Actor Ted Danson broke his silence on his longtime friend and former Cheers co-star George Wendt‘s death in a statement to the New York Post on Tuesday (May 20).
“I am devastated to hear that Georgie is no longer with us,” said Danson, who played main character and bar owner Sam Malone. “I am sending all my love to [his wife] Bernadette and the children. It is going to take me a long time to get used to this. I love you, Georgie.”
Actress Rhea Perlman, who played cocktail waitress Carla Tortelli, also issued a statement to the New York Post regarding Wendt’s death.
“George Wendt was the sweetest, kindest man I ever met. It was impossible not to like him,” she said. “As Carla, I was often standing next to him, as Norm always took the same seat at the end of the bar, which made it easy to grab him and beat the crap out of him at least once a week. I loved doing it and he loved pretending it didn’t hurt. What a guy! I’ll miss him more than words can say.”
Wendt, Danson and Perlman were the only actors to appear in all 275 episodes of the iconic NBC series during its run from 1982 to 1993. Wendt received six consecutive Emmy nominations for outstanding supporting actor in a comedy series for his role as Norm.
Wendt’s family said he died peacefully in his sleep at his home early Tuesday morning, though his official cause of death was unclear at the time of publication.
“George was a doting family man, a well-loved friend and confidant to all of those lucky enough to have known him,” a rep for Wendt said in a statement obtained by the Hollywood Reporter. “He will be missed forever. The family has requested privacy during this time.”
Wendt, a Chicago native got his first big break with the famed Second City improvisational comedy troupe in the 1970s and appeared in several television shows and films before landing his signature role on Cheers in 1982. The actor also appeared as Bob Swerski in the iconic reoccurring ‘Bill Swerski’s Superfans’ Saturday Night Live skits as the brother of the title character, played by Joe Mantegna in the original sketch that aired when he hosted the show on January 12, 1991, with Bob taking over as host in subsequent sketches.
Wendt’s film credits also include Dreamscape (1984), House (1985), Fletch (1985), Gung Ho (1986), Plains Clothes (1987), Never Say Die (1988), Guilty by Suspicion (1991), Forever Young (1992) and Spice World (1997). The actor was also the uncle of Ted Lasso star and former SNL cast member Jason Sudeikis, who is the only son of one of his six sisters.
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