George Wendt
George Robert Wendt Jr. (born October 17, 1948)[1] is an American actor and comedian. He is best known for playing Norm Peterson on the television sitcom Cheers (1982–1993), which earned him 6 consecutive nominations for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series. After Cheers, he starred in his own sitcom, The George Wendt Show, but it was cancelled after only a few episodes. His numerous film roles include Fletch, Gung Ho, Dreamscape, House, Forever Young, Hostage for a Day, Man of the House, and Lakeboat.
George Wendt
Actor, comedian
1978–present
Bernadette Birkett (1978)
3
- Tom Howard (grandfather)
- Jason Sudeikis (nephew)
Early life[edit]
George Robert Wendt Jr. was born in the Beverly neighborhood on the south side of Chicago, Illinois. His parents were Loretta Mary (née Howard) and George Robert Wendt, an officer in the Navy and a realtor. He is one of nine children, with six sisters—Nancy, Karen, Mary Ann, Kathryn, Loretta, and Marti—as well as two brothers, Tom and Paul.[2][3] His maternal grandfather was photographer Tom Howard.[3] Wendt is of Irish and one quarter German descent.[4]
He attended Campion High School in Prairie du Chien, Wisconsin. He was expelled from the University of Notre Dame after he received a 0.00 GPA the first semester of his junior year. He later attended the Jesuit Rockhurst College in Kansas City, Missouri, where he graduated with a B.A. in economics.
Wendt is an uncle of actor and former SNL writer and cast member Jason Sudeikis, his sister Kathryn's son.[5]
Career[edit]
Early career[edit]
Wendt is a 1975 alumnus of The Second City, which he discovered shortly after college. A viewing had inspired him to join and on his first day of employment, he showed up promptly at 11:30 am as he was instructed. The woman working there handed him a broom and said "Welcome to the theater, kid"; thus, his first job in show business was sweeping the floors.[6] Second City, located in Chicago, was also where he met his future wife, Bernadette Birkett, who played Cliff's Halloween date in the third season of Cheers and later in the series played the voice of Norm's never-seen wife, Vera.[7]
Wendt appeared in the 1980 film My Bodyguard, and had small roles in the TV series Taxi, Soap, and M*A*S*H. In 1982, Wendt landed his first role as a series regular on the CBS sitcom Making the Grade, which was created by Gary David Goldberg. The series was canceled after six episodes in the spring of that year.
Cheers[edit]
From 1982 to 1993, Wendt appeared as Norm Peterson in all 275 episodes of Cheers. For his work on Cheers, Wendt earned six Primetime Emmy Award nominations for Best Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series. He also played the role in the short-lived spin-off The Tortellis and in an episode of Wings.