Hollywood is overflowing with tributes for actor , who died in his sleep at his home in Los Angeles on May 20, 2025, at the age of 76. Wendt was best known for portraying Norm Peterson on the sitcom Cheers from 1982 to 1993. The role earned him six consecutive Emmy nominations for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series. He also made guest appearances in the three other sitcoms set in the show’s universe.

Wendt began his acting career as part of the improvisational theater troupe, The Sound City. According to the actor, his first task was sweeping floors. Thankfully, he soon proved his talent and managed to find his way into the television and film industry. He also met his wife, Bernadette Birkett, while working on the troupe, and the rest, as they say, is history. For the rest of his career, Wendt would go on to be a part of several high-profile productions.

Here are George Wendt's best movie and tv roles.

Adapted from Hal Roach's Our Gang (a series of short films from the 1920s, 1930s, and 1940s), is about Their loyalties soon get tested when one of them falls for a popular girl.

One of the film’s subplots involves go-kart racing, so . As usual, he channels his blend of humor and tough love. Believe it or not. . Will there be so much winning that we get tired of winning? Find out. And watch out for a character named Uh-Huh who says nothing but “Uh huh” throughout the movie.

Set in the fictional Franklin High School in St. Louis, follows and students as they deal with the challenges of public education. Among the staff are a strict principal, an optimistic counselor, and .

Making the Grade didn’t last as long as many great ‘80s sitcoms, but . Even though it fell into obscurity, . Watch out for Wendt’s “joke of the year” in the fourth episode.

After his girlfriend falls into a coma, test pilot Daniel McCormick (Mel Gibson) . A part of him sees this as the best way to escape stress, but then . What happens when Daniel wakes up all those decades later? will surprise you.

At the height of his Cheers fame, Went topped lots of “best supporting performance” lists with this . It was an against-type performance from him, since audiences were used to seeing him in comedies, but he proved he could do just about anything if allowed to. Gibson was also impressed with his aw-shucks type of serviceman who bubbles with courage and smarts,

After Cheers, Wendt shifted his focus to his sitcom, . In it, . However, they often find themselves in slapstick moments not related to cars.

. He brings his usual everyman joy to the show, proving that life can be interesting, even when the most bizarre things keep happening to you. Unfortunately, the show never attracted as many eyeballs as Cheers, forcing a cancellation. Still, the eight episodes available are worth watching as they have some of the funniest bits of storytelling ever seen on television.

covers the woes of influential American filmmaker David Merrill (Robert De Niro), who returns home from Paris only to be targeted by the architects of the Hollywood Blacklist. Though he is not a Communist, he Predictably, he suffers severe consequences.

This bravura look at a dark time in Hollywood’s history stands as Wendt’s finest non-comedy effort. . . Here, director Irwin Winkler and his team had every right to protest for not being recognized by the Oscars. They didn’t, because this was Winkler’s directorial debut, but we’ll protest for them. #JusticeForGuiltyBySuspicion

Fans still bow down to the greatest anthology show ever made. and its numerous revivals often . Many actors passed through the show, including

. There, he discovers that the alternate version of his wife is alive, but the alternate version of him is dead. Will there be a cross-universe romance? The episode’s bittersweet tone will keep you glued for the entire running time.

In, psychic teen . Soon, Bob Blair (Christopher Plummer), an evil new official, takes over the project, aiming to use it to assassinate people via dreams. Thankfully, .

This shudder-inducing sci-fi thriller. Despite the malicious proceedings taking place, the plot is so cool that you are left wishing some of it were real. Dennis Quaid, too, is better than he has ever been. Beyond that, the dialogue is as sharp as it gets in fast-paced movies like these.

follows Sabrina (Melissa Joan Hart), (a departure from the Archie Comics series, where she has known of her abilities since she was little). She thus, the witches Hilda (Caroline Rhea) and Zelda (Beth Broderick).

This saucy dissection of teenage life and responsibility.. You’ll appreciate the nod to Cheers in the episode “I, Busybody,” where Mike enters a coffee shop, and everyone raises their mugs and salutes “Mike!” — a reference to the famous “Norm!” greeting from the sitcom.

Irwin "Fletch" Fletcher (Chevy Chase) from is the kind of investigative reporter who always irks his boss but gets the job done. He so that he won’t have to endure the pain from bone cancer anymore. Will Fletch do it?

This literate, suspenseful film . Wendt stands out as the. The good news is that there is an even better sequel to this tale of rousing professionalism. Check out Confess, Fletch, starring John Hamm.

Events in Cheers play out at the titular bar in Boston, where locals often meet to socialize and escape life’s stresses. The owner and head bartender is Sam Malone (Ted Danson), a womanizing former relief pitcher for the Boston Red Sox. Wendt’s character, Norm, is one of the bar’s regulars.

Cheers won a whopping 28 Emmys during its run and spawned several spinoffs. From its opening theme ("Where Everybody Knows Your Name" by Gary Portnoy) to its dissection of the mundane things about life, the show never has a dull moment. And Wendt’s character is so likable that he has been the subject of numerous pop culture references in other shows. Cheers to this ‘80s comedy masterpiece.