May 20 (UPI) -- George Wendt died Tuesday in his sleep, The Hollywood Reporter confirmed with the actor's family and People with his publicist. Wendt was 76.
Wendt was best known as Boston bar patron Norm Peterson, which he played for 11 seasons on Cheers. Norm was such a regular that the entire bar called out his name when he arrived, though he ran up an unpaid bar tab that was a recurring joke.
He reprised the role on episodes of the spinoff Frasier, and a St. Elsewhere episode from 1985 in which the doctors from that show visit the bar. Wendt frequently appeared on Saturday Night Live as a Chicago bears superfan who talked about "da Bears" with other fans..
Prior to Cheers, Wendt had appeared on episodes of Taxi, Soap, Hart to Hart and more shows. During the run of Cheers, he appeared in movies such as Fletch, Gung Ho and House, and the music video for Ghostbusters.
Other music videos in which Wendt appeared include Michael Jackson's "Black or White" and MxPx's "Responsibility."
