George Wendt

George Robert Wendt Jr. (born October 17, 1948) is an American actor and comedian. He is best known for playing Norm Peterson on the television sitcom ''Cheers'' (1982–1993), which earned him six consecutive nominations for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding 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'', which was made by the same creators. Wendt has also appeared in his own sitcom, ''The George Wendt Show'', following ''Cheers,'' 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.''

Early life

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. His maternal grandfather was photographer Tom Howard. Wendt is of Irish and one quarter German descent.

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.

Career

Early career

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."The 25 Best TV Characters You Never See On Screen"
''NME'', June 14, 2016.

Wendt appeared in the 1980 film ''My Bodyguard'', and had small roles in the TV series ''Taxi'', ''Soap'', and ''M*A*S*H''.

''Cheers''

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'', which was made by the same creators.

Post-''Cheers''

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
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