Ted Danson and Kelsey Grammer lead tributes to Cheers co-star

Tributes have been paid by the solid of US comedy sequence Cheers after George Wendt – who starred as Norm Peterson – died on the age of 76.

Ted Danson, who performed bar boss Sam Malone, mentioned he was “devastated to listen to that Georgie is not with us”.

Kelsey Grammer, who performed Frasier Crane earlier than starring in his personal spin-off, mentioned in an announcement to Deadline: “I imagine mourning is a personal matter. However I appreciated George quite a bit. He was beloved by hundreds of thousands.”

Wendt starred as Norm in all 275 episodes of Cheers, which ran from 1982 to 93. He earned six consecutive Emmy nominations for excellent supporting actor in a comedy sequence.

The actor and comic died peacefully in his sleep at his dwelling early on Tuesday morning, his household mentioned.

“George was a doting household man, a well-loved buddy and confidant to all of these fortunate sufficient to have recognized him. He will probably be missed perpetually,” a consultant instructed the BBC.

“I’m sending all my like to Bernadette and the youngsters,” Danson added. “It will take me a very long time to get used to this. I like you, Georgie.”

Wendt had reunited with a number of the solid, together with Danson, Grammer, Rhea Perlman and John Ratzenberger, on the Emmy Awards in 2024.

Perlman described Wendt as “the sweetest, kindest man I ever met”, including that she would “miss him greater than phrases can say”.

And Ratzenberger mentioned he was “heartbroken to listen to concerning the passing of my buddy”, noting how that they had “shared a stage, plenty of laughs, and a front-row seat to certainly one of tv’s most beloved friendships”.

Actress Melissa Joan Hart mirrored on the handful of instances that they had labored collectively on the present Sabrina the Teenage Witch.

“He was heat, skilled and type and our solid and crew have been gifted together with his presence each time. Relaxation in peace!” she wrote on Instagram.

“Heaven simply bought somewhat funnier.”

Wendt additionally appeared in a number of motion pictures equivalent to Dreamscape, Eternally Younger and Gung Ho.

He additionally appeared as the daddy of a boy performed by Macaulay Culkin in Michael Jackson’s Black or White music video, which was launched in 1991.

He had been married to fellow actor Bernadette Birkett since 1978, with whom he had three youngsters.

He was additionally the uncle of actor and comic Jason Sudeikis, who’s most not too long ago recognized for enjoying the title character within the sports activities comedy Ted Lasso.

Wendt’s character Norm was a bar common in Cheers, and was one of many few characters to look in each episode.

His entrance into the bar was a operating gag on the present, starting with him greeting the opposite patrons adopted by the group yelling his identify.

Talking 20 years after the present ended, Wendt mentioned individuals nonetheless recognised him as a result of the present had been a once-in-a-generation hit.

“I stay only a few blocks from the place Buddies was shot and from the place Seinfeld was shot and I might see the helicopters going over the studio and I might suppose, wow, I am one of some dozen individuals who have a singular perspective on what all these persons are going by means of,” he mirrored.

Cheers Boston, the pub that impressed the hit tv present, paid tribute by sharing an image of Norm’s spot on the bar on Instagram.

“George wasn’t simply an actor – he was an emblem of consolation, laughter, and that acquainted feeling of strolling into a spot the place everyone is aware of your identify,” they mentioned.

“To George: thanks for the laughs, the reminiscences, and the legacy you allow behind. You may at all times have a stool at our bar.”