DAY IN HISTORY

Norm Has Left The Building

Cheers star George Wendt passes away at 76

George Wendt as Norm in Cheers. Image credit Paramount

For eleven seasons, George Wendt made the best entrances at the local Boston bar named Cheers. With a list of one-liners as long as his bar tab, his character Norm delivered some of the best comedic lines in Television. Today, we say goodbye to the actor George Wendt who brought so much joy as the Cheers barfly.

Carla, Diane and Norm. Image credit Paramount

Wendt had many other roles, but he morphed into the role of Norm so completely, he will forever be remembered for it. Norm was a lovable low achiever. He was loyal, sincere and a good friend to everyone. Even though he wasted most of his life sitting on a bar stool, he was never bitter, angry or drunk. He was the burley big brother we all wished we had.

Norm wasn’t the best employee, however, and he often was unemployed. Some of the best stories came out of Norm’s employment adventures. One of the best jobs he ever had was being a beer taster. Of course, he didn’t want to quit his nocturnal beer drinking, he had to draw the line somewhere. Then he took a job as a house painter, which led to hilarious hiding under a bed when the wealthy owner came home.