Latest news with #TedDanson
Perth Now
13 hours ago
- Entertainment
- Perth Now
Ted Danson had 'full on anxiety attack' during 'scariest' TV role ever
Ted Danson had a "full on anxiety attack" over his first television job. The 77-year-old actor started his career on soaps with roles in 'Somerset' and 'The Doctors' in 1975, but he has described the soap world as the "scariest" job he's had to date. He told Deadline video series 'The Actor's Side': "It was the scariest job I ever had, ever. "My first day [on 'Somerset'], this was at NBC, I was hired to be the man about town, always seducing women, all this stuff. "My first day, the night before, I had my - aged 24 in New York - nervous breakdown, no, but anxiety attack. Full on anxiety attack. "I called this wise friend, going, 'I'm not, I just can't'. He went, 'Don't do that, don't cut your nose off - take a Valium, and get up and go'. "Took a Valium to discover me and Valium don't do well. I got up, and even as soon as I woke up, I was [in] sheets of Broadway news sweats." Ted was meant to be in character opposite an experienced actress and making her character "nervous by coming onto her", but instead got quickly recast as "the town sleaze". The 'Man On The Inside' actor revealed the reason for his anxiety attack was double booking himself for two soaps "on the same day". Recalling his time on 'The Doctors', he said: "Also terrible. The reason why I was having an anxiety attack was I got hired by both shows on the same day and I said yes to both, and then they got furious. "'Somerset' won, but I had to do 'The Doctors'. That day I was supposed to be reassuring this poor couple whose child had cancel - I was supposed to be the wise reassuring young doctor. "Back then, they didn't have teleprompters, they had cue cards... I had the safety of knowing at least the cue cards was there... "He dropped one, and it wafted onto the set, onto my lap, but they were above my lap so they kept shooting. I was a terrible soap opera actor!" By 1982, Ted landed his breakthrough role as Sam Malone in iconic sitcom 'Cheers', and continued to star on television in the likes of 'Becker', 'Curb Your Enthusiasm', 'CSI: Crime Scene Investigation' and new Netflix hit 'A Man On The Inside', which is currently filming its second season. He said of its popularity: "If something you do hits a chord and it hits a chord on Netflix, it's a very powerful moment because it happens instantaneously, all over the world."
Daily Mail
3 days ago
- Entertainment
- Daily Mail
Jason Sudeikis offers touching tribute to uncle George Wendt after his passing at 76
Jason Sudeikis spent the weekend in his hometown of Kansas City over the weekend for his annual Big Slick charity event, where he also opened up about his late uncle, George Wendt. The beloved Cheers star passed away in his sleep on May 20 at 76 years of age, as a slew of stars paid tribute including his co-stars such as Ted Danson. Sudeikis was asked about his uncle during a Friday press conference for ahead of the Big Slick Celebrity Weekend fundraiser for Children's Mercy Hospital in Kansas City. After saying he was an 'amazing guy,' the microphone cut out, as he joked, 'that's him messing with the sound board, like "Don't talk about me, quit talking about me."' 'I mean, there's that old saying of like, "Don't meet your heroes," usually because "they let you down," I assume, is the back half of that statement. But he's not one of those people,' Sudeikis said of Wendt (via Kansas City TV station KSHB 41). 'He's as fun and kind and as warm as any character he played on television or in films,' Sudeikis said of his uncle. The beloved Cheers star passed away in his sleep on May 20 at 76 years of age, as a slew of stars paid tribute including his co-stars such as Ted Danson. '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,' he added. Sudeikis continued, '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, going to Rockhurst University (in Kansas City).' Sudeikis joked that he also went to, 'a bar called Mike's a whole bunch, where I think he logged maybe 18 credit hours.' '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.' Sudeikis helps organize the annual event along with other notable Kansas City natives like Rob Riggle, Paul Rudd, Eric Stonestreet, Heidi Gardner, which Wendt would often participate in. Riggle added, 'I'll just say as you know as an observer too, George was always willing to participate. He was always an active participant in Big Slick whether he was umpiring the game, on stage whatever it was. He was easy with a laugh and always fun to be around.' Rudd admitted that Wendt's absence, 'will be felt,' adding, 'he's so a part of it, just as much as any of us. He is a really really sweet guy. I loved him.' The weekend culminates with a celebrity softball game, with Sudeikis honoring his uncle by wearing a Kansas City Royals jersey with Wendt 76 on the back. Last June, Wendt appeared on the Still Here Hollywood podcast with Steve Kmetko, where Wendt said his nephew Sudeikis was, 'so smart' and 'so thoughtful.' '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 mensch,' Wendt said. He also recalled Sudeikis' interview, when he was asked whether his uncle gave him any advice regarding his career. '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." He got on SNL,' Wendt said.
CBC
23-05-2025
- Entertainment
- CBC
Norm! Cheers star George Wendt dead at 76
George Wendt, the actor known for his portrayal of beer-loving Norm Peterson on the hit NBC sitcom Cheers, has died at the age of 76. Wendt's family confirmed the news of his death, saying he died peacefully in his sleep at home early Tuesday morning. "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," read a statement to CBC News from a family representative, which noted that his loved ones have requested privacy. The statement did not provide a cause of death. Wendt was nominated for six consecutive supporting actor Emmys for his performance as Norm Peterson — who famously elicited a cry of "Norm!" every time the character walked into the fictitious Boston pub. Cheers was one of NBC's most popular shows during its run between 1982 to 1993. Where everybody knew his name The series, centred on lovable losers who work and patronize a Boston bar, starred Ted Danson, Shelley Long, Rhea Perlman, Kelsey Grammer, John Ratzenberger, Kirstie Alley and Woody Harrelson. Wendt, who spent six years in Chicago's renowned Second City improv troupe before sitting on a barstool at the place where everybody knew his name, didn't have high hopes when he auditioned for Cheers. "My agent said, 'It's a small role, honey. It's one line. Actually, it's one word.' The word was 'beer.' I was having a hard time believing I was right for the role of 'the guy who looked like he wanted a beer.' So I went in, and they said, 'It's too small a role. Why don't you read this other one?' And it was a guy who never left the bar," Wendt told GQ in an oral history of Cheers published in 2012. Cheers premiered on Sept. 30, 1982. Though its first season garnered low ratings, NBC president Brandon Tartikoff championed the show, and it was then nominated for an Emmy for best comedy series. Some 80 million people would tune in to watch the show's series finale 11 years later. Wendt became a fan favourite in and outside the bar and his wisecracks always landed. When bartender Coach asked, "How's a beer sound, Norm?" he would respond "I dunno. I usually finish them before they get a word in." While the beer the cast drank on set was nonalcoholic, Wendt and other Cheers actors admitted they were tipsy on May 20, 1993, when they watched the show's final episode then appeared together on The Tonight Show in a live broadcast from the Bull and Finch Pub in Boston, the bar that inspired the series. ″We had been drinking heavily for two hours but nobody thought to feed us," Wendt told the Beaver County Times of Pennsylvania in 2009. "We were nowhere near as cute as we thought we were." After Cheers, Wendt starred in his own short-lived sitcom The George Wendt Show and had guest spots on TV shows like Ghost Whisperer, Harry's Law and Portlandia. He was also part of a brotherhood of Chicago everymen who gathered over sausage and beers and adored "Da Bears" on Saturday Night Live. From barstool to stage Wendt also found steady work on stage, slipping on Edna Turnblad's housecoat in Broadway's Hairspray, based on the 1988 John Waters movie of the same name, beginning in 2007. He reprised the role in a production of Hairspray at the Charlottetown Festival in Prince Edward Island in 2010. "If I'm told to sing. I will do so. And if I'm told to move in a way that somewhat resembles dancing, I will also do so," CBC News reported him saying at a news conference in Charlottetown at the time. "I'm really, really thrilled to be a part of this wonderful piece again and get back in the dress and high heels," he said. "I really look forward to coming here and feeling like an islander rather than just a tourist coming in for a couple of days. I get to live here and be here for a couple of months. I sort of sense the anxiety in the local shellfish population." WATCH | George Wendt brings his Hairspray performance to P.E.I.: Wendt on Charlottetown stage 15 years ago Duration 4:42 He was in the Tony Award-winning play Art in New York and London, starred in the national tour of 12 Angry Men and appeared in a production of David Mamet's Lakeboat. He also starred in regional productions of The Odd Couple, Never Too Late, Funnyman and played Willy Loman in Arthur Miller's Death of a Salesman. He would reprise that role at St. Jacobs Country Playhouse, in Waterloo, Ont., in 2017. "I can relate to so many of Willy's problems, and everyone can. That's why these plays — the really great plays — endure, because they're so relatable," he told CBC Kitchener-Waterloo's Morning Edition that year. Wendt once said working in theatre was a better fit for him than television. "A, it's by far the most fun, but B, I seem to have been kicked out of television," Wendt said describing his move into theatre to the Kansas City Star of in 2011. "I overstayed my welcome. But theater suits me." Wendt had an affinity for playing Santa Claus, donning the famous red outfit in the stage musical version of Elf on Broadway in 2017, the TV movie Santa Baby with Jenny McCarthy in 2006 and in the doggie Disney video Santa Buddies in 2009. He also played the role for TV specials by Larry the Cable Guy and Stephen Colbert. "I think it just proves that if you stay fat enough and get old enough, the offers start rolling in," the actor joked to The Associated Press in his Broadway dressing room. Born in Chicago, Wendt attended Campion High School, a Catholic boarding school in Prairie du Chien, Wisconsin, then Notre Dame, where he rarely went to class and was eventually kicked out. He transferred to Rockhurst University in Kansas City and graduated, majoring in economics. He found a home at Second City in both the improv troupe's touring company and the main stage. "I think comedy is my long suit, for sure. My approach to comedy is usually not full-bore clownish," he told The Associated Press. "If you're trying to showboat or step outside, it doesn't always work. There are certain performers who almost specialize in doing that, and they do it really well. But that's not my approach."
Daily Mail
22-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Daily Mail
Kelsey Grammer breaks silence on Cheers co-star George Wendt's death at 76 as he leads cast tributes
Cheers icon George Wendt is being mourned by his onetime co-stars after it emerged that he has died at the age of 76. The legendary actor played the beloved barfly Norm Peterson on the hit NBC show from 1982-1993 and earned six consecutive Emmy nominations for the role. Wendt's death on Tuesday was confirmed by his publicist in a statement that read: '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.' Now Kelsey Grammer, who originated his iconic character Dr. Frasier Crane on Cheers before he became a sitcom superstar in his own right on the spin-off Frasier, has shared his reaction to the shock development. 'I believe mourning is a private matter. But I liked George a lot. He was beloved by millions,' Grammer said in a statement to Another of his Cheers co-stars Ted Danson, who led the cast of the sitcom as bartender and ladies' man Sam Malone, has shared his grief at Wendt's death. He said he is 'devastated to hear that Georgie is no longer with us,' conveying 'all my love' to Wendt's wife Bernadette Birkett and their three children, via People. 'It is going to take me a long time to get used to this. I love you, Georgie.' Two And A Half Men star Jon Cryer fondly remembered his teenage role acting alongside Wendt in a 1984 film called No Small Affair, a romantic comedy that also featured Demi Moore and Tim Robbins. Cryer shared that he 'met George on one of my first movies and every day we shot together I kind of couldn't believe it. That I was working with one of my favorite actors in television and he was just such an absolute prince.' He touchingly added that Wendt 'will be missed by many millions who, just like me, felt like Norm was a member of the family.' Sabrina The Teenage Witch star Melissa Joan Hart also wrote glowingly about her experience working with Wendt during his recurring guest shot on her show as her character's surly boss at her newspaper internship. 'Heaven just got a little funnier with #GeorgeWendt. It was a thrill to work beside him on #SabrinatheTeenageWitch for a handful of episodes,' she wrote. 'I was a big #Cheers fan and knew I was among one of the best when he was on set. He was warm, professional and kind and our cast and crew were gifted with his presence every time. Rest in peace! #GodBlesstheFunnyPeople.' Good Luck Charlie actor Eric Allan Kramer remembered the bonhomie and humor he experienced from Wendt while guest-starring on Cheers in 1989. 'Was hard to hear of his passing… First met George Wendt on the set of Cheers… One of the warmest, funniest guys I've ever come across...,' wrote Kramer. 'Welcoming as the star he was, incredibly giving as an actor in rehearsal (and when the cameras were rolling)… Also the first one to make sure I had a beer in my hand at the end of the night…' Kramer noted: 'We shared a history of work with the Calgary Stampeders and exchanged many stories over the week… Cheers, indeed… Many thanks for the laughs and the education… RIP'. Wendt's passing came just six months after the frail star was seen being wheeled out of an California dialysis clinic 32 years to the day that the Cheers finale aired. Wendt's iconic sitcom Cheers ran for 11 seasons from 1982 to 1993, though the show was almost canceled after its first season due to low ratings. However, it spent eight of its remaining 10 seasons in the top 10, becoming the most-watched show in Season 9. It earned 28 Emmy Awards from 117 nominations, earning Outstanding Comedy Series nominations all 11 seasons, winning four. Wendt - who is also the uncle of Ted Lasso actor Jason Sudeikis - impressively appeared in every episode until it went off air in May 1993. His lovable, happy-go-lucky barfly Norm - whose occupations included accountant, painter and decorator and coast guard - quickly became a fan favorite, thanks to his iconic entrance into the bar. Norm would arrive and yell 'Afternoon/evening everybody!' with the bar crowd shouting his name back. Hailing from Chicago, prior to acting Wendt was expelled from the University of Notre Dame in Indiana over poor grades before moving into showbusiness, where his first job was sweeping a theatre floor. Guest roles in Taxi and M*A*S*H were followed by his big break on Cheers, and two years after it finished he launched a self-titled sitcom on CBS, but it was canceled after eight episodes. Other than his success in the hit sitcom, the popular entertainer has appeared in shows such as Sabrina The Teenage Witch, Columbo and Wings. Wendt's nephew and godson is Ted Lasso star Jason Sudeikis - pictured 2017 He also had a recurring sketch on SNL's Bill Swerski's Superfans, which was dedicated to sports fans from Chicago. Wendt had been married to Bernadette Birkett – who played the voice of the mysterious Vera on Cheers – since 1978 and they have one daughter and two sons. Wendt had kept a low profile in recent years, making only a handful of small appearances on screen, including his stint as a contestant in The Masked Singer in 2023. More recently, he made a surprise appearance on stage when he reunited with the Cheers cast at the Emmy Awards in January 2024. Wendt was joined by former co-stars Ted Danson, Kelsey Grammer, Rhea Perlman, and John Ratzenberger around a recreated set of the show's iconic bar. Cast members Shelley Long and Woody Harrelson did not attend the reunion. Sudeikis explained to Playboy in 2011 how his mother's brother Wendt inspired him to embark upon his own career path. He admitted: 'He's always been very encouraging, but there was no Tuesdays With Morrie kind of relationship between him and I. 'He didn't take me to the park to explain comic timing. There was nothing like that. He was just a good example that being an actor was a viable option.' The actor added: 'Here's a guy from the Midwest, in my family, who took the road less travelled and it worked out for him. The advice he gave me, and I say this jokingly, is "Get on one of the best sitcoms of all time and then ride it out."' Wendt encouraged his nephew to audition for Saturday Night Live after attending one of his improv performances. In June 2024 Wendt lauded his nephew - the son of his sister Kathy on the podcast Still Here Hollywood with Steve Kmetko He 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 such a mesh, so smart, so thoughtful. I mean, it all comes out in the show. Right?'
Fox News
22-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Fox News
George Wendt's wild 'Cheers' days revealed: Cast pranks, mushroom trips and shotgun gifts
Don't let George Wendt's mild-mannered portrayal of loyal "Cheers" regular Norm Peterson fool you; the late actor had some pretty wild times with the cast. Wendt, who died on Tuesday at 76 years old after suffering from health issues, was cast on "Cheers" in 1982 following an audition that involved just one word: "beer." But his subtle comedic timing and authenticity quickly made his character an icon of 1980s television. Wendt reunited with former "Cheers" cast members Ted Danson and Woody Harrelson last year on their "Where Everybody Knows Your Name" podcast, and the trio quickly began to reminisce about the shenanigans they got up to, which closely resembled the way their characters joked around with each other. Danson revealed that when the cast noticed during rehearsals that another actor was "having trouble with a pretty hefty speech or something, we would get glints in our eyes and we would go 'Oh, we'll be there for you on the night.'" But instead of being supportive while filming, the cast would shoot spitballs at the actor. He continued of Wendt, "And there was actually a shot, I think, or at least this is the urban legend, where you can see a spitball in your hairline where one of us had managed to land one while you were doing your [speech]." "I'll never forget I hit you right in the uvula once," Wendt replied. "You were laughing like that and your mouth was that open, and I saw it, and it was a Zen moment." Danson also remembered the time the cast got drunk before going live on air with Jey Leno to do a special interview following the last episode of the show in 1993. He said the cast was brought into Boston's Bowl and Finch Pub, which served as the bar's exterior on the show, early in the afternoon hours before they went live on "The Tonight Show." "What do you do at a bar? You start drinking, and later you start smoking, so by the time literally that Jay Leno, he looked up from his notes, and they were going, 'five, four, three, two..,' he looked up and saw us all really for the first time and his eyes start to spin going, 'Oh my –.' We got a lot of s--- for that, remember?" Danson said. Wendt said that may have been Leno's first live show, adding that the "Tonight Show" host might have never done another live show again after that. "I wouldn't blame him, we were in poor shape to be doing anything," Harrelson said. Wendt, who came from an improv background at Chicago's Second City, revealed that the cast kept the show fresh through its eleventh season by not over-rehearsing, which they may have overdone. "After a while, John [Ratzenberger] and I would be sitting there next to each other – I'm talking about year eight or nine or something – and they'd go , 'OK, next scene, standby,' and I'd look at John and say, 'Any idea?' He'd go, 'Nope.' … So, you'd prayed that the first line wasn't your bit." The cast also like to prank each other. Danson remembered that around six months after he'd "pantsed" Harrelson during a show, Wendt and Kirstie Alley, who came onto the show as bar manager Rebecca Howe in the sixth season, and Wendt got him back. He said he went into his dressing room to take a shower and Wendt knocked on the door and says, "'You mind if I come in and shave while you're in the shower?' I went, 'No, that's fine.' So, the door is primed by you to be open. And I can't quite remember, I think you dove in, grabbed the shower door and swung it open and Kirstie took a Polaroid of me in all my glory. And then it showed up during the wrap party." In fact, Wendt and Ratzenberger, who played know-it-all Cliff, helped Alley start the show with a bang. In 2023, during a cast reunion at the ATX TV Festival in Austin, Texas, Wendt said the cast was having dinner before Alley's first show when they realized they should have bought the actress – who wasn't at the dinner – a gift. Danson, Harrelson, and Rhea Perlman, who played Carla on the show, all said they were busy, so Wendt and Ratzenberger were entrusted to get the gift. While driving down Melrose in Hollywood, they saw a Big 5 Sporting Goods store. "And John goes, 'You wanna buy her a shotgun?'" Wendt told the audience. "And, like you, I laughed for about five minutes," he told the crowd. "And then immediately pulled into the parking lot, and we bought her a freakin' shotgun.… John and I were never tasked with the gifts again." Ratzenberger added, "I think you even wrote on the card, 'You're gonna have to shoot your way out.'" Wendt told the "Still Here Hollywood" podcast last December that the cast was "horrified" by the present, but "Kirstie loved it." On Danson and Harrelson's podcast, Wendt recalled the time the men in the cast played "hooky" from the show during a "female-heavy" episode focused on Shelley Long's character Diane and Perlman's Carla. "John had just bought a boat, and he was anxious to show it off, so we cooked up this getaway," Wendt said. Danson said when he and Harrelson arrived at the boat they were "already stoned" and they all called into the show from a payphone saying they weren't feeling well. "I think somebody said, 'I'm seasick, heh heh,'" Wendt, added, joking, "I got peer pressured." Danson said before the ride, Harrelson got him to try mushrooms for the first time. "And ate, I think, an extraordinary amount of mushrooms," he added. The men then took off for Catalina, a resort island off the coast of Los Angeles, and quickly hit leftover waves from a hurricane in Mexico. "There was still a huge swell, so people not on mushrooms would be seasick pretty much. But I sat there getting more and more freaked out and whatever it is you get, stoned, or whatever it is on mushrooms," the "Curb Your Enthusiasm" star remembered. Danson said that he saw Harrelson looking relaxed, stretched out on a bunk, so he decided to go up on deck to attempt to calm down. He told Wendt: "And I came and sat down next to you, and you looked at me and you went, 'You're high on something aren't you?' I kind of nodded sheepishly and John was like, 'Oh, for crying out loud.' But you spent the whole next 45 minutes poking me about every minute or two and said, "Breathe," because I would literally forget to breathe and feel like I was dying and you'd poke me." "He was our lifesaver," Danson added of Wendt, who said while he didn't do any mushrooms, he was seasick on the ride. Danson called the ride there and back the worst four hours of his life. The actors all got chewed out the next day. "And John goes, 'You wanna buy her a shotgun?'" Wendt remarked, "It would have been extravagant, but I thought [James] Burrows, [the co-creator of 'Cheers'], should have rented a helicopter with the girls and brought them and meet us on the pier, and when we got off the boat go, 'OK, A scene is up.' 'What? Oh, Jesus.'" Danson said the producers told them they would have let them go out on the boat if they had let the show know, "'But that's not hooky, Jimmy,'" he said he told Burrows. While often goofing off, the cast was also sentimental. Danson remembered before Nicholas Colasanto, who played Coach on the show, died during the third season, his heart condition had left him forgetful, and he began to cover every surface of the set with his lines, including one about a friend who'd died that read: "It's almost as if he's still here with us." He said the cast noticed the line the first time they came back to the set after Colasanto's death. "I think we all basically burst into tears 'cause it was how we were all feeling. And then we would make a ritual, for the next four or five years, as we came down to greet the audience, everyone would touch the [line] 'It's almost like he's here with us.'" One day, set painters painted over the line on the wall in the off-season, he said, "and we all damn near quit, we were so angry when we came back." The cast also insisted that a photograph of Geronimo that Colasanto had in his dressing room be hung on the wall of the set in memory of him. On Tuesday, Danson paid tribute to Wendt, saying in a statement to several outlets: "I am devastated to hear that Georgie is no longer with us. I am sending all my love to [Wendt's wife] Bernadette and the children. It is going to take me a long time to get used to this. I love you, Georgie."
