George Wendt

George Wendt is an American actor and comedian. He is best known for playing Norm Peterson on the television sitcom "Cheers" (1982–93), which has earned him six consecutive nominations for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series. He also appeared in films Fletch, Gung Ho, Dreamscape, House, Forever Young, Hostage for a Day, Man of the House, and Lakeboat.

Wendt was born in the Beverly neighborhood on the southwestern side of Chicago, Illinois, the son of Loretta Mary (née Howard) and George Robert Wendt, an officer in the Navy and a realtor. 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's son. 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. Second City 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. 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.

His first appearance on "Saturday Night Live" was in a season 11 (1985–1986) episode where he shared hosting duties with director Francis Ford Coppola. In 1988 he played the part of "Witten" in the New Zealand-made film, Never Say Die. In the early 1990s, Wendt made cameo appearances on several episodes of "SNL" as Bob Swerski, one of the Chicago Superfans (along with cast members Chris Farley, Mike Myers, Robert Smigel, and one-time host, Joe Mantegna). Having grown up as a lifelong fan of his hometown Chicago White Sox and Chicago Bears, Wendt's Bob Swerski character is said to be a "spot-on" characterization of Chicago's south-side citizens.

In 1989, Wendt appeared as the eponymous protagonist in a BBC TV dramatization of Ivan Goncharov's novel "Oblomov." He has also appeared twice on the original British edition of "Whose Line Is It Anyway?" In 1991, Wendt played the father in Michael Jackson's music video "Black or White". He had roles opposite Robert De Niro in 1991's Guilty by Suspicion and with Mel Gibson in 1992's Forever Young.

Wendt appeared in a production of Hairspray, reprising his role as Edna Turnblad, from September 8 to October 9, 2010, at the Charlottetown Festival in Prince Edward Island, Canada. Wendt played Santa in Elf the Musical on Broadway. The show opened November 14, 2010 and ran through January 2, 2011. Wendt starred in a production of Hairspray as Edna Turnblad at Rainbow Stage in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada from August 2, 2011 to August 21, 2011. Wendt also guest-starred in the TV series "Hot In Cleveland" as Yoder, based on his character Norm in "Cheers." His first of two scenes took place in an Amish bar, where everyone in the bar yelled "Yoder!," referencing what the cast of Cheers would yell whenever he walked in. George Wendt continues to stay busy working in film, Television, and theater. He also has a published book “Drinking with George: A barstool professional’s guide to beer.”