STUDIO CITY—On Tuesday, May 20, actor and comedian, George Wendt, better known as, “Norm Peterson” from the 80’s NBC TV sitcom, “Cheers,” has passed away. A family representative first confirmed the actor’s death with ABC, saying, He died peacefully in his sleep while at home.” He was 76.
Wendt starred in 275 episodes of “Cheers” between 1982 and 1993. He won six Emmy nominations for his roles as sort of a bar-fly character who seemingly closed down the bar each night, staggering out the door.
A fun fact is that Norm’s beer was what was called “Near Beer,” and non-alcoholic replica with salt added to it to make it look frothy. While his character appeared to down about 10 beers an episode, in real life, he may have drank less than a glass. The cast indicated that in real life, the beer was terrible and flat.
Another bit of trivia is that Norm’s TV wife, Vera, only ever appeared in one episode, and the actress who portrayed her was his wife, Bernadette Birkett. It was a Thanksgiving episode, and she had a pie in her face. The rest of the time, the audience only ever heard her voice.
Wendt kept a Twitter (Now X) page in years gone by when he’d post where he would be ‘stopping for a beer’, and name the bar then he’d say something to the effect of, “Come by and say hi.”
Funeral arrangements have not been announced. The family asks for privacy at this time.
By Sharon