Actor George Wendt, who starred in the long-running sitcom “Cheers,” died Tuesday at the age of 76.
His death came 32 years to the day after the final episode of “Cheers” aired on May 20, 1993, according to the Sun.
No cause of death was released, but his family issued a statement saying, “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.”
Wendt played beer-quaffing Norm Peterson in all 275 episodes of the show, which for 11 years brought viewers into a Boston bar where “everybody knows your name.”
The final episode of Cheers was 32 years ago tonight. Such a great closing scene.
RIP, George Wendt.
pic.twitter.com/niHwIn1PeN— Seth Wickersham (@SethWickersham) May 20, 2025
Wendt was nominated for six outstanding supporting actor Emmy Awards.
In a 2021 interview, he commented about his audition for the show.
“My friend Pat Finn always reminds me what the audition was for ‘Cheers’: I needed to look like a guy who wanted to have another beer,” he said, giving credit to the show’s writers for his success.
Did you watch “Cheers” when it first aired?
“Norm is just me with better writing. There were hundreds, if not thousands, of actors who could have delivered on the absolute gems that I was handed on a silver platter every Wednesday morning,” he said.
The Chicago native said being more than a little bit round helped make his character connect with viewers who knew guys his size from their local bar, according to The New York Times.
“One nice thing about being fat for a living is that you don’t worry about losing weight or dieting,” Wendt once said.
“I don’t know how much I’d have to lose before it was noticeable. Anyhow, if I lost 100 pounds people would say, ‘Oh, no, not another fat comedian wanting to be a leading man!’” he said.
“The Norm you see in ‘Cheers’ has been years in the making,” he said. “I have some characteristics in common with him besides our fondness for beer. But I think I’m a lot happier than Norm.”
“I was a beer drinker long before ‘Cheers.’ When I put a couple of six packs on top of my grocery shopping cart, people are pleased. I tell ’em I’m taking them home to rehearse,” he said.
Rest in power George Wendt. One of the greatest character actors of our generation.
A compilation of Norm replies in his honor. pic.twitter.com/B21oWtg3ur
— Danny Deraney (@DannyDeraney) May 20, 2025
Beer was a theme that fans picked up on, Wendt noted in a 1985 interview with The Washington Post.
“I get a lot of free beers. It’s one of the great perks of employment history,” he said,
“Whenever I go out people are always sending over a beer, or a round, for me and my friends,” he said.
He said that while in Pittsburgh to film a movie, at one bar, free beers “were stacked up at our table all the time.”
During filming in Buenos Aires, he recalled, “I’d be sitting at a bar and a guy would see me and start rubbing his eyes deeply, shake his head and ask, ‘That you?’ Then, bingo, a free beer.”
Wendt said what he drank on the set was not beer, but an alcohol-free variation,
“It doesn’t come in kegs. So the crew pours cases of cans into a rigged soda pop dispenser, which is run up through the tap on the set,” he said in the 1985 interview.
“This is done early each day, and the stuff is warm and flat by the time shooting begins,” Wendt said “When they first filled the glasses, the cameraman yelled that he couldn’t see any foam. Then they started putting a half teaspoon of salt into the empty glasses to create a head.”
“There I was slamming those down for a whole day. It not only tastes disgusting, I was afraid of keeling over from high blood pressure. Then I got the knack. I didn’t have to put all those brews away. It only mattered when the camera was pointing my way. It took a couple of years but now I watch the camera. That’s how I make my money. That’s acting.”
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