“Cheers” Star George Wendt Has Died

Beloved “Cheers” star George Wendt, who played the beer-loving bar fly Norm Peterson in the 1980s sitcom, has died at the age of 76. Wendt’s family, via publicity firm The Agency Group, indicates he died early on Tuesday morning peacefully in his sleep. The series launched Wendt’s career. He had spent six years in Chicago’s […] The post “Cheers” Star George Wendt Has Died appeared first on Dark Horizons.

May 21, 2025 - 19:00

Beloved “Cheers” star George Wendt, who played the beer-loving bar fly Norm Peterson in the 1980s sitcom, has died at the age of 76.

Wendt’s family, via publicity firm The Agency Group, indicates he died early on Tuesday morning peacefully in his sleep.

The series launched Wendt’s career. He had spent six years in Chicago’s renowned Second City improv troupe and had made small appearances in “Taxi,” “Hart to Hart,” “Alice,” “Soap,” and “M*A*S*H” along with brief cameos in films like “Somewhere In Time,” “Airplane II: The Sequel” and “My Bodyguard”.

He also previously had a series regular on CBS sitcom “Making the Grade” but that was canceled after six episodes. The he auditioned and scored the part in “Cheers”.

Appearing in all 275 episodes of the show from 1982-1993, the role earned him six consecutive Emmy Award nominations for best supporting actor in a comedy series from 1984-89. He reprised the role in guest appearances on “Frasier,” “St. Elsewhere,” “Wings” and “The Tortellis”.

Despite the work commitment to the show, he kept regularly working elsewhere with roles in films like “Fletch,” “House,” “Dreamscape,” “Plain Clothes,” “Forever Young,” “Guilty by Suspicion,” “Man of the House,” “Space Truckers,” “Spice World” and more. His last film work was 2022’s “Christmas with the Campbells”.

He also did plenty of TV guest appearances on shows like “The Simpsons,” “Columbo,” “Tales from the Crypt,” “Spin City,” “The Naked Truth,” “Seinfeld,” “The Larry Sanders Show,” “Sabrina the Teenage Witch,” “Becker,” “Ghost Whisperer,” “Hot in Cleveland,” “Harry’s Law,” “Portlandia,” “Franklin & Bash,” “The Goldbergs,” “Fresh off the Boat” and more.

The post “Cheers” Star George Wendt Has Died appeared first on Dark Horizons.