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George Robert Wendt (born October 17, 1948) is an American actor best known for the role of Norm Peterson on the long-running television show Cheers (1982-1993).
He was born in Chicago, Illinois and attended Campion High School in Prairie du Chien, Wisconsin (the same school attended by Vicente Fox, Congressman Leo Ryan, and Wisconsin governor Patrick Lucey). He was kicked out of University of Notre Dame after a lack of studying resulted in a semester with a 0.00 GPA. A resident of the infamous party house Zahm House, he was known more for his all-night gallivanting than fastidious study habits. He was more successful at the Jesuit Rockhurst College in Kansas City where after applying himself, he graduated with a B.A. in Economics.
He is also an alumnus of The Second City which he discovered shortly after college. A viewing had inspired him to join and on his first day of employment, he showed up promptly at 11:30AM like he was instructed. The woman working there had handed him a broom and said "Welcome to the theater, kid." just as his first job in showbiz was sweeping up cigarette butts off the floors. Second City was also where he met his future wife, Bernadette Birkett, who was to later play the voice of Norm's never-seen wife, Vera, on Cheers.
In 1989, Wendt appeared as the eponymous protagonist in a BBC TV dramatization of Ivan Goncharov's novel Oblomov. He has also appeared twice (two episodes were made from one day's filming) on the original British edition of Whose Line Is It Anyway?.
In the early 1990s, Wendt made cameo appearances on several episodes of Saturday Night Live as Bob Swerski, one of the Chicago Superfans. Wendt is the uncle of current SNL writer and featured player Jason Sudeikis.
Wendt was the host of the A&E reality show, House of Dreams in 2004.
In January 2006, Wendt was seen again on television screens as part of the cast of Modern Men.
In May 2006, Wendt was seen yet again on television. He made several appearances on Late Night with Conan O'Brien where he performed short skits to the audience's delight, one of which involved him doing one push up (which seemed quite difficult due to his large size). His appearance on Late Night was in all likelihood due to the fact that the show was having a week long event in his hometown of Chicago where he is beloved.
External links
- George Wendt at IMDb