‘Cheers’ actor George Wendt dies at 76
George Wendt earned six consecutive best supporting actor Emmy nominations playing Norm Peterson on NBC’s “Cheers.”
Actor George Wendt, best known for his beloved role as beer-quaffing barfly Norm Peterson on the iconic NBC comedy “Cheers,” has died. He was 76.
A representative for Wendt, publicist Melissa Nathan, confirmed the actor’s death to USA TODAY on May 20, adding that he died peacefully in his sleep at his 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,” the statement continued. “He will be missed forever.”
Wendt earned six consecutive best supporting actor Emmy nominations playing his one-line-delivering everyman character. He never won an Emmy for “Cheers,” but his underemployed accountant character was greeted with a boisterous call of “Norm!” by fellow patrons with every entrance to the fictional Boston bar. The actor’s death falls on the 32nd anniversary of the final “Cheers” episode that aired on May 20, 1993.
Born George Robert Wendt Jr. on October 17, 1948, in Chicago, Illinois, Wendt spent six years in Chicago’s renowned Second City improv troupe before auditioning for “Cheers.” Originally, his character only appeared in the final scene of the pilot, with only one line: “Beer.”
“My agent said, ‘It’s a small role, honey. It’s one line. Actually, it’s one word.’ The word was ‘beer,’” Wendt said in a GQ oral history of “Cheers” published in 2012.
But the role turned pivotal, and Wendt appeared as Norm in every “Cheers” episode through 11 seasons (1982-93). Sitting next to fellow barfly and postal worker Cliff Clavin (John Ratzenberger), Norm sipped on countless TV beer mugs, which Wendt revealed were filled with Kingsbury-brand “near beer” that was poured warm from the set’s taps.
Wendt also played the Norm role in the short-lived spinoff “The Tortellis,” a 1990 episode of NBC’s “Wings,” and in an episode of the “Cheers” spinoff “Frasier,” featuring psychiatrist Frasier Crane (Kelsey Grammer).
The comic actor was a frequent “Saturday Night Live” guest, where he famously portrayed one of the superfan Chicago sports enthusiasts in the recurring “Bill Swerski’s Superfans” sketch.
Decked out in walrus mustaches and Bears gear, Wendt and his fellow superfans – including Chris Farley, Mike Myers, Joe Mantegna, and Robert Smigel – enthusiastically discussed “Da Bears” and legendary head coach Mike Ditka (known only as “Ditka”).
Following “Cheers,” Wendt starred as a radio-host car mechanic in his own sitcom, “The George Wendt Show” on CBS in 1995. The show was canceled after six episodes.
Wendt appeared in movies such as “Airplane II: The Sequel” (1982), “Fletch” (1985), “The Little Rascals” (1994) and as a film producer in “Spice World” (1997) as well as making guest appearances on TV’s “Seinfeld,” “The Larry Sanders Show” and “The Simpsons.” On the stage, Wendt notably played Edna Turnblad in the 2007 Broadway production of “Hairspray.”
While Norm assiduously avoided his never-seen wife, Vera, at the bar, Wendt was married for 46 years to actress and Second City alum Bernadette Birkett, who voiced the unseen spouse on several “Cheers” episodes.
In one of his final public appearances at the 75th Emmy Awards in 2024, Wendt reunited with his “Cheers” co-stars Ted Danson, Rhea Perlman, Grammer and Ratzenberger on a recreated set of the show’s iconic Boston bar. Wendt’s memorable entrance brought one final “Norm!” from his assembled costars.
Danson, who played Cheers owner and bartender Sam “Mayday” Malone, said he was “devastated to hear that Georgie is no longer with us” in a statement following the sad news.
“It is going to take me a long time to get used to this,” Danson added. “I love you, Georgie.”
