Cheers fans bid farewell to one of the iconic sitcom’s stars, George Wendt, on Tuesday.
The late actor, aged 76, played a pivotal role on the series, contributing significantly to the subsequent rise in popularity and success of several of its actors.
The program significantly boosted Ted Danson’s fame, transformed both Woody Harrelson and Kirstie Alley into significant players in the film industry, and kick-started Kelsey Grammer’s hit spinoff series, Frasier.
42 years back, on September 30, 1982, the television series “Cheers” debuted, with John Wendt portraying the character of Norm Peterson, the affable bar patron. Over the course of 11 seasons and 275 episodes, this popular sitcom continued to air.
George impressively appeared in every episode until the show went off air in May 1993.
Peering back over four decades since the premiere of the beloved TV show Cheers, DailyMail.com explores what became of the main cast members following their toast by fellow stars and fans, including Wendt.
George Wendt
In recent times, the fellow from Hollywood, George, has been quite elusive, maintaining a minimal online footprint and barely engaging with social media.
In November 2024, DailyMail.com observed him leaving a dialysis clinic in Los Angeles, where he was being pushed in a wheelchair. Earlier in the decade, there were occasional sightings of him in public.
At that moment, Wendt seemed especially weak, as he was noticed being helped by his long-time spouse, Bernadette Birkett.
Since 1978, he has been in a marriage with Birkett, whose character as the enigmatic Vera was heard on Cheers. Together, they raised a daughter and two sons in Los Angeles.
Despite reports suggesting that Wendt was admitted to the hospital due to chest pains in 2012, he kept his health matters during his later years largely confidential.
Born in Chicago, Wendt left the University of Notre Dame in Indiana due to low grades, and then shifted his career path towards acting. His initial role in show business was cleaning theater floors.
Initially, guest appearances on Taxi and M*A*S*H paved the way for his major breakthrough on Cheers. Two years later, following Cheers’ end, he introduced a self-named sitcom on CBS; however, this show was terminated after only eight episodes had been aired.
Beyond my fame from that renowned sitcom, I’ve had the privilege of gracing various other screens with my presence. Shows like Sabrina The Teenage Witch, Columbo, and Wings have seen me in action as well. Quite an eclectic mix, wouldn’t you agree?
Additionally, he often featured in a repeated segment titled “Bill Swerski’s Superfans” on Saturday Night Live, a tribute to passionate sports enthusiasts hailing from the city of Chicago.
Last year, George F. Wendt, Wendt’s cousin, passed away tragically at the age of 72 following an accidental drowning in Lake Michigan during a swimming competition.
In the final acting role of his life, Wendt was featured in a television film titled “Love’s Second Act,” where Jodie Sweetin from Full House was one of the stars. Additionally, he has been scheduled to make an appearance in the already-completed but yet-to-be-released TV movie called “Compound Fractures.
In January 2024, during the Emmy Awards, I had the heartwarming opportunity to reconnect with some of my Cheers co-stars, making our final interaction a memorable and positive one.
In the reenactment of the popular bar from the series, Wendt was accompanied by Ted Danson, Kelsey Grammer, Rhea Perlman, and John Ratzenberger.
Woody Harrelson, who was acting in a play at the time, and Shelley long didn’t attend the reunion.
Ted Danson
In a notable role, Ted Danson, aged 77, played Sam Malone on the highly successful series, and he was one of merely three characters who graced every single one of the 275 episodes.
In a past life, Sam, a character we’re discussing, was once a professional baseball player for the Boston Red Sox. His struggle with alcoholism caused him to leave his sports career behind. Instead, he opened a bar where he became a cherished figure among his clientele. He also had a talent for charming attractive women.
Instead, let’s say that unlike some people, Danson tends to lean towards monogamy. He’s been married to actress Mary Steenburgen since 1995, having first met her on the set of Pontiac Moon in 1993.
‘I’m deeply in love. We’re deeply in love. It takes care of a lot for us. We often make each other laugh. I greatly respect her. If I could be a woman, I’d want to be like her,’ is how Danon expressed his feelings about his wife, whom he celebrated 25 years of marriage with in 2020.
Before meeting Steenburgen, he had been married twice and famously dated Whoopi Goldberg.
Since his time on Cheers ended, he’s consistently been a prominent figure on television screens, gracing the leading parts in numerous successful shows such as Becker, Fargo, CSI, The Good Place, and recurring in Curb Your Enthusiasm.
He has also filmed multiple advertisements for phone company Consumer Cellular.
In the two-season comedy “Mr. Mayor,” Danson portrayed a fictional mayor of Los Angeles. At present, he stars in the Netflix series “A Man On The Inside,” where his character switches to a retired individual embarking on a fresh venture as a private investigator.
This month, the comedy series started shooting its second season, and it turned into something like a family project when Mary, Danson’s real-life spouse, was added to the cast for the new season.
For 11 years straight, Danson was nominated for an Emmy Award for his portrayal of Sam, eventually taking home the Best Actor in a Comedy award in both 1990 and 1993. His second wife, Cassandra Coates, is the mother of his two children; the couple divorced in 1993.
He is a pescatarian and is a dedicated advocate of ocean conservation.
Kirstie Alley
Kirstie Alley entered as Shelley Long’s replacement during the beginning of the sixth season on Cheers, portraying the character of Rebecca Howe, a strong-willed businesswoman.
She earned an Emmy Award and Golden Globe for her role in 1991.
Before and following her time on Cheers, Alley found success both then and later. She made her first appearance on the silver screen with Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan, and went on to share the limelight with John Travolta and Bruce Willis’ voice in the Look Who’s Talking film series.
She remained active in the entertainment industry throughout her life up until her passing in December 2022, at the age of 72. Notably, she made a surprise appearance as Baby Mammoth on The Masked Singer just four months prior to her death, in April.
That year in May, it was revealed that the actress was battling advanced colon cancer. Even after receiving chemotherapy, she tragically lost her life to this illness at a cancer center located in Tampa, Florida.
Allie, who has been married on two separate occasions, is the mother of two kids. Additionally, she was an active participant and advocate within the Church of Scientology.
During the later stages of her life, she faced criticism for her political stances following numerous interviews on Fox News where she expressed her backing for President Donald Trump.
Initially identifying as a moderate liberal, she recently made an appearance on Tucker Carlson’s program, criticizing CNN for allegedly frightening viewers with excessive coronavirus news coverage.
Additionally, she criticized the Academy Awards when it was disclosed that the organizers intend to revise their diversity guidelines; this means that movies can only be considered for best picture nominations if they meet these new criteria.
[Alley wrote on Twitter], ‘Could you envision explaining to Picasso the requirements for his artworks? You folks are clearly out of your minds. If you control artists, you control individual thinking … George Orwell.'”
“[In a tweet, Alley said], ‘Do you think it’s possible to instruct Picasso on what he should paint? It seems everyone has gone mad. By controlling artists, you control their thoughts… George Orwell.’
Shelley Long
65-year-old Shelley Long gained recognition for her role as the intelligent barmaid Diane Chambers in the popular 1980s sitcom, but she’s also made appearances in numerous successful TV shows and films such as The Money Pit, Troop Beverly Hills, Hello Again, and The Brady Bunch Movie.
Year after year, the up-and-down love story between her character and the ex-Red Sox relief pitcher Sam Malone (portrayed by Emmy award winner Ted Danson) consistently placed the show atop the television rating charts.
Shelley quit at the end of Season 5 in 1986, believing her character had run its course.
However, she took up her Cheers character once more to make an appearance as a guest on Frasier, where she shared the screen with her on-screen romantic partner, Kelsey Grammer.
In his 1995 autobiography, ‘So Far’, Kelsey asserted that Shelley was not well-liked by the producers on Cheers. According to him, they became frustrated with her persistent criticisms regarding his character and storylines.
Shelley, who’s been through two divorces and is a single mother, has resided in a luxury condominium worth around $1.3 million in the affluent Pacific Palisades neighborhood of West Los Angeles, California, since her split from husband Bruce Tyson in 2004.
But according to locals, she is rarely seen out and about.
Kelsey Grammer
Kelsey Grammer, 70, entered Cheers as psychiatrist Frasier Crane in season three.
Initially, I just dropped by for a guest appearance, but my role on Frasier evolved into a permanent fixture at the bar and eventually became a cherished mainstay of the show.
He gained significant success with the show “Cheers,” and continued to play the character of Frasier for another two decades in the hit spin-off series “Frasier.” This long-running role earned him a total of four Emmy Awards.
The series aired for an impressive 11 seasons from 1993 to 2004, earning its place among the greatest TV spin-offs ever produced.
Frasier clinched an impressive 37 Primetime Emmy trophies, breaking the record for the highest number of Emmys won by a scripted show in one go. Among these were five consecutive victories in the category of Outstanding Comedy Series.
Following the final episode of Frasier in 2004, Kelsey Grammer expanded his acting career, landing roles in popular films such as X-Men: The Last Stand and Transformers: Age of Extinction. He is also well-known for his voice acting, particularly as the notorious character Sideshow Bob on The Simpsons.
Grammarly, in the course of his life, has been married four different times and is a father to seven kids. Three of these children are shared with his current spouse, Kayte Walsh, who is 25 years younger than him and hails from Britain, serving as a flight attendant.
In 2023, he once again took on his memorable character, Dr. Frasier Crane, in a revival of the popular series “Fraiser” on Paramount+. However, the show received mixed opinions from critics and fans criticized it for appearing cheap and falling short of capturing the charm of the original production.
The show was terminated by Paramount+ following the broadcast of its second season in 2024; however, CBS had previously expressed hopes of finding another network or streaming platform to continue airing the series.
In 2026, the character of Grammer will once again appear on the big screen, taking on his old X-Men role as Beast/Dr. Hank McCoy, in the Marvel movie “Avengers: Doomsday”.
Woody Harrelson
Woody Harrelson, aged 63, joined the bar as a character named Woody Boyd in the fourth season of the show. He earned an Emmy Award for that role and received a total of five nominations.
Despite starting his acting career with Cheers as his initial role, it could be argued that he is the most accomplished member of the cast. He has since appeared in numerous critically acclaimed films and TV series, one of which being No Country for Old Men by the Coen Brothers, which went on to win the Academy Award for Best Picture.
Apart from his significant contribution to the Hunger Games series, he also shared screen time with Matthew McConaughey during the initial season of True Detective. This collaboration led to an Emmy Award nomination for him.
He has been nominated for the Oscar three times, once each for “The People vs. Larry Flynt,” “The Messenger,” and “Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri.” Additionally, he starred as one of the main characters in Oliver Stone’s debated crime satire, “Natural Born Killers.
Harrelson is a vegan and well known for environmentalism and charity work.
As a dedicated follower, I’ve had the privilege to represent the world in two Unicef Soccer Aid matches held in the UK, back in 2010 and 2012. On the side, you might find me honing my skills in Brazilian jiu-jitsu. Currently, I hold a white belt in this martial art, which I’ve been learning while filming.
He is a father to three daughters with his wife Laura Louie, who he has been with since 1987.
Rhea Perlman
As an ardent admirer, I can’t help but share my affection for the extraordinary Rhea Perlman, who at 77 years young, graced our screens as the unforgettable Carla Tortelli in every episode of that beloved sitcom. Known for her quick temper and aversion to many patrons of the bar, save for Sam, Carla was a character that truly came alive under Rhea’s skillful portrayal.
Her playful interactions with character Diane often provided comic relief, while the continuous growth of her family’s members also caught attention.
Or,
Character Diane’s exchanges with her were consistently hilarious, and the increasing number of her kids was always intriguing.
Similar to many of her fellow actors, Cheers significantly boosted her fame, even though she initially appeared in a minor role on the hit comedy series Taxi.
Following the performance, she recurrently played the character Carla on several instances, such as on The Simpsons and Frasier, a spinoff of Cheers, and infrequently popped up in movies, including 1996’s Matilda where she portrayed the cold-hearted mother, sharing the screen with her real-life spouse Danny DeVito.
She’s guest starred in hit comedies including The Mindy Project, Mom and Hot in Cleveland.
Recently, she has appeared as a guest star in Natasha Lyonne’s show “Poker Face” and in Seth Rogen’s comedy series on Apple TV+ titled “The Studio.
Her most recent film role was a buzzy part in Greta Gerwig’s 2023 mega-hit Barbie.
Perlman and DeVito have been wed since 1982, and they share three kids together. Their eldest daughter, Lucy, has chosen to follow in the footsteps of her parents as an actor.
The couple had previously separated in late 2012, but reconciled by early 2013.
However, the separated again in March 2017 and have been living separately ever since.
Nevertheless, it was made clear by Perlman himself that despite their separation, they continue to maintain a friendship, and there are no intentions for them to divorce at this point.
John Ratzenberger
In the TV show, John Ratzenberger, aged 79, portrayed the character of Cliff Clavin. Cliff was a postman who resided with his mother, often struggling in interactions with women. He admired Ted Danson’s character, Sam, as an idol.
His personality shared irrelevant or dubious information cheerfully with anyone approaching just a few feet away.
Even with all his bothersome habits, Cliff was genuinely kind-hearted, and, while they might not have always displayed it openly, the Cheers group adored him deeply.
Hailing from Connecticut, Ratzenberger found his path into acting while he was employed as a carpenter in London.
He has been married three times and has a son and daughter.
Ratzenberger had small roles in blockbusters Superman, Superman II and The Empire Strikes Back.
Known for his distinctive voice, Ratzenberger gained fame from his appearances in various Pixar productions. Notably, he voiced Hamm the Piggy Bank across the Toy Story franchise. Additionally, he lent his voice to characters in Cars, A Bug’s Life, and the Inside Out series as well.
2023 saw the appearance of Paul Ratzenberger, a Republican and ardent backer of President Donald Trump, as a guest star in the television show “Poker Face.
Nicholas Colasanto
World War Two veteran Nicholas Colasanto was the lovable bartender known as Coach.
He assumed this position following his work as a director for episodes of series such as Starsky & Hutch, CHiPs, Columbo, and the initial version of Hawaii Five-0.
In the mid-1970s, he contracted heart disease and was preparing for retirement when he received an offer for a role in Cheers.
In the third season of the series, he was admitted to the hospital. Following his discharge in February 1985, he tragically passed away due to a heart attack at his residence in Los Angeles, at the age of 61.
They removed him from the series by killing his character off-stage, and an image from his work station was displayed on set in his honor.
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2025-05-21 05:01