Though Norm in Cheers is easily Wendt’s most famous role, the actor was prolific across film and television for nearly four decades. In 1995, after the end of Cheers, the actor briefly led his own sitcom, The George Wendt Show. He also had roles in Taxi, Soap, and M*A*S*H and the film Airplane II: The Sequel.
Born on the south side of Chicago, Wendt was a Second City alumnus, entering the comedy theater in 1975, shortly after he graduated from Notre Dame. He told The A.V. Club in a 2009 interview that he was fired from the troupe once, and quit another time. “You know, for somebody who made his living at it for six years, I’m probably the worst improviser of all time,” he said. Bit parts in films started arriving in the late 1970s and early 1980s. Cheers was initially supposed to be a similarly small role for the actor, with one line in the pilot: “Beer.” “I was having a hard time believing I was right for the role of ‘the guy who looked like he wanted a beer,'” Wendt joked to GQ in a 2012 oral history. “So I went in, and they said, ‘It’s too small a role. Why don’t you read this other one?’ And it was a guy who never left the bar.”
And Wendt never did, appearing in all 275 episodes of the show. The role brought him fame, which nabbed him two Saturday Night Live hosting gigs, one of which brought in Francis Ford Coppola as a guest director for the episode, which aired in the “weird year” of season 11. Wendt appeared on the show several more times as Bob Swerski, one of the fans at Coach Mike Ditka’s restaurant.
Over the course of his career, Wendt was nominated for six Primetime Emmy Awards, and he remained active until the end of his life. His last credited role on IMDb was in the 2024 TV movie Love’s Second Act. Reflecting on his career with the The A.V. Club in 2009, Wendt said, “I get called to do a lot of labors of love… independent films on very small budgets. If I have the time and if the project speaks to me, it’s better than sitting around, right? I like to keep busy.”
