Cheers star George Wendt died in his sleep on the morning of Tuesday, May 20, 2025. His publicist Melissa Nathan confirmed his passing, calling him “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.”

Wendt starred in all 11 seasons of Cheers as Norm Peterson, an accountant with a sardonic sense of humor who was a fixture at the bar. He regularly complained about his wife and work, and was at Cheers so often that when he entered the bar, the crowd would usually shout his name in greeting. His comedic skills earned Wendt six Emmy nominations during the course of the show.

He was born in Chicago, Illinois on October 17, 1948. Wendt attended Notre Dame for a while, then he worked in his father’s real estate office, and graduated from Rockhurst College. In 1974 he started training to be a comedian at The Second City theater, but the career path didn’t pan out. His comedic skills did, however, translate well on television and in film.

Wendt’s first onscreen role was in 1978’s A Wedding, then he did guest appearances on Soap, Taxi, and M*A*S*H, and starred in Jekyll and Hyde… Together Again and Airplane II: The Sequel. While starring in Cheers, he was in Dreamscape, Thief of Hearts, No Small Affair, Fletch, and the horror movie House. He was in Gung Ho, episodes of Wings, Tales from the Crypt, Roc, and Seinfeld, and he was in Forever Young, and music videos for Michael Jackson and Soul Asylum.

He starred in The Little Rascals movie, Man of the House, Columbo: Strange Bedfellows TV movie, and the short-lived The George Wendt Show. Wendt was in Space Truckers, Spice World, episodes of Sabrina the Teenage Witch, Frasier, Saturday Night Live, and George Lopez. Some of his later roles included Kids in America, he played Santa Claus in Santa Baby and Santa Buddies, guest starred in Hot in Cleveland, Kirstie, Clipped, and The Goldbergs, and his last onscreen role was in 2024’s Love’s Second Act.

Wendt also acted on Broadway, appearing as Edna Turnblad in Hairspray and Santa in Elf. Later in his career, Wendt attended fan conventions and was a competitor on The Masked Singer.