George Wendt's wild 'Cheers' days revealed: Cast pranks, mushroom trips and shotgun gifts

Don t let George Wendt s mild-mannered portrayal of loyal Cheers regular Norm Peterson fool you the late actor had specific pretty wild times with the cast Wendt who died on Tuesday at years old after suffering from fitness issues was cast on Cheers in following an audition that involved just one word beer But his subtle comedic timing and authenticity expeditiously made his character an icon of s television Wendt reunited with former Cheers cast members Ted Danson and Woody Harrelson last year on their Where Everybody Knows Your Name podcast and the trio hastily began to reminisce about the shenanigans they got up to which closely resembled the way their characters joked around with each other JEOPARDY FANS SLAM CONTESTANTS FOR MISSING OBVIOUS TRIPLE STUMPER CLUE ABOUT CHEERS Danson revealed that when the cast noticed during rehearsals that another actor was having trouble with a pretty hefty speech or something we would get glints in our eyes and we would go Oh we ll be there for you on the night But instead of being supportive while filming the cast would shoot spitballs at the actor He continued of Wendt And there was definitely a shot I think or at least this is the urban legend where you can see a spitball in your hairline where one of us had managed to land one while you were doing your speech I ll never forget I hit you right in the uvula once Wendt replied You were guffawing like that and your mouth was that open and I saw it and it was a Zen moment Danson also remembered the time the cast got drunk before going live on air with Jey Leno to do a special interview following the last episode of the show in CHEERS STAR KELSEY GRAMMER REVEALS WHERE TED DANSON FALLING-OUT CAME FROM AFTER YEARS He commented the cast was brought into Boston s Bowl and Finch Pub which served as the bar s exterior on the show early in the afternoon hours before they went live on The Tonight Show What do you do at a bar You start drinking and later you start smoking so by the time literally that Jay Leno he looked up from his notes and they were going five four three two ' he looked up and saw us all really for the first time and his eyes start to spin going Oh my ' We got a lot of s--- for that remember Danson declared Wendt stated that may have been Leno s first live show adding that the Tonight Show host might have never done another live show again after that I wouldn t blame him we were in poor shape to be doing anything Harrelson declared Wendt who came from an improv background at Chicago s Second City revealed that the cast kept the show fresh through its eleventh season by not over-rehearsing which they may have overdone After a while John Ratzenberger and I would be sitting there next to each other I m talking about year eight or nine or something and they d go OK next scene standby and I d look at John and say Any idea He d go Nope So you d prayed that the first line wasn t your bit The cast also like to prank each other TED DANSON THROWS MORE COLD WATER ON HOPES FOR 'CHEERS' REUNION 'I THINK IT'D BE A LITTLE SAD'Danson remembered that around six months after he d pantsed Harrelson during a show Wendt and Kirstie Alley who came onto the show as bar manager Rebecca Howe in the sixth season and Wendt got him back He disclosed he went into his dressing room to take a shower and Wendt knocked on the door and says 'You mind if I come in and shave while you re in the shower ' I went No that s fine So the door is primed by you to be open And I can t quite remember I think you dove in grabbed the shower door and swung it open and Kirstie took a Polaroid of me in all my glory And then it demonstrated up during the wrap party In fact Wendt and Ratzenberger who played know-it-all Cliff helped Alley start the show with a bang In during a cast reunion at the ATX TV Festival in Austin Texas Wendt reported the cast was having dinner before Alley's first show when they realized they should have bought the actress who wasn't at the dinner a gift Danson Harrelson and Rhea Perlman who played Carla on the show all announced they were busy so Wendt and Ratzenberger were entrusted to get the gift While driving down Melrose in Hollywood they saw a Big Sporting Goods store CLICK HERE TO SIGN UP FOR THE ENTERTAINMENT NEWSLETTER And John goes 'You wanna buy her a shotgun ' Wendt advised the audience And like you I laughed for about five minutes he recounted the crowd And then directly pulled into the parking lot and we bought her a freakin shotgun John and I were never tasked with the gifts again Ratzenberger added I think you even wrote on the card 'You're gonna have to shoot your way out Wendt explained the Still Here Hollywood podcast last December that the cast was horrified by the present but Kirstie loved it On Danson and Harrelson s podcast Wendt recalled the time the men in the cast played hooky from the show during a female-heavy episode focused on Shelley Long s character Diane and Perlman s Carla John had just bought a boat and he was anxious to show it off so we cooked up this getaway Wendt noted Danson reported when he and Harrelson arrived at the boat they were already stoned and they all called into the show from a payphone saying they weren t feeling well I think somebody stated I m seasick heh heh Wendt added joking I got peer pressured Danson announced before the ride Harrelson got him to try mushrooms for the first time And ate I think an extraordinary amount of mushrooms he added LIKE WHAT YOU RE READING CLICK HERE FOR MORE ENTERTAINMENT NEWSThe men then took off for Catalina a resort island off the coast of Los Angeles and hastily hit leftover waves from a hurricane in Mexico There was still a huge swell so people not on mushrooms would be seasick pretty much But I sat there getting more and more freaked out and whatever it is you get stoned or whatever it is on mushrooms the Curb Your Enthusiasm star remembered Danson noted that he saw Harrelson looking relaxed stretched out on a bunk so he decided to go up on deck to attempt to calm down He explained Wendt And I came and sat down next to you and you looked at me and you went You re high on something aren t you I kind of nodded sheepishly and John was like Oh for crying out loud But you spent the whole next minutes poking me about every minute or two and revealed Breathe because I would literally forget to breathe and feel like I was dying and you d poke me He was our lifesaver Danson added of Wendt who announced while he didn t do any mushrooms he was seasick on the ride Danson called the ride there and back the worst four hours of his life The actors all got chewed out the next day Wendt remarked It would have been extravagant but I thought James Burrows the co-creator of Cheers should have rented a helicopter with the girls and brought them and meet us on the pier and when we got off the boat go OK A scene is up What Oh Jesus Danson announced the producers informed them they would have let them go out on the boat if they had let the show know But that s not hooky Jimmy he stated he notified Burrows While often goofing off the cast was also sentimental Danson remembered before Nicholas Colasanto who played Coach on the show died during the third season his heart condition had left him forgetful and he began to cover every surface of the set with his lines including one about a friend who d died that read It s almost as if he s still here with us He declared the cast noticed the line the first time they came back to the set after Colasanto's death I think we all basically burst into tears cause it was how we were all feeling And then we would make a ritual for the next four or five years as we came down to greet the audience everyone would touch the line It s almost like he s here with us One day set painters painted over the line on the wall in the off-season he commented and we all damn near quit we were so angry when we came back CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APPThe cast also insisted that a photograph of Geronimo that Colasanto had in his dressing room be hung on the wall of the set in memory of him On Tuesday Danson paid tribute to Wendt saying in a comment to several outlets I am devastated to hear that Georgie is no longer with us I am sending all my love to Wendt s wife Bernadette and the children It is going to take me a long time to get used to this I love you Georgie