So a man and his uncle stroll right into a bar…
Stop us for those who heard this one earlier than, however you may not have. The man is four-time Ted Lasso Emmy winner Jason Sudeikis, and the uncle is six-time Cheers Emmy nominee George Wendt, who died final month. The nephew paid tribute to his late relative throughout a charity occasion.
“He’s as fun and kind and as warm as any character he played on television or in films,” Sudeikis mentioned of Wendt, talking Friday on the Big Slick Celebrity Weekend fundraiser for Children’s Mercy Hospital in Kansas City, Mo. “I mean, there’s that old saying of like, ‘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.”
RELATED: 2025 Deaths Photo Gallery: Hollywood & Media Obituaries
Wendt, who performed beloved barfly Norm Peterson on Cheers for its whole 11-season run from 1982-93, died May 19 at 76.
“He was an incredible influence to me,” Sudeikis added, per KSHB-TV Houston, “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 added: “He additionally all the time saved linked to his household, to his roots — each in Chicago, after all, the place he’s from, however then additionally the time he spent right here [at Rockhurst University in Kansas City]. And to a bar known as Mike’s an entire bunch, the place I believe he logged perhaps 18 credit score hours.
RELATED: Remembering George Wendt: ‘Cheers’ Stars & Hollywood Pay Tribute To Late Actor
“But it was all in preparation of a job that we all know him for, Cheers. All time well spent,” he continued. “But yeah, we miss him greatly, and I love him dearly.”
Also on the panel was MCU star Paul Rudd, who mentioned, “It’s going to be felt, his absence, this year, even though he’s so a part of it, just as much as any of us. He is a really really sweet guy. I loved him.”
DEADLINE RELATED VIDEO: