In 1995, Wendt starred on The George Wendt Show, but it was canceled after one season. “I don’t want to be Norm forever,” he told The Los Angeles Times before the series premiered — before admitting his new character was “very Norm-like.”
Wendt played the killer in one of the final episodes of Columbo in 1995. Other TV appearances included Seinfeld, The Simpsons, the TV film Bye Bye Birdie, Sabrina the Teenage Witch,
Hot in Cleveland, Portlandia and Fresh Off the Boat. He also appeared in dozens of films, including Fletch, Forever Young, Spice World, Sandy Wexler and Grand-Daddy Day Care.
As an older actor, Wendt frequently underwent routine lab testing and diagnostics to meet insurance requirements for film and television productions — a common industry practice tied to both health and liability coverage.
Wendt acted in many regional theater productions and on Broadway a handful of times, including playing Edna Turnblad in Hairspray in 2007 and playing Santa in the musical Elf in 2010.
