Comic actor George Wendt, 'Cheers' barfly named Norm, dead at 76
John Ratzenberger (left) and George Wendt (right) perform a sketch from the show 'Cheers' at the 75th Primetime Emmy Awards in Los Angeles, California, US, January 15, 2024. REUTERS/Mario Anzuoni/File Photo
Comic actor George Wendt, best known for his Emmy-nominated supporting role as the beer-bellied barfly Norm on the long-running hit NBC television sitcom "Cheers," died on Tuesday in Los Angeles. He was 76.
The passing of the Chicago-born performer was announced in a statement from his publicist, Melissa Nathan, who said his family confirmed that he died peacefully in his sleep in the early morning at home.
No other details about the circumstances or cause of his death were given.
"George was a doting family man, a well-loved friend and confidant to all of those lucky enough to have known him," the statement said. "He will be missed forever."
Wendt got his showbiz start in the Second City improvisational comedy troupe of his native Chicago in the 1970s and went on to appear in small roles in various prime-time TV series during the 1980s, including "M*A*S*H," "Taxi," and "Soap."
He landed his first gig as a TV series regular in 1982 on the short-lived CBS comedy "Making the Grade," which lasted just six episodes before it was canceled.
But he was most famous for his signature role as the beer-quaffing accountant Norm Peterson – as amiable as he was portly – during the entire run of "Cheers," which aired in US prime time from 1982 to 1993.
Set in a fictional Boston neighborhood bar "where everybody knows your name," the series launched the careers of such stars as Ted Danson and Woody Harrelson, and spun off another long-running NBC sitcom, "Frasier," starring Kelsey Grammer.
Norm was often the good-natured comic foil of his bar-stool companion and drinking buddy, the know-it-all mailman Cliff, played by John Ratzenberger. The Norm character earned Wendt six consecutive Emmy Award nominations.
Just months before the show ended its run, Wendt and Ratzenberger sued the show's producer, Paramount Pictures, challenging a licensing deal that sought to market their likenesses as a pair of chatty life-size robots in a chain of "Cheers"-like airport bars.
The case, pitting intellectual property rights claimed by the studio against the actors' rights to exclusive control over use of their own likenesses for profit, bounced through the federal court system for years before being denied a hearing by the US Supreme Court in 2000. The case ultimately was settled for undisclosed terms.
The popularity of the Norm character helped fuel Wendt's career for decades to come, as he appeared in dozens of supporting roles or guest spots in film and TV shows, mostly comedies, sometimes as himself or reprising his Norm character.
Among the most memorable of his off-"Cheers" body of work were eight appearances as a Chicago sports superfan in a recurring sketch on "Saturday Night Live," employing a spot-on South Side accent to humorous effect. —Reuters
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
GMA Network
a day ago
- GMA Network
Hermes shows woven leather tops and trousers for men on Paris runway
Models present creations by designer Veronique Nichanian as part of her Menswear Spring/Summer 2026 collection show for fashion house Hermes during Men's Fashion Week in Paris, France, June 28, 2025. REUTERS/Gonzalo Fuentes PARIS - Hermes' menswear artistic director Veronique Nichanian on Saturday showed a summer 2026 collection featuring airy tops and trousers crafted from woven leather. Models marched down a sparse set lined with towering mirrors parading high-waisted latticed leather trousers, sleeveless t-shirts and striped overshirts, sweaters with zig-zag motifs and trim, bomber jackets in leather. Some wore roped sandals that exposed bare feet, while others had ankle boots in glossy leather or crocodile skin. Bags were roomy, in canvas with leather straps, matching the browns and beiges that dominated the colour palette. Silk bandanas with a fringe completed the outfits. The audience clapped loudly and cheered when Nichanian popped out for her bow, smiling broadly. Designer Veronique Nichanian attends her Menswear Spring/Summer 2026 collection show for fashion house Hermes during Men's Fashion Week in Paris, France, June 28, 2025. REUTERS/Gonzalo Fuentes Paris Fashion Week, which included shows from Kering-owned label Saint Laurent, LVMH's Louis Vuitton and the highly-anticipated debut of Jonathan Anderson at Dior, winds up on Sunday. A number of high-end labels have brought on new designers as the industry seeks to woo back shoppers who are tightening their purse strings in an uncertain economic environment. Hermes menswear designer Nichanian, however, has been in her position since 1988. Hermes, which caters to the ultra-wealthy with exclusive handbags like the Birkin, and has outpaced rivals. —Reuters
GMA Network
2 days ago
- GMA Network
Final bash set to end lavish Bezos wedding party in Venice
Amazon founder Jeff Bezos and his wife Lauren Sanchez Bezos travel on a boat, as they leave Aman Venice hotel, on the third day of their wedding festivities, in Venice, Italy, June 28, 2025. REUTERS/Guglielmo Mangiapane VENICE - Newlyweds Amazon founder Jeff Bezos and journalist Lauren Sanchez left their luxury hotel on Venice's Grand Canal on Saturday for a final night of partying, crowning a three-day star-studded wedding extravaganza. Bezos, 61, and Sanchez, 55, exchanged rings on Friday evening on the small island of San Giorgio, across the water from Saint Mark's Square, accompanied by singing from Matteo Bocelli, son of Italian tenor Andrea Bocelli. Bill Gates, Leonardo DiCaprio, Orlando Bloom, Tom Brady, Jordan's Queen Rania, Oprah Winfrey, Kris Jenner and Kim and Khloe Kardashian, as well as Ivanka Trump and Jared Kushner were among the A-listers present. Kylie, Kendall and Kris Jenner leave on a boat from Gritti Palace, on the third day of the wedding festivities of Amazon founder Jeff Bezos and journalist Lauren Sanchez Bezos in Venice, Italy, June 28, 2025. REUTERS/Yara Nardi Saturday's evening bash -- wrapping up celebrations for 200-250 guests estimated to have cost some $50 million -- was due to take place in the Arsenale, a former medieval shipyard in an eastern district of the lagoon city. Around 1,000 people marched against the event on Saturday, groups of activists and residents who object to the wedding and to seeing Venice being gift-wrapped for the uber-wealthy. Demonstrators on the Rialto Bridge hold smoke flares while standing by a banner that reads 'No space for Bezos' as they take part in a protest against Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, on the third day of Jeff Bezos and his wife Lauren Sanchez Bezos' wedding festivities, in Venice, Italy, June 28, 2025. REUTERS/Manuel Silvestri Some guests were seen leaving the Gritti Palace hotel in central Venice wearing their pyjamas, sometimes beneath colorful dressing gowns, before boarding small boats to reach the party. Bezos and Sanchez had a more sober style. He was sporting a black shirt and suit, while she wore a soft-pink off-the-shoulder dress. They kissed on the boat while greeting those around them. At the ceremony the bride wore a high-necked silhouette dress and a tulle and lace veil by Dolce & Gabbana, which she told magazine Vogue was based on Sophia Loren's dress to marry Cary Grant in the 1958 film, Houseboat. Sanchez was also wearing a pair of diamond earrings by Dolce & Gabbana, which, according to Vogue, was lent to her in keeping with the tradition that it brings good luck for a bride to wear something borrowed. Bezos, who is No. 4 on Forbes' global billionaires list, donned a black tuxedo and bow tie over a white shirt. Businesses, politicians welcome event Friday's ceremony had no legal status under Italian law, a senior city hall official told Reuters, suggesting the couple may have previously wed legally in the United States to avoid the bureaucracy associated with an Italian marriage. While some residents and activists raged against Bezos as a symbol of inequality and arrogance, Venetian businesses and political leaders welcomed the luxury nuptials, hailing them as major boost for the local economy. "Those who protest are in contradiction with the history of Venice, which is a history of relations, contacts and business," Mayor Luigi Brugnaro told Reuters. "Bezos embodies the Venetian mentality. He is more Venetian than the protesters," said center-right mayor, adding that he hoped Bezos, who donated 3 million euros ($3.51 million) to local institutions, would return to the city to do business. Brugnaro said Bezos had attached no conditions to holding his wedding celebrations in Venice, and City Hall had only learned about his donations after they had already been made. Bezos, Amazon's executive chair, got engaged to Sanchez in 2023, four years after the collapse of his 25-year marriage to novelist and philanthropist MacKenzie Scott. —Reuters
GMA Network
3 days ago
- GMA Network
Sean 'Diddy' Combs used violence to traffic women, prosecutor says as trial closes
FILE PHOTO: Sean 'Diddy' Combs poses at the Met Gala in New York City, New York, May 1, 2023. REUTERS/ Andrew Kelly Sean "Diddy" Combs used "violence and fear" to lead a criminal enterprise that helped him subject two of his former girlfriends to sex trafficking, a U.S. prosecutor said on Thursday in her closing argument at the music mogul's trial. Combs, a former billionaire known for elevating hip-hop in American culture, has pleaded not guilty to racketeering conspiracy and two counts each of sex trafficking and transportation to engage in prostitution. If convicted on all counts, the Bad Boy Records founder faces a minimum 15-year prison term and could be sentenced to life behind bars. Over more than six weeks of testimony in Manhattan federal court, jurors heard two of Combs' former girlfriends testify that they took part in days-long, drug-fueled sex parties sometimes called "Freak Offs" with male sex workers while Combs watched, masturbated, and sometimes filmed. The jury saw hotel surveillance footage of Combs beating one of the women in a hallway, and heard Combs' employees describe setting up hotel rooms and buying drugs for the performances. "The defendant used power, violence and fear to get what he wanted," prosecutor Christy Slavik told jurors in her address. "He thought that his fame, wealth and power put him above the law." The jury is expected to start deliberations either late on Friday or on Monday. Combs, a rapper and entrepreneur known for turning artists like Notorious B.I.G. and Usher into stars, has been held in federal lockup in Brooklyn since his September 2024 arrest. Both alleged victims - the rhythm and blues singer Casandra "Cassie" Ventura and a woman known in court by the pseudonym Jane - testified Combs also threatened to cut off financial support or leak sex tapes when they complained about their treatment. Combs' defense lawyers acknowledge that Combs was occasionally violent in domestic relationships, but have argued that his conduct did not amount to sex trafficking because the sex acts described by prosecutors were consensual. They are expected to deliver their closing argument on Friday. Ventura and Jane both testified that they at times took part in the performances because they loved Combs and wanted to make him happy, and defense lawyers have argued he had no way of knowing that they were not participating willingly. During her closing argument, Slavik brought jurors' attention to text messages they had seen in which Jane told Combs she felt obligated to take part in the performances out of concern Combs would stop paying her rent. Slavik told jurors that to convict Combs, they only needed to find that one of the dozens of "Freak Offs" was the result of Combs' coercion, and that he knew or should have known that Ventura or Jane participated unwillingly. "It doesn't require them to say no, it doesn't require them to try to run away," Slavik said. Dueling narratives Combs did not testify. Defendants in U.S. criminal cases are not required to present evidence, and judges instruct juries not to hold a refusal to testify against defendants. To win a guilty verdict, prosecutors must prove their cases beyond a reasonable doubt. Legal experts said the jury would need to consider the prosecution's evidence of Combs' abuse against the defense's evidence that the women consented to the performances in at least some instances. The 12-member jury must be unanimous to convict Combs on any of the counts. "The question is which narrative is going to hold more weight," said Heather Cucolo, a professor at New York Law School. Slavik argued that Combs is guilty of racketeering conspiracy because his employees enabled and concealed his behavior. Combs' lawyers have argued there was no conspiracy in part because his employees were not aware of anything improper about the sexual performances, and that any drugs they procured for their boss were for his personal use. —REUTERS
