From the first episode of Cheers to the very last, a decade later, George Wendt’s teddy bear barfly Norm Peterson was a fully formed sitcom dream. Like Howard Borden before him and Cosmo Kramer after him, his entrance alone was a highlight in every episode – and Wendt, who has died aged 76, appeared in all 275 episodes of Cheers, a feat matched by only Ted Danson and Rhea Perlman.
Every single time he opened the door, perpetually sweaty and tie always askew, the bar gave a huge cheer – “NOOOORM!” – as he trudged to his favourite stool for that first beer. Every weary walk to his seat came with a zinger. (The very first: “Norm! Whattya know?” “Not enough.”)
Though Norm was in every episode of Cheers, it is hard to identify a singular moment that made him a great sitcom character. Instead, the affection we felt was accumulative: for his world-weariness, his insistence on awful food, the loathing and love he felt for his unseen wife Vera – and of course, the simple pleasure he took in having a cold one with friends. (Which led to a bar tab so big by the final episode that Sam threatened to send it to Nasa to calculate.)
While we got to see only a little of Norm beyond the bar, so many of his best lines conveyed the great and ordinary tragedy that was his life: the unseen bad days at work, the unseen bad nights at home. “How’s life treating you Norm?” would be greeted with: “Like it caught me in bed with its wife”, “Like I just ran over its dog” or “Like a baby treats a diaper.” Once, when asked how he’s feeling, he responded: “I’m on top of the world . . . it’s a dismal spot in Greenland somewhere.”
“I have a hard time talking about Norm,” Wendt said in a 1989 interview. “It’s like he’s too close to me, but I don’t think he’s changed over the years. They moved him from being an accountant to [a] painter and decorator, but that was basically for some storylines. He’s still the same Norm. I think he’s the toughest to write for because he’s not really anything. He’s just funny.” But no man ever walked into a bar quite like Wendt.
Coach: “What’s shakin’, Norm?”
Norm: “All four cheeks and a couple of chins.”
Coach: “Can I draw you a beer, Norm?”
Norm: “No, I know what they look like. Just pour me one.”
Sam: “What’ll you have, Normie?”
Norm: “Well, I’m in a gambling mood, Sammy. I’ll take a glass of whatever comes out of that tap.”
Sam: “Looks like beer, Norm.”
Norm: “Call me Mister Lucky!”
Sam: “What’s new, Normie?”
Norm: “Terrorists, Sam. They’ve taken over my stomach. They’re demanding beer.”
Sam: “Norm! What brings you in at this time of day?”
Norm: “Same thing that always does.”
Sam: “A bit early for a beer, isn’t it?
Norm: “So, float a cornflake in it.”
Sam: “Hey – what’s happening, Norm?"
Norm: “It’s a dog-eat-dog world, Sammy, and I’m wearing Milk Bone underwear.”
Norm (Coming in from the rain): “Evening, everybody!”
Everybody: “Norm!”
Sam: “Still pouring, Norm?”
Norm: “That’s funny, I was about to ask you the same thing.”
Woody: “How’s it going, Mr Peterson?”
Norm: “Poor.”
Woody: “I’m sorry to hear that.”
Norm: “No, I mean pour.”
Woody: “Can I pour you a beer, Mr Peterson?”
Norm: “A little early isn’t it, Woody?”
Woody: “For a beer?”
Norm: “No, for stupid questions.”
Sam: “What are you up to, Norm?”
Norm: “My ideal weight if I were 11 feet tall.”
Norm: “Boy meets beer. Boy drinks beer. Boy meets another beer. In this performance, the role of the boy will be played by Norm Peterson.”
– Guardian
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