By Bianca Sierra
FROM WIKIPEDIA COMMONS
George Robert Wendt Jr. (October 17, 1948 – May 20, 2025) was an American actor. From 1982 to 1993, Wendt played Norm Peterson on the NBC sitcom Cheers, which earned him six consecutive nominations for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series. After Cheers ended, he starred in his own sitcom, The George Wendt Show (1995), but it was cancelled after only a few episodes. Wendt also appeared in the films Airplane II: The Sequel (1982), No Small Affair (1984), Fletch (1985), The Little Rascals (1994), Spice World (1997), Outside Providence (1999), Santa Buddies (2009), and Sandy Wexler (2017).
Wendt was married to actress Bernadette Birkett and had three children. He died in his sleep at home from toxic shock syndrome on May 20, 2025.
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 Sr., an officer in the Navy and a realtor. He was one of nine children, with six sisters and two brothers. His maternal grandfather was photographer Tom Howard. Wendt was of Irish and one quarter German descent. Wendt was an uncle of actor and former SNL writer and cast member Jason Sudeikis, his sister Kathryn’s son.
He graduated from Campion High School in Prairie du Chien, Wisconsin. He attended the University of Notre Dame until he was expelled after receiving a 0.00 GPA during the first semester of his junior year, reportedly due to challenges associated with living in an off-campus apartment without transportation during the winter. He later attended the Jesuit Rockhurst College in Kansas City, Missouri, where he graduated with a B.A. in economics in 1971.
