Norm Peterson

NORM PETERSON

Prior to the show, Norman "Norm" Peterson was born in Chicago, and moved to Boston to become an accountant. He is a Boston Celtics fan. Norm previously served in the United States Coast Guard. He loses his accounting job by defending Diane from his boss, and becomes a housepainter. Norm was revealed to be an accomplished interior decorator and beer taster, capable of spotting a bad vat in a factory by drinking a single bottle. Ironically, even when unemployed, Norm is the bar's best customer. A running gag throughout the series are the numerous jokes made about the enormousness of Norm's tab at Cheers (several large binders are shown as being just a portion of it - in the episode "Home Malone," and in the series finale, Sam Malone has to have his total tab for the series calculated by NASA). In the few instances when Norm drinks at another bar, he is immediately kicked out because the bartenders demand an immediate cash payment instead of a tab. Norm's best friend is postman and fellow barfly Cliff Clavin, who calls him "Normy". In one "Cheers" episode, ("It's a Wonderful Wife") Vera, Norm's wife, tells Rebecca Howe (off camera) that Norm's real first name is Hillary. Vera is often mentioned but her face is never seen. When she is finally shown, her face is covered in a thrown pie. The only other time she is seen, viewers can see only her legs. Vera is the brunt of many of Norm's jokes, but on many occasions, Norm has professed secretly an undying love for his wife, or defended her honor. Norm and Vera separated during the second season of "Cheers," but reconciled in the last episode of the season. Ironically, Norm's marital issues was contrasting the romance between Sam and Diane Chambers, who enjoyed a romance then bitterly broke up in that last episode. When Vera got a job at Melville's, however, Norm was deeply disturbed by her proximity to him during his bar time. Vera was played by George Wendt's real-life wife, Bernadette Birkett. When not sipping beer at "Cheers," Norm satisfies his hunger at an eatery called "The Hungry Heifer." He denigrated the eatery when he first visited it in season 2, but when the place was being shut down in season 9, he insinuates it was an important place to him throughout his life and knew the owner since his college years. Corrine, who worked at Cheers occasionally as a temp waitress, was a server at The Hungry Heifer, and said the waitstaff knew Norm as "the guy who comes back." The "Cheers" patrons greet Peterson by shouting "Norm," after he walks into the bar, usually after he says, "Hello Everyone." Norm is also greeted by everyone at "Gary's Olde Town Tavern" (Cheers' rival bar) with his customary "Norm!" shout during the "Bar Wars VI" episode. When Sam asks why the people at Gary's know him by name, Norm replies that he goes there on Christmas when "Cheers" is closed. "Norm" is actually the first word of Frederick Crane (son of Frasier and Lilith Crane). This occurs as Lilith expresses concern over the effect of bringing baby Frederick to the bar, which Frasier disputes. When Norm enters and greets the bar, everyone is surprised to hear a little voice call out, "Norm!" Lilith, distraught that Frederick was not yet talking, joyously believes he said "Mom!" - a beaming Frasier knows the truth but chooses not to rain on his wife's parade. In the series finale, Norm has one final beer and a one-on-one talk with Sam. Norm is the final person to be shown ever exiting the "Cheers" bar. This was a fitting farewell at the place where everybody knew Norm's name.

GEORGE WENDT

George Robert Wendt was born in the Beverly neighborhood of Chicago, Illinois. Wendt was expelled from the University of Notre Dame after a semester with a 0.00 GPA. He later attended the Jesuit Rockhurst College in Kansas City, where he graduated with a B.A. in economics. Wendt is an alumnus of "The Second City," which he discovered shortly after college. The woman working there handed him a broom and said "Welcome to the theater, kid"; thus, his first job in show business was sweeping the floors. "Second City" was also where he met his future wife, Bernadette Birkett, who later played the voice of Norm's never-seen wife, Vera, on "Cheers." Wendt appeared in the movie "My Bodyguard." He played a handyman working behind the check-in counter at the Ambassador East Hotel in Chicago. Shortly before being cast in the role of Norm Peterson, in the classic sitcom, "Cheers," George appeared on an episode of the TV series Taxi as an exterminator and starred as Private Roche in an episode of M*A*S*H, where he suffered from having a pool ball stuck in his mouth for much of the episode. George and his "Norm" character on "Cheers," have also made several appearances in Pop Culture. The character of "Morn," who always sits quietly at Quark's bar in sci-fi show, "Star Trek: Deep Space Nine," is an anagram for Norm, the "Cheers" character played by Wendt. Also in his career, Wendt would appear on Broadway, in a Michael Jackson music video, and as a guest star in many TV shows. He also starred in the television remake of the classic musical, "Bye Bye Birdie," playing the role of "Harry." George also hosted the first and only season of the A&E Reality Series, "House of Dreams," which centered around a group of sixteen people building a house that, eventually, only one of the would get to keep. His Birthday is October 17th.