NEW YORK (AP) 鈥 George Wendt, an actor with an Everyman charm who played the affable, beer-loving barfly Norm on the hit 1980s TV comedy 鈥淐heers鈥 and later crafted a stage career that took him to Broadway in 鈥淎rt,鈥 鈥淗airspray鈥 and 鈥淓lf,鈥 has died. He was 76.
Wendt’s family said he died early Tuesday morning, peacefully in his sleep while at home, according to the publicity firm The Agency Group.
鈥淕eorge was a doting family man, a well-loved friend and confidant to all of those lucky enough to have known him,鈥 the family said in a statement. 鈥淗e will be missed forever.鈥 The family has requested privacy during this time.
Despite a long career of roles onstage and on TV, it was as gentle and henpecked Norm Peterson on 鈥淐heers鈥 that he was most associated, earning six straight Emmy Award nominations for best supporting actor in a comedy series from 1984-89.
The series was centered on lovable losers in a Boston bar and starred Shelley Long, Rhea Perlman, John Ratzenberger, Kirstie Alley and Woody Harrelson. It would spin off another megahit in 鈥淔rasier鈥 and was nominated for an astounding 117 Emmy Awards, winning 28 of them.
Wendt, who spent six years in Chicago鈥檚 renowned Second City improv troupe before sitting on a barstool at the place where everybody knows your name, didn’t have high hopes when he auditioned for 鈥淐heers.鈥
鈥淢y agent said, 鈥業t鈥檚 a small role, honey. It鈥檚 one line. Actually, it鈥檚 one word.鈥 The word was 鈥榖eer.鈥 I was having a hard time believing I was right for the role of 鈥榯he guy who looked like he wanted a beer.鈥 So I went in, and they said, 鈥業t鈥檚 too small a role. Why don鈥檛 you read this other one?鈥 And it was a guy who never left the bar,鈥 Wendt told GQ in an oral history of 鈥淐heers.鈥
鈥楥heers鈥 and a barstool
鈥淐heers鈥 premiered on Sept. 30, 1982, and spent the first season with low ratings. NBC president Brandon Tartikoff championed the show, and it was nominated for an Emmy for best comedy series in its first season. Some 80 million people would tune in to watch its series finale 11 years later.
Wendt became a fan favorite in and outside the bar 鈥 his entrances were cheered with a warm 鈥淣orm!鈥 鈥 and his wisecracks always landed. 鈥淗ow鈥檚 a beer sound, Norm?鈥 he would be asked by the bartender. 鈥淚 dunno. I usually finish them before they get a word in,鈥 he鈥檇 respond.
While the beer the cast drank on set was nonalcoholic, Wendt and other 鈥淐heers鈥 cast members have admitted they were tipsy on May 20, 1993, when they watched the show鈥檚 final episode then appeared together on 鈥淭he Tonight Show鈥 in a live broadcast from the Bull and Finch Pub in Boston, the bar that inspired the series.
鈥砏e had been drinking heavily for two hours but nobody thought to feed us,鈥 Wendt told the Beaver County Times of Pennsylvania in 2009. 鈥淲e were nowhere near as cute as we thought we were.鈥
Perlman, who regularly served Wendt on 鈥淐heers,鈥 in a statement called him 鈥渢he sweetest, kindest man I ever met. It was impossible not to like him.
“As Carla, I was often standing next to him, as Norm always took the same seat at the end of the bar, which made it easy to grab him and beat the crap out of him at least once a week. I loved doing it and he loved pretending it didn鈥檛 hurt. What a guy! I鈥檒l miss him more than words can say.鈥
After 鈥淐heers,鈥 Wendt starred in his own short-lived sitcom 鈥淭he George Wendt Show鈥 鈥 鈥渢oo bad he had to step out of Norm and down so far from that corner stool for his debut stanza,鈥 sniffed Variety 鈥 and had guest spots on TV shows like 鈥淭he Ghost Whisperer,鈥 鈥淗arry鈥檚 Law鈥 and 鈥淧ortlandia.鈥 He was part of a brotherhood of Chicago Everymen who gathered over sausage and beers and In 2023, he competed on 鈥淭he Masked Singer.鈥
Second career on stage
But he found steady work onstage: Wendt slipped on Edna Turnblad鈥檚 housecoat in Broadway鈥檚 鈥淗airspray鈥 beginning in 2007, and was in the Tony Award-winning play 鈥淎rt鈥 in New York and London.
He starred in the national tour of 鈥12 Angry Men鈥 and appeared in a production of David Mamet鈥檚 鈥淟akeboat.鈥 He also starred in regional productions of 鈥淒eath of a Salesman,鈥 鈥淭he Odd Couple,鈥 鈥淣ever Too Late鈥 and 鈥淔unnyman.鈥
鈥淎, it鈥檚 by far the most fun, but B, I seem to have been kicked out of television,鈥 Wendt told the Kansas City Star in 2011. 鈥淚 overstayed my welcome. But theater suits me.鈥
Wendt had an affinity for playing Santa Claus, donning the famous red outfit in the stage musical 鈥淓lf鈥 on Broadway in 2017, the TV movie 鈥淪anta Baby鈥 with Jenny McCarthy in 2006 and in the doggie Disney video 鈥淪anta Buddies鈥 in 2009. He also played Father Christmas for TV specials by Larry the Cable Guy and Stephen Colbert.
鈥淚 think it just proves that if you stay fat enough and get old enough, the offers start rolling in,鈥 the actor joked to the AP in his Broadway dressing room.
Born in Chicago, Wendt attended Campion High School, a Catholic boarding school in Prairie du Chien, Wisconsin, and then Notre Dame, where he rarely went to class and was kicked out. He transferred to Rockhurst University in Kansas City and graduated, after majoring in economics.
He found a home at Second City in both the touring company and the mainstage.
鈥淚 think comedy is my long suit, for sure. My approach to comedy is usually not full-bore clownish,鈥 he told the AP. 鈥淚f you鈥檙e trying to showboat or step outside, it doesn鈥檛 always work. There are certain performers who almost specialize in doing that, and they do it really well. But that鈥檚 not my approach.鈥
Cheers for beer
He had a lifelong association with beer. He had his first taste as an 8-year-old and got drunk at 16, at the World鈥檚 Fair in New York.
His beer knowledge was poured into the book 鈥矰rinking With George: A Barstool Professional鈥檚 Guide to Beer,鈥 co-written with Jonathan Grotenstein. One line: 鈥淲ill Rogers once said he never met a man he didn鈥檛 like. I feel the same about beer.鈥
Part autobiography, part beer drinker鈥檚 guide, the book had Wendt鈥檚 conversational tone and lists, such as 鈥淔ive Good Bar Bets,鈥 鈥77 Toasts from Around the World鈥 and 鈥(More Than) 100 Ways to Say That You鈥檙e Drunk,鈥 which alphabetically lists 126 synonyms from 鈥渁nnihilated鈥 through 鈥渮ozzled.鈥
He is survived by his wife, Second City alum Bernadette Birkett, who voiced Norm鈥檚 never-seen not-so better half, Vera, on 鈥淐heers鈥; his children, Hilary, Joe and Daniel; and his stepchildren, Joshua and Andrew.
鈥淔rom his early days with The Second City to his iconic role as Norm on 鈥楥heers,鈥 George Wendt鈥檚 work showcased how comedy can create indelible characters that feel like family. Over the course of 11 seasons, he brought warmth and humor to one of television鈥檚 most beloved roles,鈥 National Comedy Center Executive Director Journey Gunderson said in a statement.
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