Norm! Cheers star George Wendt dead at 76

George Wendt, the histrion known for his portrayal of beer-loving Norm Peterson connected the deed NBC sitcom Cheers, has died astatine the property of 76. 

The connection did not supply a origin of death. 

Wendt was nominated for six consecutive supporting histrion Emmys for his show arsenic Norm Peterson — who famously elicited a cry of "Norm!" each clip the character walked into the fictitious Boston pub. 

Cheers was 1 of NBC's astir fashionable shows during its tally betwixt 1982 to 1993.

Where everybody knew his name

The series, centred connected lovable losers who enactment and patronize a Boston bar, starred Ted Danson, Shelley Long, Rhea Perlman, Kelsey Grammer, John Ratzenberger, Kirstie Alley and Woody Harrelson.

Wendt, who spent six years successful Chicago's renowned Second City improv troupe earlier sitting connected a barstool astatine the spot wherever everybody knew his name, didn't person precocious hopes erstwhile helium auditioned for Cheers. 

"My cause said, 'It's a tiny role, honey. It's 1 line. Actually, it's 1 word.' The connection was 'beer.' I was having a hard clip believing I was close for the relation of 'the feline who looked similar helium wanted a beer.' So I went in, and they said, 'It's excessively tiny a role. Why don't you work this different one?' And it was a feline who ne'er near the bar," Wendt told GQ successful an oral past of Cheers published successful 2012.

Cheers premiered connected Sept. 30, 1982. Though its archetypal play garnered low ratings, NBC president Brandon Tartikoff championed the show, and it was past nominated for an Emmy for champion drama series.

Some 80 cardinal radical would tune successful to ticker the show's series finale 11 years later.

Wendt became a instrumentality favourite successful and extracurricular the bar and his wisecracks ever landed. When bartender Coach asked, "How's a brew sound, Norm?" helium would respond "I dunno. I usually decorativeness them earlier they get a connection in."

While the brew the formed drank connected acceptable was nonalcoholic, Wendt and different Cheers actors admitted they were tipsy connected May 20, 1993, erstwhile they watched the show's last occurrence past appeared unneurotic connected The Tonight Show in a unrecorded broadcast from the Bull and Finch Pub successful Boston, the barroom that inspired the series.

″We had been drinking heavy for 2 hours but cipher thought to provender us," Wendt told the Beaver County Times of Pennsylvania successful 2009.

"We were obscurity adjacent arsenic cute arsenic we thought we were."

After Cheers, Wendt starred successful his ain short-lived sitcom The George Wendt Show and had impermanent spots connected TV shows similar Ghost Whisperer, Harry's Law and Portlandia. He was besides portion of a brotherhood of Chicago everymen who gathered implicit sausage and beers and adored "Da Bears" connected Saturday Night Live.

From barstool to stage 

Wendt also recovered dependable enactment connected stage, slipping on Edna Turnblad's housecoat successful Broadway's Hairspray, based connected the 1988 John Waters movie of the aforesaid name, beginning successful 2007. 

He reprised the relation in a accumulation of Hairspray astatine the Charlottetown Festival successful Prince Edward Island successful 2010. 

"If I'm told to sing. I volition bash so. And if I'm told to determination successful a mode that somewhat resembles dancing, I volition besides bash so," CBC News reported him saying at a quality league successful Charlottetown astatine the time.

"I'm really, truly thrilled to beryllium a portion of this fantastic portion again and get backmost successful the formal and precocious heels," helium said. "I truly look guardant to coming present and feeling similar an islander alternatively than conscionable a tourer coming successful for a mates of days. I get to unrecorded present and beryllium present for a mates of months. I benignant of consciousness the anxiousness successful the section shellfish population."

He was successful the Tony Award-winning play Art in New York and London, starred successful the nationalist circuit of 12 Angry Men and appeared successful a accumulation of David Mamet's Lakeboat. 

He besides starred successful determination productions of The Odd Couple, Never Too Late, Funnyman and played Willy Loman successful Arthur Miller's Death of a Salesman. 

He would reprise that relation at St. Jacobs Country Playhouse, successful Waterloo, Ont., successful 2017.

"I tin subordinate to truthful galore of Willy's problems, and everyone can. That's wherefore these plays — the truly large plays — endure, due to the fact that they're truthful relatable," helium told CBC Kitchener-Waterloo's Morning Edition that year. 

Wendt erstwhile said moving successful theatre was a amended acceptable for him than television. 

"A, it's by acold the astir fun, but B, I look to person been kicked retired of television," Wendt said describing his determination into theatre to the Kansas City Star of in 2011. "I overstayed my welcome. But theatre suits me."

Wendt had an affinity for playing Santa Claus, donning the celebrated reddish outfit successful the signifier philharmonic mentation of Elf on Broadway successful 2017, the TV movie Santa Baby with Jenny McCarthy successful 2006 and successful the doggie Disney video Santa Buddies in 2009.

He besides played the relation for TV specials by Larry the Cable Guy and Stephen Colbert. "I deliberation it conscionable proves that if you enactment abdominous capable and get aged enough, the offers commencement rolling in," the histrion joked to The Associated Press in his Broadway dressing room.

WATCH | George Wendt brings his Hairspray show to P.E.I.:

Born successful Chicago, Wendt attended Campion High School, a Catholic boarding schoolhouse successful Prairie du Chien, Wisconsin, then Notre Dame, wherever helium seldom went to people and was yet kicked out.

He transferred to Rockhurst University successful Kansas City and graduated, majoring successful economics. He recovered a location astatine Second City successful some the improv troupe's touring institution and the main stage.

"I deliberation drama is my agelong suit, for sure. My attack to drama is usually not full-bore clownish," helium told The Associated Press.

"If you're trying to showboat oregon measurement outside, it doesn't ever work. There are definite performers who astir specialize successful doing that, and they bash it truly well. But that's not my approach."