Parade role as a bar patron Beer drinker in hit series "Cheers" - George Wendt is dead
In the hit series "Cheers", he sat at the bar with a beer as a pub regular. This role earned George Wendt fans all over the world. The actor also enjoyed success in films and on Broadway.
21.05.2025, 06:20
21.05.2025, 06:47
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- The US actor George Wendt is dead.
- The comedian caused a sensation as a beer-drinking regular in the hit TV series "Cheers".
- Wendt was 76 years old.
The US actor and comedian George Wendt, who caused a sensation as the beer-drinking regular in the TV series "Cheers", has died. His family announced through spokeswoman Melissa Nathan that he died "peacefully in his sleep" at home. No cause of death was given. Wendt was 76 years old.
In the popular comedy series "Cheers" about a fictional pub in Boston, which ran from 1987 to 1993, he played regular customer Norm Peterson, who always sat at the bar with a beer. Ted Danson played the bartender who entertained his bizarre guests. Woody Harrelson, Kirstie Alley and Shelley Long were also part of the cast. Wendt was nominated six times for an Emmy trophy for his iconic role.
In an interview with "Chicago Magazine" in 2021, he said of his audition for the role: "I had to look like a guy who wanted another beer."
Appearances on Broadway - as a woman
Wendt has appeared in dozens of television and film productions. He starred alongside Robert De Niro and Annette Bening in the 1991 drama "Guilty on Suspicion". He made the sci-fi romance "Forever Young" (1992) with Jamie Lee Curtis and Mel Gibson. He also appeared in the Christmas comedies "Santa Baby" (2006) and "Santa Buddies" (2009).
On Broadway in New York, he danced and sang on stage in the shrill musical "Hairspray". In it, he played the heavyweight housewife Edna Turnblad. This was his favorite role after "Cheers", he told "Chicago Magazine" - "an absolute joy and completely different from anything in my world". He had seven dancing and singing numbers in drag tailored to an "overweight, middle-aged man".
Wendt grew up in Chicago with six sisters and two brothers. He is the uncle of comedian and actor Jason Sudeikis (49, "Ted Lasso", "Kill the Boss").
