SAD LOSS
Cheers star George Wendt dead at 76 exactly 32 years after final episode aired
George was known for his role as Norm Peterson on the popular series
CHEERS star George Wendt has died at the age of 76.
Wendt was a key figure in the show from 1982 to 1993.
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The star passed peacefully at his home on Tuesday morning, reported.
His cause of death was not immediately released.
The actor's family released in a 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.”
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EVERYBODY KNOWS HIS NAME
The death comes exactly 32 years after Cheers aired its final episode on May 20, 1993.
Fans know George for his role as Norm Peterson in all 275 episodes of Cheers, which aired for 11 seasons.
He earned six consecutive nominations for outstanding supporting actor at the Primetime Emmy Awards.
George told in 2021 that at his Cheers audition, “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.
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“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.”
In his pilot, the only word he spoke was "beer."
George even earned his own spinoff when the beloved sitcom came to an end.
He starred on The George Wendt Show, which was canceled after just six episodes.
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The short-lived CBS series followed bachelor brothers from Wisconsin who owned a garage and hosted a radio show.
He told before the series premiered, "I don't want to be Norm forever."
REMEMBERING AN ICON
George also had small roles in Taxi, Soap, M*A*S*H, The Simpsons, Sabrina the Teenage Witch and The Goldbergs.
But George wasn't only known for his role on the small screen, as he also acted in a series of films.
Movies include Dreamscape, House, Fletch, The Little Rascals, Spice World, Airplane II: The Sequel, Alice in Wonderland, No Small Affair, Santa Buddies and more notable roles.
George started in sketch comedy improv before making it big in Hollywood.
He even hosted Saturday Night Live in 1991.
George also had stints on Broadway, as he played Edna Turnblad in Hairspray in 2007 and Santa in the musical Elf in 2010.
Most recently, he appeared on The Masked Singer in 2023.
PERSONAL LIFE
George was born in Chicago and attended Notre Dame before flunking out.
He worked at his father’s real estate office in Chicago and graduated from Rockhurst College.
He married wife Bernadette Birkett in 1978.
She voiced his wife on Cheers, though she was never featured on the show.
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They shared three children together, Hilary, Joe and Daniel.
He is also the uncle of actor Jason Sudeikis, who is the son of one of his six sisters.
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