Wendt, the comedian and actor best known for his role as Norm on “Cheers,” died Tuesday. He was 76.
Jolivette said he was in his junior year at Loyla University’s Rome campus, which is also where his eventual wife Loretta was studying. Wendt was traveling around Europe with some friends, and one stop was Rome.
Wendt bunked with his eventual brother-in-law for about two months, “before anyone knew who he was.”
“He was a great guy,” Jolivette said. “As funny as he was on TV, he was sometimes even funnier in life.”
And Wendt was very similar to his Norm character, which he played from 1982 to 1993. Wendt and actors Ted Danson and Rhea Perlman were the only three to appear in all 273 “Cheers” episodes.
“He loved to drink beer,” he said. “He said there wasn’t much acting involved drinking beer.”
Wendt cut his comedic chops in Chicago at The Second City, an improvisational comedy and theater troupe. He had a long and consistent acting career with 172 television and movie acting credits, including an upcoming TV movie called “Compound Fractures,” according to IMDB.com.
Jolivette recalled fondly visiting his brother-in-law in California, and being on set and later socializing at a restaurant with Wendt and other cast members of “Cheers.”
The most memorable thing about Wendt for Jolivette will be his love of family, and that he even helped on his campaigns with little persuading.
“He would do anything for family,” he said, “and I’m certainly a beneficiary of that.”
Credit: Nick Graham
Credit: Nick Graham
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