TORONTO 鈥� George Wendt endeared himself to viewers as the beer-loving Norm Peterson on 鈥淐heers,鈥� but in real life, it was his "humble, quiet guy" persona that seemed to connect with locals on his visits to Canada.
After his celebrated run on the 1980s TV smash, the late Chicago-born actor racked up theatre roles that included productions mounted in Winnipeg, Prince Edward Island and smalltown Ontario.
He once even trekked an hour's drive outside Ottawa to appear as the celebrity guest at a craft beer company's Oktoberfest.
鈥淭he fact that he showed up just blew everyone's minds,鈥� said Steve Beauchesne, co-founder of Beau's Brewing Co., and organizer of the sudsy celebration.
鈥淲e didn't pay him. He just came. We covered the cost of his flight and his hotel room 鈥� that was it.鈥�
Wendt was on a promotional tour for his 2009 book 鈥淒rinking with George: A Barstool Professional鈥檚 Guide to Beer鈥� when he agreed to visit the town of Vankleek Hill, Ont.
His publicist was seeking ways to promote Wendt's freshly published book in Canada. She asked the local craft brewing club Members of Barleyment for their advice.
The message caught the attention of Beauchesne who saw an opportunity to get the "Cheers" star to attend an Oktoberfest thrown by his three-year-old business.
"This is way back when we were a very small brewery," he said.
"I think a lot smaller than the publicist realized."
Beau's Brewing was a fraction of its current size. The company hadn't yet expanded outside Ontario, nor merged with Toronto company Steam Whistle. Wendt was still on board for the adventure.
But his schedule was already overloaded with events, Beauchesne remembered. The actor was set to appear at a much larger Oktoberfest in Cincinnati before jumping a flight to New York where he was booked as a guest on "The Colbert Report."
鈥淭hen he got back on a plane and flew to Ottawa, where we picked him up, drove him an hour out into the farmland and put him on stage with a lot of people wearing rubber boots,鈥� he added.
Wendt didn't bat an eye at the absurdity of it all, nor did his energy seem to wane. His name helped sell 10 times the usual number of tickets for the Oktoberfest, filling the space to capacity and forcing organizers to close the gates.
"He literally spent the whole day posing with fans and signing autographs," Beauchesne added.
鈥淗e kept a teeny-tiny marker with him ... because I guess he got used to people coming up."
Canadian TV fans embraced the offbeat barflies on "Cheers," and many held a particular fondness for Wendt's character Norm 鈥� the bar's cynical yet most loyal customer.
In 1993, some 40,000 fans packed Toronto's SkyDome to watch the "Cheers" series finale on the giant screen. Some carried signs spelling out "Norm" in bold capital letters.
Wendt rarely seemed affected by his place in popular culture. He was similarly grounded when he joined Canadian theatre companies to play two memorable roles.
He donned a dress multiple times to play campy housewife Edna Turnblad in "Hairspray," including on Broadway. He played the role twice in Canada, including productions at the Charlottetown Festival in 2010 and Winnipeg's Rainbow Stage in 2011.
Several years later, he slipped into the more serious persona of Willy Loman for a 2017 production of "Death of a Salesman," mounted in the southwestern Ontario township of Drayton.
Alex Mustakas, founder of the Ontario theatre company Drayton Entertainment, said Wendt was easily the biggest celebrity in the production but didn't act like it.
"He was a humble, quiet guy," he said.
"To find someone that is down to earth and understands and respects (his fellow) actors ... he got along really well with everyone."
Mustakas got to witness Wendt's level of fame first-hand on the show's closing night.
The two swung by a nearby restaurant to mark the finish line, but their conversation was often interrupted by fans who wanted to buy "Norm" a beer.
"I said to him, 'Does it bother you that people come up and do this?" Mustakas remembered.
"And he goes, 'Hell no. I love beer.'"
This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 21, 2025.
David Friend, The Canadian Press
