George Wendt (1948-2025)
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Actor and comedian George Wendt, who began his career at Second City before finding fame as Norm Peterson in the beloved 1980’s NBC sitcom CHEERS, died on May 20 at the age of 76. Although best known as Norm (for which he received six Emmy nominations), George’s non-improv theater work in Chicago and beyond was extensive. Early on in Chicago, he was in the original production of BLEACHER BUMS at the Organic Theater. He appeared at the Body Politic Theatre in the original musical satire WILD MEN, and reprised that role when the production moved to the off-Broadway West Side Theatre in New York. In 2000, he returned to Chicago to play the sheriff in the Auditorium Theatre’s concert staging of the musical BABES IN ARMS. Two years later, he played a beleaguered Little League coach in ROUNDING THIRD at Northlight Theatre, then returned to Northlight in 2015 to star in the drama FUNNYMAN.
Outside of Chicago, George starred in ART in London’s West End and then reprised the role on Broadway. Additional Broadway credits include HAIRSPRAY, ELF and BREAKFAST AT TIFFANY’S. Off-Broadway, he appeared in AN EMPTY PLATE IN THE CAFÉ DU GRAND BOEUF (Primary Stages) and performed in Roundabout Theatre’s national tour of TWELVE ANGRY MEN, as well as many other regional productions. Over four-plus decades, George earned more than 170 film and television credits. He appeared in every episode in the 11-year run of CHEERS and was also known as the uber-Chicago Bears “Superfan” Bob Swerski on the SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE recurring sketch “Superfans.” George also reprised his indelible Norm character in a number of shows, including THE SIMPSONS, WINGS, FRASIER and FAMILY GUY. His film roles included FLETCH, GUNG HO and FOREVER YOUNG, along with many independent films, commercials and music videos. George Robert Wendt Jr. was born on Oct. 17, 1948, in Beverly on Chicago’s South Side, one of nine children of retired Navy captain and real estate agent George Robert Wendt Sr. and Loretta. George attended Campion High School, a Jesuit boarding school in Wisconsin, before enrolling at the University of Notre Dame. He claimed to have left Notre Dame after recording a 0.00 grade point average his junior year — and he later took classes at Roosevelt University before transferring to Rockhurst College in Kansas City, from which he earned a bachelor’s degree in economics in 1971. Back home in Chicago, George spent the next few years alternating between travels to Europe and Africa and occasional work. He began to find his calling in September 1973 when he enrolled in Second City’s Players Workshop for a year of workshops and classes. Invited to join Second City the following year, George soon worked on the company’s children’s shows and won positions first with the touring company, and then with the resident company, appearing in Toronto, Schaumburg and Chicago. While at Second City, George met Bernadette Birkett, a fellow Chicago native and fellow member of Second City’s touring company, in 1976, and the couple married in July 1978. George is survived by his wife Bernadette; his siblings Kathy Sudeikis, Nancy Healy, Loretta Jolivette, Marti Doherty and Paul Wendt; his children Hilary, Joe and Danny Wendt; his stepchildren Josh and Andrew Trossman; and a grandson. (The actor and comedian Jason Sudeikis is a nephew.) “I always find movies deadly dull to make,” George told the Tribune in 2002. “TV’s really in the middle because you have a studio audience. It’s like a 22-minute one-act play that you work on five days and then perform. But the theater always has been the best.” With thanks to the Chicago Tribune and Hollywood Reporter. |