George Wendt

His wife played Cliff’s date in season 3 of ‘Cheers.’ She also played the voice of ‘Norm’s’ wife, ‘Vera,’ in the series.

Born on October 17, 1948, in Chicago, Illinois, George Robert Wendt III is the son of Loretta Mary and George Robert Wendt. His father was a navy officer and realtor.

He received his formal education from ‘Campion High School,’ Wisconsin. He enrolled at the ‘University of Notre Dame,’ but was soon expelled after he failed in all the subjects in the first semester.

Thereafter, he attended the ‘Rockhurst College’ in Kansas City, Missouri, and earned his bachelor’s degree in Economics.

He was working in his father’s real estate firm when he came across the idea of pursuing a career in acting. He started working with ‘The Second City’ troupe in 1975 and eventually became main stage cast of the company.

He made his first on-screen appearance in the film ‘A Wedding’ in 1978. His role, however, went uncredited. His first credited film is ‘My Bodyguard,’ which was released in 1980.

In 1981, he appeared in an episode of ‘Tax.’ He starred in TV series ‘M A S H’ in 1982.

In 1982, Wendt portrayed ‘Norm Peterson’ in the TV sitcom ‘Cheers.’ The show became a hit, and so did his character. The show was about a bar set in Boston where a group of people met and socialize. ‘Cheers’ ran from 1982 to 1993.

His character became so popular that Wendt did a lot of crossover episodes in other TV shows such as ‘The Simpsons,’ ‘St. Elsewhere,’ ‘The Tortellis,’ ‘Family Guy’ and ‘Frasier.’

His role in ‘Cheers’ got him six ‘Emmy Award’ nominations for ‘Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series.’ Wendt remained a part of the show in all seasons.

While starring in ‘Cheers,’ Wendt had an opportunity to appear on ‘Saturday Night Live’ in 1985. In the 90s, he made several appearances as ‘Bob Swerski,’ a Chicago Superfan, on ‘SNL.’

After ‘Cheers’ ended in 1993, Wendt had his own show called ‘The George Wendt Show’ where he played a mechanic for a radio show. The show was similar to the radio show ‘Car Talk.’ His show didn’t run for too long, so Wendt moved on to explore other opportunities. In 1994, he starred in the film ‘Man of the House.’