Despite a long career of roles onstage and on TV, it was as gentle and henpecked Norm Peterson on “Cheers” that Wendt was most associated.
WASHINGTON D.C., DC — The cause of death has been released for “Cheers” star George Wendt, according to multiple media reports.
TMZ and Fox News Digital reported that the 76-year-old died from cardiac arrest, according to a death certificate obtained by both outlets.
According to TMZ, the former sitcom star’s death was caused by cardiac arrest, with congestive heart failure, coronary artery disease, and hypertension as underlying causes.
Wendt’s family said he died the morning of May 20, passing peacefully in his sleep while at home, according to the publicity firm The Agency Group.
Despite a long career of roles onstage and on TV, it was as gentle and henpecked Norm Peterson on “Cheers” that he was most associated, earning six straight Emmy Award nominations for best supporting actor in a comedy series from 1984-89.
The series was centered on lovable losers in a Boston bar and starred Ted Danson, Shelley Long, Rhea Perlman, Kelsey Grammer, John Ratzenberger, Kirstie Alley and Woody Harrelson. It would spin off another megahit in “Frasier” and was nominated for an astounding 117 Emmy Awards, winning 28 of them.
Wendt, who spent six years in Chicago’s renowned Second City improv troupe before sitting on a barstool at the place where everybody knows your name, didn’t have high hopes when he auditioned for “Cheers.”
“My agent said, ‘It’s a small role, honey. It’s one line. Actually, it’s one word.’ The word was ‘beer.’ I was having a hard time believing I was right for the role of ‘the guy who looked like he wanted a beer.’ So I went in, and they said, ‘It’s too small a role. Why don’t you read this other one?’ And it was a guy who never left the bar,” Wendt told GQ in an oral history of “Cheers.”
After Wendt’s death, his “Cheers” co-stars paid tribute to him in a series of statements.
Ted Danson, who played Sam Malone on “Cheers,” paid tribute to Wendt in a statement shared with USA Today.
“I am devastated to hear that Georgie is no longer with us. I am sending all my love to Bernadette and the children,” Danson told USA Today and The Hollywood Reporter. “It is going to take me a long time to get used to this. I love you, Georgie.”
Kelsey Grammar, who played Dr. Frasier Crane, said Wendt was “beloved by millions.”