George Wendt, ‘Cheers’ Star, Dies At 76

George Wendt, who rose to fame as Norm Peterson on the long-running sitcom Cheers, died in his sleep on Tuesday. He was 76.

“George was a doting family man, a well-loved friend and confidant to all of those lucky enough to have known him,” said Melissa Nathan, a representative for Wendt, in a statement. “He will be missed forever. The family has requested privacy during this time.”

Born October 17, 1948 on the South side of Chicago, George Wendt was discovered by the improvisational group The Second City, where he met his future wife, Bernadette Birkett, who voiced Norm’s never-seen wife Vera on Cheers (and appeared on camera as Cliff’s – John Ratzenberger – Halloween date in the third season of Cheers). The couple were married in 1978 and had three children.

Wendt’s first credited on camera role was in the 1980 film My Bodyguard, and he began guest-starring on television series like Hart to Hart, Soap, Taxi and Alice. His first role as a series regular was in the 1982 six-episode sitcom Making the Grade. That same year came Cheers, which ran for 11 seasons and resulted in six Primetime Emmy Award nominations for Wendt as Best Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series. He also appeared as Norm in episodes of Wings and the Cheers spinoffs Frasier and The Tortellis.

Wendt’s claim to fame, of course, was the rousing…NORM…reaction each time he walked into the bar on Cheers. The actor’s death comes exactly 32 years after Cheers concluded on May 20, 1993.

Two years after Cheers concluded, Wendt was upgraded to the lead in the sitcom The George Wendt Show, which lasted just eight episodes. In 1997, he also had a one season role on the TV comedy The Naked Truth, and he appeared as a regular in the short-lived sitcoms Modern Men in 2006 and Clipped in 2015.

Wendt was also a frequent guest on Saturday Night Live, and was active guest-starring in other TV series including Sabrina, the Teenage Witch, Hot in Cleveland, Fresh Off the Boat and The Goldbergs. In 2014, he reunited with his Cheers co-star Kirstie Alley in her sitcom Kirstie.

Wendt’s film roles included Dreamscape (1984), House (1985), Fletch (1985), Gung Ho (1986), Plains Clothes (1987), Never Say Die (1988), Guilty by Suspicion (1991), Forever Young (1992) and Spice World (1997).

In 2024, five cast members from Cheers – Wendt, Ted Danson, Rhea Perlman, Kelsey Grammer and John Ratzenberger – reunited at the 75th Primetime Emmy Awards.