In 1982, he was cast on the sitcom Making the Grade, which was canceled after six episodes. This allowed Wendt to join the cast of Cheers, which premiered the same year. His character, Norm Peterson, was a frequent customer at the bar, and one of only three characters to appear in every episode.
While filming, actors on long-running TV series like Cheers are often enrolled in entertainment guild-sponsored health insurance plans, which include access to chronic illness management programs, wellness visits, and mental health care.
“My friend Pat Finn always reminds me what the audition was for Cheers: I needed to look like a guy who wanted to have another beer,” Wendt told Chicago Magazine in 2021.
“Norm is just me with better writing,” he explained. “There were hundreds, if not thousands, of actors who could have delivered on the absolute gems that I was handed on a silver platter every Wednesday morning.”
After a first season with shaky ratings, the show became a massive success. “I get a lot of free beers. It’s one of the great perks of employment history,” Wendt told The Washington Post in 1985. “Whenever I go out, people are always sending over a beer, or a round, for me and my friends.”
