21 May 2025<\/time>\n <\/p>\nGeorge Wendt declared he was a \u201clot happier\u201d than his \u2018Cheers\u2019 character while opening up about his role on the sitcom before his death.<\/p>\n
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George Wendt declared he was a \u2018lot happier\u2019 than his \u2018Cheers\u2019 character while opening up about his role on the sitcom before his death<\/p>\n
\nThe beloved \u2018Cheers\u2019 actor\u2019s publicist confirmed the news of his passing on Tuesday (20.05.25) \u2013 describing him in a statement as \u201ca doting family man, a well-loved friend and confidant to all of those lucky enough to have known him\u201d .<\/p>\n
\nAn interview of George opening up about the impact of playing beer-swilling Norm on \u2018Cheers\u2019 has now surfaced \u2013 in which he said even though there were similarities between him and the character, he had more joy in his life.<\/p>\n
\nHe was quoted by the Daily Star saying in a previous interview: \u201cThe Norm you see in \u2018Cheers\u2019 has been years in the making. I have some characteristics in common with him besides our fondness for beer. But I think I\u2019m a lot happier than Norm.\u201d<\/p>\n
\nHe added about how his fans loved to see him stocking up on booze in public: “I was a beer drinker long before \u2018Cheers\u2019. When I put a couple of six packs on top of my grocery shopping cart, people are pleased. I tell \u2018em I\u2019m taking them home to rehearse.\u201d<\/p>\n
\nGeorge\u2019s family has requested privacy to grieve.<\/p>\n
\nBorn in 1948, George a household name throughout the run of \u2018Cheers\u2019, which was on air for 11 seasons from 1982 to 1993. <\/p>\n
\nDespite a rocky start with low ratings that nearly saw the show cancelled after its first season, the sitcom grew to become a defining sitcom of its era, spending eight of its remaining 10 seasons in the top 10 shows and peaking as the most-watched programme in its ninth season. <\/p>\n
\nThe series received 117 Emmy nominations, winning 28 awards, including Outstanding Comedy Series four times. <\/p>\n
\nGeorge was nominated for six consecutive Emmys for his portrayal of Norm, appearing in every episode until the series ended in May 1993.<\/p>\n
\nBorn and raised in Chicago, the actor\u2019s path to stardom was unconventional. <\/p>\n
\nHe was expelled from the University of Notre Dame in Indiana due to poor grades before entering showbusiness. <\/p>\n
\nHis first job was sweeping floors at a theatre, but he soon landed guest roles in popular shows such as \u2018Taxi\u2019 and \u2018M*A*S*H\u2019 before securing his breakthrough part on \u201cCheers\u2019. <\/p>\n
\nAfter the sitcom ended, George starred in a self-titled CBS sitcom in 1995, which was cancelled after eight episodes.<\/p>\n
\nOutside of \u2018Cheers\u2019, George appeared in various television roles including \u2018Sabrina the Teenage Witch\u2019 and \u2018Columbo\u2019. <\/p>\n
\nHe was also well known for his recurring sketch on \u2018Saturday Night Live\u2019, Bill Swerski\u2019s Superfans, which celebrated Chicago sports fans.<\/p>\n
\nGeorge was married to Bernadette Birkett, who voiced his never-seen sitcom wife Vera on \u2018Cheers\u2019, since 1978. <\/p>\n
\nThe couple had three children \u2013 a daughter and two sons.<\/p>\n
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Source link <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"21 May 2025 George Wendt declared he was a \u201clot happier\u201d than his \u2018Cheers\u2019 character while opening up about his role on the sitcom before his death. George Wendt declared he was a \u2018lot happier\u2019 than his \u2018Cheers\u2019 character while opening up about his role on the sitcom before his death The beloved \u2018Cheers\u2019 actor\u2019s […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":169546,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[11487,11485,11486,2583],"class_list":{"0":"post-169545","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-make-up","8":"tag-bernadette-birkett","9":"tag-george-wendt","10":"tag-norm-peterson","11":"tag-vera"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/entertainment.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/169545","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/entertainment.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/entertainment.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/entertainment.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/entertainment.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=169545"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/entertainment.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/169545\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/entertainment.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/169546"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/entertainment.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=169545"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/entertainment.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=169545"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/entertainment.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=169545"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}