Jason Sudeikis is speaking from the heart about his late uncle, Cheers star George Wendt, following his passing on May 20 at age 76.
The Ted Lasso actor opened up during the Big Slick Celebrity Weekend in Kansas City, Missouri—an annual fundraiser supporting Children’s Mercy Hospital.
“With regard to my uncle George, I mean, there’s that old saying of, ‘Don’t meet your heroes,’ usually because ‘they let you down,’ I assume, is the back half of that statement. But he’s not one of those people,” Sudeikis shared with local station KSHB 41.
He went on to call Wendt “an amazing guy,” but was briefly interrupted when his microphone cut out.
Fellow comedian Rob Riggle, who was on stage with Sudeikis, Paul Rudd, and Eric Stonestreet, quickly offered his mic. With a laugh, Sudeikis joked, “That’s him, messing with the sound board. He’s like, ‘Don’t talk about me!’… Just good, Midwestern humility.”
Wendt became a television legend as Norm Peterson on Cheers, known for his iconic presence at the bar across the show’s 11-season run. His career also included memorable roles on Taxi, MASH*, and Sabrina the Teenage Witch.
Though many tributes had come in from Wendt’s colleagues and friends, Sudeikis had remained silent until this public moment.
“He’s as fun and kind and as warm as any character he played on television or in films,” Sudeikis said.
“He was an incredible influence to me, both as someone that plays the trail, being from the Midwest, and teaching me that acting was a career you could actually have, if you really care about it.”
Sudeikis also credited his uncle with showing him that acting can be a deeply personal journey.
“He also always kept connected to his family, to his roots, both in Chicago, of course, where he’s from, but then also the time he spent here,” he said, giving a nod to Wendt’s alma mater, Rockhurst University in Kansas City.
He added, “He also taught me that acting could be a career where you could meet the love of your life, like his wife, a.k.a. permanent girlfriend, [Bernadette Birkett].”
“We miss him greatly, and I love him dearly,” Sudeikis said, holding back emotion.
Tributes from Wendt’s Cheers family also reflect the deep impact he made. Kelsey Grammer remembered, “For 11 years, America waited for him to walk into a bar every Thursday night and say something funny. And they just knew he wouldn’t disappoint. He was extraordinary. He’d sort of just lope across that floor and sit down at that stool and order that beer and say something that set the world on fire.”
Ted Danson, who shared the screen with Wendt throughout Cheers, said in a heartfelt statement, “I am devastated to hear that Georgie is no longer with us. I am sending all my love to Bernadette and the children. It is going to take me a long time to get used to this. I love you, Georgie.”