George Wendt, an American actor and comedian who earned six consecutive Emmy nominations for his performance as Norm Peterson on the beloved NBC comedy series “Cheers,” died Tuesday morning at his home. He was 76.
Wendt’s death was confirmed by his publicist Melissa Nathan with the following statement: “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.”
A student of the Chicago improv landscape, Wendt was a comedian at The Second City in the 1970s before becoming a television actor. After numerous guest spots, he landed the role that would come define him: the loyal barfly Norm Peterson, whose regular first line of “Afternoon everybody” became one of the fan-beloved motifs of the series.
A standout among the cast, Wendt earned six Emmy nods in the supporting actor in a comedy series category through his tenure as a main cast member across the 11-season run of “Cheers.” He would go on to reprise the role in appearances on the short-lived spinoff “The Tortellis” and the long-running spinoff “Frasier.” After appearing in all 273 episodes of “Cheers,” Wendt jumped to CBS to lead his own sitcom, titled “The George Wendt Show,” in which he played a radio host car mechanic. The series was quickly scrapped, running for just a month.
Wendt’s affinity for comedy made him a regular on “Saturday Night Live” through the ’90s, drawing on his Southside roots to join Chris Farley, Mike Myers and Robert Smigel in the recurring mustachioed Chicago Superfans sketches. (In one particularly odd bit of “SNL” lore, Wendt co-hosted a 1986 episode with director Francis Ford Coppola, then preparing to release “Peggy Sue Got Married.” Philip Glass was the musical guest.)
Born Oct. 17, 1948 in Chicago, Ill., Wendt was one of nine children and attended the University of Notre Dame before jumping to Jesuit Rockhurst College where he graduated with a degree in economics. During his time at The Second City, Wendt met Bernadette Birkett. The two married in 1978. (Though never seen on-screen, Birkett voiced the character of Norm’s wife on “Cheers.”) The couple had three children. Notably, Wendt is also the uncle to “SNL” and “Ted Lasso” star Jason Sudeikis.
After “Cheers” elevated Wendt, the actor had no trouble scoring supporting roles for the rest of his career, with film credits including comedies like “Fletch,” “Gung Ho” and “Spice World,” along with features like the 1985 horror film “House” and the 2019 American indie standout “The Climb.”
Love Film & TV?
Get your daily dose of everything happening in music, film and TV in Australia and abroad.
His immense resume of TV guest credits features titles like “Hot in Cleveland,” “The Twilight Zone,” “Columbo,” “George Lopez” and “Fresh Off the Boat.” Though he never found another series as enduring as “Cheers,” Wendt helped anchor several sitcoms over the years, serving as a main cast member on the TBS series “Clipped” and lending his voice talent to the animated series “Fancy Nancy.” In 2023, he competed on “The Masked Singer.”
Wendt also turned to theater in the latter portion of his career. In 2008, he took over the role of Edna Turnblad (traditionally performed by an actor in drag) in the then-ongoing Broadway production of “Hairspray.” He would reprise the role at a production in the Charlottetown Festival. He also featured as Santa in Broadway’s “Elf the Musical” and played Willy Loman in a 2017 Ontario production of “Death of a Salesman.”
Wendt is survived by his wife and three children.
From Variety US