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Ted Lasso creator-actor Jason Sudeikis is mourning a personal loss as veteran actor George Wendt, who was popularly known for his work as Norm Peterson on the classic TV sitcom Cheers, passed away on May 20th, 2025. His publicist confirmed the news.

Wendt had appeared in every episode of Cheers from 1982 to 1993 and had earned six Primetime Emmy nominations for his supporting role. He was one of the most beloved actors in the industry, and his absence will always be felt.

George Wendt was ‘very proud’ of his nephew and Ted Lasso creator Jason Sudeikis

Veteran actor George Wendt, famous for his portrayal of a jovial beer lover, Norm Peterson, on Cheers, passed away on Tuesday morning at his home at 76. His publicist confirmed the news via a statement shared by the family (via Today).

George was a doting family man, a well-loved friend, and a confidant to all of those...

The family of Cheers star George Wendt announced that the actor died at the age of 76.

A representative of the family said that Wendt “died peacefully in his sleep while at home” on May 20. The official cause of death has not been revealed yet.

“George was a doting family man, a well-loved friend and confidant to all of those lucky enough to have known him,” the statement read. “He will be missed forever. The family has requested privacy during this time.”

The late actor is survived by his wife of 46 years, actress Bernadette Birkett and children Hilary, Joe and Daniel.

Wendt was born in Chicago, Illinois, on October 17, 1948.

He flunked out of Notre Dame and worked at his father’s real estate office in Chicago before graduating from Rockhurst College.

In the mid-1970s, he started his acting career in the city’s improv school, the Second City Mainstage, where...

Chicago – He was America’s favorite barfly. For 11 TV seasons, George Wendt shuffled into the “Cheers” saloon in Boston to a hale and hearty chorus of “Norm!” … a traditional greeting before his character Norm Peterson took to the barstool. Chicago born-and-bred Wendt passed away on May 20th, 2025, in Los Angeles. He was 76.

George Robert Wendt Jr. was born in the Beverly neighborhood of Chicago, and came back to the city after college to perform at The Second City. After TV guest roles on “Mash,” “Taxi” and “Soap,” Wendt got his first regular role on the short-lived “Making the Grade” (1982). That show’s quick cancellation allowed Wendt to land his most famous role, and “Cheers” premiered in September of 1982.

George Wendt at The Second City in Chicago in 2017

Photo credit: Joe Arce of Starstruck Foto for HollywoodChicago.com

The character of Norm Peterson appeared in all 275 episodes of “Cheers,” with cast...

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George Wendt was a truly beloved actor known best to the world as Norm from "Cheers." Wendt tragically passed away on May 20, 2025, but he leaves behind an immense body of work. Not only does he have a whopping 269 episodes of "Cheers" (and one memorable cameo on "The Simpsons"), but the man had more than 170 acting credits to his name spanning nearly five decades. In that time, Wendt had the opportunity to put his small stamp on another classic TV series.

The show in question is none other than "The Twilight Zone." Created by Rod Serling, the sci-fi anthology series, which originally aired in the '60s on CBS, is still widely regarded today as one of the best shows in the history of television. That's why CBS has revived it several times over the years, including the most recent, short-lived...

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Sad news out of the world of television today, as one of the most beloved stars in the medium’s history has passed away.

For 11 seasons, George Wendt portrayed the quick-witted barfly Norm Peterson on the wildly popular sitcom Cheers.

Today, fans are mourning the loss of the affable star, who passed away peacefully in his sleep last night at the age of 76.

George Wendt walks the red carpet at The Second City Celebrates 50 Years of Funny at 1616 N. Wells Avenue on December 12, 2009 in Chicago, Illinois. (Photo by Tasos Katopodis/Getty Images for The Second City) George Wendt’s loved ones share news of his passing

News of Wendt’s death comes courtesy of his family, who issued a statement via the actor’s reps.

“Beloved actor and comedian, George Wendt, best known for starring in the NBC hit comedy Cheers, has passed away,” publicist Melissa Nathan...

George Wendt, the actor and comedian best known for playing Norm Peterson on the classic sitcom Cheers, died Tuesday, May 20. He was 76.

A rep for Wendt confirmed his death to Rolling Stone. An exact cause of death was not given, though the rep said Wendt “died peacefully in his sleep while at home.”

The rep’s statement continued: “George was a doting family man, a well-loved friend and confidant to all of those lucky enough to have known him. He will be missed forever. The family has requested privacy during this time.

George Wendt, the actor and comedian best known for his role as Norm Peterson on NBC’s hit sitcom “Cheers,” died Tuesday in his home. He was 76.

“George was a doting family man, a well-loved friend and confidant to all of those lucky enough to have known him. He will be missed forever. The family has requested privacy during this time,” Wendt’s publicist, Melissa Nathan, said in a statement to press.

Wendt was born on Oct. 17, 1948 in Chicago where he graduated from iconic theater troupe The Second City and met his wife Bernadette Birkett. Before he landed “Cheers,” Wendt worked a bit in film, appearing in “My Bodyguard,” and had smaller TV roles in “Taxi” and CBS’ war comedy-drama “M*A*S*H.” His debut as a series regular was in 1982 when he starred in the CBS sitcom “Making the Grade.”

That same year, Wendt booked his breakout role as Norm Peterson,...

Actor George Wendt, best known for his role as Norm Peterson on Cheers, has passed away. He was 76 years old.

Per Variety, Wendt died at his home in his sleep on Tuesday morning. A cause of death was not revealed, but his passing was confirmed by the beloved actor's publicist, Melissa Nathan, with a statement shared on behalf of the family.

“George was a doting family man, a well-loved friend and confidant to all of those lucky enough to have known him," the family's statement noted. "He will be missed forever. The family has requested privacy during this time.”

George Wendt got his career in show business started as an alumnus of The Second City, where he worked after graduating with a B.A. in economics. He picked up some small roles in the early 1980s, appearing in the films My Bodyguard, Jekyll and Hyde... Together Again, and Airplane II: The Sequel.

George Wendt, an American actor and comedian who earned six consecutive Emmy nominations for his performance as Norm Peterson on the beloved NBC comedy series “Cheers,” died Tuesday morning at his home. He was 76.

Wendt’s death was confirmed by his publicist Melissa Nathan with the following statement: “George was a doting family man, a well-loved friend and confidant to all of those lucky enough to have known him. He will be missed forever. The family has requested privacy during this time.”

A student of the Chicago improv landscape, Wendt was a comedian at The Second City in the 1970s before becoming a television actor. After numerous guest spots, he landed the role that would come define him: the loyal barfly Norm Peterson, whose regular first line of “Afternoon everybody” became one of the fan-beloved motifs of the series.

A standout among the cast, Wendt earned six Emmy nods in...

Once upon a time, there was a sitcom called "Rhoda." It was a spinoff of "The Mary Tyler Moore Show," and was an instant smash. How instant? Early in the first season, Rhoda got married, and the episode was watched by over 52 million television viewers. It was the highest-rated episode of television in the 1970s until the premiere of "Roots" in 1977, and served as a bit of a sitcom laboratory for James L. Brooks and Allan Burns. "The Mary Tyler Moore Show" was groundbreaking in its own right, but, at least early in the series, Brooks and his writers were a little looser on "Rhoda."

One of their most brilliant ideas was to introduce a regular character who is heard but never seen. "The Andy Griffith Show" had done this on occasion with Barney Fife's beloved Juanita Beasley, but "Rhoda" turned the alcoholic Carlton the Doorman into something of a sensation.

When a film or a television show is well-written, even characters who never appear on-screen can cast a long shadow. Think of all the titles where the titular character is nothing but a memory. There are also horror films where the frightening monster remains offscreen but terrifies the viewer nonetheless. In television sitcoms, the notion of the unseen character often becomes an amusing gag. Some viewers love this narrative trick for its hilarity or sinister abilities whereas others hate it.

By dangling these characters out of reach, film and television writers toy with our desire to see more -- forcing viewers to use their imaginations and envision what these individuals look like and who they are. Whether you love this trope or hate it, it's one you're bound to encounter now and then. To better understand how this practice has endured, here's a handy list of some of the most...

A long-running character from Frasier was almost very different, thanks to the creators' hopes of toying with Cheers' fans. The highly successful spin-off show, Frasier, followed the exploits of the titular psychiatrist following his departure from Cheers. Dr. Frasier Crane was played by Kelsey Grammer, who also voices Sideshow Bob in The Simpsons. Frasier's fellow psychiatrist and younger brother, Dr. Niles Crane, is introduced alongside his unseen wife, Marris. This was seemingly a reference to a Cheers character, Vera, the wife of bar-fly Norm. Neither Marris nor Vera are properly depicted on the screen, but this wasn't originally the intention.

Having two unseen characters straddled across two sitcoms seemed like one of the few connections between Cheers and Frasier, beyond the annual co-star guest appearances. This joke, however, was not originally intended to last as long in Frasier as it did in Cheers. Talking to Yahoo TV, co-creator David Lee...

Jason Sudeikis has been out in public for all of five minutes, and he’s already getting bum-rushed. We’re sitting on a bench in Washington Square Park, watching a Thursday-afternoon crowd that’s perfectly, improbably New York – a cosmopolitan merry-go-round of giddy jazz guitarists, skateboard-tricking truants and hand-holding multi-culti couples. The hazy calm is interrupted when a shock-haired, hockey-toothed homeless gentleman descends upon Sudeikis and begins stomping his feet while hooting a Texas-football fight song.

“No, no, no,” says the Kansas-raised Sudeikis with total calm, as if this sort...