting his uncle's time at Rockhurst University in Kansas City. "And to a bar called Mike's a whole bunch, where I think he logged maybe 18 credit hours," he then joked. "But it was all in preparation of a job that we all know him for, Cheers. All time well spent. But yeah, we miss him greatly, and I love him dearly." Several others on the celebrity panel, including Rob Riggle, Eric Stonestreet and Paul Rudd, also chimed in with kind words about Wendt. "It's going to be felt, his absence, this year, even though he's so a part of it, just as much as any of us," Rudd, 56, said. "He is a really really sweet guy. I loved him." The PEOPLE Puzzler crossword is here! How quickly can you solve it? Play now! Wendt — who played Norm Peterson on Cheers for the show's entire 11-season run from 1982 to 1993 — died on the morning of Tuesday, May 20. He was 76. Wendt's publicist confirmed his death in a statement to PEOPLE, saying, "Beloved actor and comedian, George Wendt, best known for starring in the NBC hit comedy Cheers, has passed away." "George's family confirmed the news of his death early Tuesday morning, announcing he died peacefully in his sleep while at home," the statement continued. "George was a doting family man, a well-loved friend and confidant to all of those lucky enough to have known him. He will be missed forever." "The family has requested privacy during this time," the statement concluded. During a 2024 episode of the Still Here Hollywood podcast, Wendt told host Steve Kmetko he was "very proud" of Sudeikis. "Proud especially, you know, not only of the success, but he's solid," Wendt said at the time, also calling the comedian "so smart" and "so thoughtful." Never miss a story — sign up for to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from celebrity news to compelling human-interest stories. Sudeikis shared his fondest memory of Wendt in a 2017 interview with The A.V. Club, recalling a white-knuckle drive in his uncle's BMW with his dad. "He took me and my dad for a ride. My dad sat shotgun, I was in the back all by myself," he remembered, noting that it was before wearing seatbelts were required by law. "He had my dad holding on ... and I'm just sliding around in the background just because the seats were brand new." Wendt is survived by his wife and their three children: Hilary, Joe and Daniel. Read the original article on People
Yahoo
4 days ago
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Jason Sudeikis Recalls the 'Incredible Influence' Late Uncle George Wendt Had on Him in Tribute After the 'Cheers' Actor's Death
Jason Sudeikis is paying tribute to his late uncle, George Wendt. The Ted Lasso actor, 49, remembered Wendt — his mother Kathy's brother — and what the late Cheers star meant to him during the Big Slick Celebrity Weekend on Friday, May 30. While kicking off the event — a fundraiser for Children's Mercy Hospital in Kansas City, Mo. — with a star-studded panel, Sudeikis was asked about the late actor, who was also a Big Slick mainstay. "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. But he's not one of those people," Sudeikis said during the panel, which was captured by NBC affiliate KSHB 41. "He's as fun and kind and as warm as any character he played on television or in films,' the star continued on Wendt. 'He was an incredible influence to me, both as someone that plays the trail, being from the Midwest and teaching me that acting was a career you could actually have, if you really care about it." Wendt also showed Sudeikis that it's "a career where you could meet the love of your life, like his wife, a.k.a. permanent girlfriend, Bernadette," the Saturday Night Live alum said, referring to the late actor's wife of nearly 50 years, Bernadette Birkett. "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," Sudeikis continued, highlighting his uncle's time at Rockhurst University in Kansas City. "And to a bar called Mike's a whole bunch, where I think he logged maybe 18 credit hours," he then joked. "But it was all in preparation of a job that we all know him for, Cheers. All time well spent. But yeah, we miss him greatly, and I love him dearly." Several others on the celebrity panel, including Rob Riggle, Eric Stonestreet and Paul Rudd, also chimed in with kind words about Wendt. "It's going to be felt, his absence, this year, even though he's so a part of it, just as much as any of us," Rudd, 56, said. "He is a really really sweet guy. I loved him." The PEOPLE Puzzler crossword is here! How quickly can you solve it? Play now! Wendt — who played Norm Peterson on Cheers for the show's entire 11-season run from 1982 to 1993 — died on the morning of Tuesday, May 20. He was 76. Wendt's publicist confirmed his death in a statement to PEOPLE, saying, "Beloved actor and comedian, George Wendt, best known for starring in the NBC hit comedy Cheers, has passed away." "George's family confirmed the news of his death early Tuesday morning, announcing he died peacefully in his sleep while at home," the statement continued. "George was a doting family man, a well-loved friend and confidant to all of those lucky enough to have known him. He will be missed forever." "The family has requested privacy during this time," the statement concluded. During a 2024 episode of the Still Here Hollywood podcast, Wendt told host Steve Kmetko he was "very proud" of Sudeikis. "Proud especially, you know, not only of the success, but he's solid," Wendt said at the time, also calling the comedian "so smart" and "so thoughtful." Never miss a story — sign up for to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from celebrity news to compelling human-interest stories. Sudeikis shared his fondest memory of Wendt in a 2017 interview with The A.V. Club, recalling a white-knuckle drive in his uncle's BMW with his dad. "He took me and my dad for a ride. My dad sat shotgun, I was in the back all by myself," he remembered, noting that it was before wearing seatbelts were required by law. "He had my dad holding on ... and I'm just sliding around in the background just because the seats were brand new." Wendt is survived by his wife and their three children: Hilary, Joe and Daniel. Read the original article on People
Yahoo
25-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
'Baywatch' Star Shares Bold Statement About Negative Effects of the Show
It's decades after the show was on the air, and Baywatchis still a cultural icon, but according to former cast member , the extreme success of the show wasn't always a good thing. The actress, who played the character Summer Quinn for two seasons, revealed during a recent episode of the Still Here Hollywood podcast that the show had negative effects on both her career and dating life, even after she left the series. 🎬 🎬 "We were being ripped apart in the press," she said of the response to Baywatch despite its intense popularity, and because of this, "The casting doors were not opening anymore." Eggert went on, "And then all of a sudden it was like we were called 'Baywatch bimbos' and these dumb bimbos on the on the other hand, you have this No. 1 hit on your hand, and it's like what a kerfuffle. What a mess." She "politely bowed out" of the show after two seasons, hoping to create some distance between herself and the image of Baywatch, saying, "I had some crazy idea in my head that if I left the show, I would be able to detach myself from the stigma that the show had given all of us as actors, which is not a thing." Unfortunately, this also negatively affected her dating life, with Eggert saying that many people had trouble separating her from the character she played. She said, "People have an idea of who you are, and that could be a number of things. And I think it's harder for people to get to know you without this preconceived notion that they have going in." While Eggert left the show after a couple of years, Baywatch continued to be a huge success, airing until 2001. There was a reunion TV movie in 2003 called Baywatch: Hawaiian Wedding, in which Eggert reprised her role as Summer.
Yahoo
20-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
George Wendt Had Sweet Reunion with 'Cheers' Costars Ted Danson and Woody Harrelson in Final Public Appearance
George Wendt's final public appearance was alongside his Cheers costars in August 2024 Wendt died on Tuesday, May 20, at the age of 76 He was best known for his role on Cheers, in which he played Norm PetersonGeorge Wendt's final public appearance was a touching nod to one of his most beloved roles. The late actor, who died at the age of 76 on May 20, appeared as a guest on the podcast of his Cheers costars Ted Danson and Woody Harrelson in August 2024. During an episode of Where Everybody Knows Your Name, the trio reminisced on their memories from the set of the beloved sitcom, which aired from September 30, 1982, until May 20, 1993 — exactly 32 years to the day Wendt died. 'My agent called and said, 'You know, honey, they want you to do this Cheers,'' Wendt shared of how he got the job that gave him his big break. ''Now you're not available,' because I had this other show at Paramount for CBS. Then they go, 'But they want you to come in anyway, and it's really small, though. I go, 'Oh, okay.'' At the time, Wendt revealed he was only auditioning to say one word in the pilot, but he ended up reading for another character and landed a starring role. Elsewhere in the Aug. 14 episode, the trio recalled a day where they played "hooky" from the show to hang out on costar John Ratzenburger's boat — it also marked the day Danson experimented with hallucinogenics and got extremely sea sick. Wendt, who played Norm Peterson, recalled that the cast "were in such trouble" afterwards for playing hooky. "I didn't think anyone would give a s---," he said. "They called us in, one at a time, to give a s--- the next day," Danson added. Two months prior to his interview with Harrelson and Danson, Wendt made another appearance as a guest on Steve Kmetko's Still Here Hollywood podcast, where he reflected on his career in comedy and what he thought of his nephew Jason Sudeikis' career. In his interview, he praised the Ted Lasso star's success. 'It was Letterman or Conan, he said, 'Did your uncle George have any advice for you?'" Wendt remembered. 'And Jason goes — he's so sharp — he goes, 'Yeah he told me just get on the best show on television and one of the greatest shows of all time and just pretty much take it from there.' And he goes, 'So I did.'' Wendt added: 'He got on SNL.' The proud uncle continued to gush during his chat with Kmetko. 'He's such a great kid,' Wendt said of Sudeikis, who is the son of Wendt's sister Kathy. "Very proud. Proud especially, you know, not only of the success, but he's solid. Have you read profiles and stuff? I mean he is such a mesh, so smart, so thoughtful. I mean, it all comes out in the show. Right?' In June 1, 2024, Wendt appeared with Sudeikis, actor and comedian Robert Smigel and NFL star Travis Kelce during 2024 Big Slick Celebrity Weekend in Kansas City, Missouri. Smigel and Wendt reprised their roles from their iconic Saturday Night Live sketch, "Bill Swerski's Superfans," and teased Kelce over his relationship with Taylor Swift. Wendt joked that Kelce that Swift should fund a new stadium for the Chiefs. 'What's a few hundred million to Taylor? Wendt joked. "That's what four tickets cost to her concert anyway." On Tuesday, May 20, Wendt's publicist, Melissa Nathan, confirmed his death in a statement to PEOPLE. 'Beloved actor and comedian, George Wendt, best known for starring in the NBC hit comedy Cheers, has passed away,' it read. 'George's family confirmed the news of his death early Tuesday morning, announcing he died peacefully in his sleep while at home.' 'George was a doting family man, a well-loved friend and confidant to all of those lucky enough to have known him. He will be missed forever,' it continued. 'The family has requested privacy during this time.' In a statement to PEOPLE, Danson said he's "devastated to hear that Georgie is no longer with us." "I am sending all my love to Bernadette and the children," Danson said. "It is going to take me a long time to get used to this. I love you, Georgie." Never miss a story — sign up for to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from juicy celebrity news to compelling human interest stories. Wendt was born in Chicago in 1948 and got his start in comedy at Chicago's The Second City theater in 1974. It was there that he met his wife, to whom he was married for 47 years. The pair shared three children: Hilary, Joe, and Daniel. He was also one of nine children, and his sister Kathryn is the mother of actor and comedian Jason Sudeikis. Before Cheers, Wendt's earliest roles included small parts on series such as Hart to Hart, Soap, Taxi and M*A*S*H. He also appeared in a handful of films, including My Bodyguard, Jekyll and Hyde... Together Again and Airplane II: The Sequel. Read the original article on People
Hindustan Times
20-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Hindustan Times
How are George Wendt and Jason Sudeikis related?
'Cheers' actor George Wendt died at the age of 76 on Tuesday. Wendt is survived by his wife, actress Bernadette Birkett, their three children Joe and Daniel, and, Hilary, and his nephew Jason Sudeikis, who is the son of his sister Kathy. Last year, Wendt had spoken about his nephew's career success, saying he is 'very proud.' Appearing in an episode of the Still Here Hollywood podcast with Steve Kmetko, Wendt said, "He's such a great kid. Very proud. Proud especially, you know, not only of the success, but he's solid. Have you read profiles and stuff? I mean he is... so smart, so thoughtful."
