The Single Word That Got George Wendt His Iconic Role on 'Cheers'
Late Cheers star George Wendt shared secrets from the TV show that made him famous in his final public appearance. Wendt, who died at age 76 on Tuesday, joined Cheers co-stars Ted Danson and Woody Harrelson on their Where Everybody Knows Your Name podcast in August 2024. In the chat, the actor said his audition for Cheers was initially only one single word, at the end of the 1982 pilot episode. At the time, Wendt had landed his first major role in a TV show called Making the Grade. "My agent said, 'They want you to do this Cheers,'" Wendt told his former cast mates. His agent had told the Cheers team he wasn't available, but he auditioned anyway. However his agent clarified it was a "really small" role. "How small? Well it's really just one line. Actually it's one word. Come to think of it it's one syllable. I said 'What's the syllable?' She said 'Beer'. " Wendt then read for a character ironically called George, which morphed into his Norm Peterson character. "I read it and they decided they'd try to make it work out so I could do both shows, then the other show got cancelled." Cheers ran from September 30, 1982 to May 20, 1993.