In praise of George Wendt’s Norm

Sure, “Cheers” billed itself as a place where everybody knows your name. But there was really only one name everyone in that famous TV bar knew. It belonged, of course, to Norm (né Hilary) Peterson, the amiable beer-swilling barfly played by George Wendt, and everyone roared it whenever he wandered in with a cheerful, “Afternoon, everybody.” Wendt died Tuesday at 76, leaving behind his wife, Bernadette Birkett; three children; and a legacy as one of television’s most lovable everymen.

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