Norm Peterson

This article is about the fictional character. For the politician, see Norm Peterson (politician).

Hillary Norman Peterson "Norm"
Cheers character
Cliff Clavin (left) and Norm Peterson (right) in the episode "Rebound Part 1" (3x01)
Portrayed by	George Wendt
Information
Gender	Male
Occupation	Customer[1]
Spouse(s)	Vera
Nationality	American

Hillary Norman "Norm" Peterson is a character on the American television show Cheers, portrayed by George Wendt. Norm's real first name was revealed to be Hillary, named after his grandfather.^[2]

Norm appeared in all 275 episodes of Cheers between 1982-1993 (the only patron to do so), and was initially the only customer featured in the main cast (to be later joined by Cliff Clavin, Frasier Crane, and Lilith Sternin).

Norm also made one guest appearance each in the three other sitcoms known to be set in the Cheers universe: the Frasier episode "Cheerful Goodbyes" and the Wings episode "The Story of Joe". He also appeared on the spinoff The Tortellis.

Fictional biography

Prior to the show, Norm was born in Chicago, and moved to Boston to become an accountant,^[3] although he is a lifelong Boston Celtics fan who went to Boston Garden as a child.^[4] Norm previously served in the United States Coast Guard. He loses his accounting job by defending Diane from his boss,^[5] and becomes a housepainter. Norm was revealed to be an accomplished interior decorator and beer taster, capable of spotting a bad vat in a factory by drinking a single bottle.

Ironically, even when unemployed, Norm is the bar's best customer. A running gag throughout the series are the numerous jokes made about the enormous size of Norm's tab at Cheers (e.g., several large binders are shown as being just a portion of it - in the episode Home Malone (season 9, episode 25), when Woody's rich, naive girlfriend Kelly waitresses at Cheers to gain "real-life experience", Norm convinces her that the tab is a record of the beers for which he has already paid, and for each new beer a mark should be erased - and in the finale Sam has to have his total tab for the series calculated by NASA). In the few instances when Norm drinks at another bar, he is immediately kicked out because the bartenders demand an immediate cash payment instead of a tab.

Norm's best friend is postman and fellow barfly Cliff Clavin, who calls him "Normy", which when pronounced in Cliff's Boston accent, sounds like "Nommy" (rhyming with "Mommy"). Norm has a tattoo on his rear of an American flag which reads "God Bless the U.S. Postal Service" which he got after a mix up at a tattoo parlor he and Cliff visited after a night drinking cocktails made by Carla at Cheers.

Norm has a wife named Vera who is often mentioned but her face is never seen. When she is finally shown, her face is covered in pie thrown by Diane (season 5, episode 9 Thanksgiving Orphans), and the actress is uncredited. The only other times she is seen, viewers can see only her legs and at one time her waving from a car which drives past cheers on her and Norm's 15th wedding anniversary. Vera is the brunt of many of Norm's jokes, but on many occasions, Norm has professed secretly an undying love for his wife, or defended her honor. Norm and Vera separated during the second season of Cheers but reconciled in the last episode of the season, ironically contrasting the romance between Sam and Diane, who enjoyed a romance then bitterly broke up in that last episode. When Vera got a job at Melville's however, he was deeply disturbed by her proximity to him during his bar time. Vera was played by George Wendt's real-life wife, Bernadette Birkett.

In the Cheers episode It's a Wonderful Wife (season 9, episode 20) Vera tells Rebecca off-camera that Norm's real first name is Hillary. He explains that he was named after his grandfather who "once killed a man for laughing at him". Cliff asks if his grandfather really killed a man for laughing at his first name, and Norm replies, "Not exactly - he was a surgeon and he sort of botched an operation."

When not sipping beer at Cheers, Norm satisfies his hunger at an eatery called The Hungry Heifer, whose emblem is a young cow smacking her chops. The customers there greet him just the same as the Cheers patrons do. He knows the waitresses by name, and usually orders a meal called a Feeding Frenzy, a monstrous supply of corn and beef. He denigrated the eatery when he first visited it in season 2, but when the place was being shut down in season 9, he insinuates it was an important place to him throughout his life and knew the owner since at latest his college years. Corrine (played by Doris Grau), who worked at Cheers occasionally as a temp waitress, was a server at The Hungry Heifer, and said the waitstaff knew Norm as "the guy who comes back".

Norm is also greeted by everyone at Gary's Olde Towne Tavern (Cheers' rival bar) with the customary "Norm!" shout in Bar Wars VI (season 10, episode 23). When Sam asks why the people at Gary's know him by name, Norm replies that he goes there on Christmas when Cheers is closed.

"Norm" is actually the first word of Frederick Sternin Crane (son of Frasier and Lilith). (This occurs as Lilith expresses concern over the effect of bringing baby Frederick to the bar, which Frasier disputes. When Norm enters and greets the bar, everyone is surprised to hear a little voice call out, "Norm!". Lilith, previously distraught that Frederick was not yet talking, joyously believes he said "Mom!". A beaming Frasier knows the truth but chooses not to destroy his wife's happiness.)

Norm in other series

George Wendt guest starred as Norm Peterson on St. Elsewhere, Cheers’ first spinoff The Tortellis, Wings, and The Simpsons episode "Fear of Flying", which also guest starred Ted Danson, Rhea Perlman, Woody Harrelson, and John Ratzenberger as their respective characters. Years after Cheers ended, Wendt played Norm in a 2002 episode of its spinoff Frasier, where he got along famously with Martin Crane. (Martin: "Wow, that's some mug callus you've got there." Norm: "Judging from your grip, I'd say you were a can man.")^[6] Also, in the first part of a two-part episode on Frasier entitled "Three Dates and a Breakup," Frasier calls Norm to brag that he has three dates for the weekend. Frasier specifically says "Norm Peterson," though Norm is not actually seen or heard. Norm was most recently seen in animated form, voiced by Wendt, on Family Guy in the 2009 episode "Three Kings".

Norm's entrances

Norm's entrance into the bar is a running gag on Cheers, typically beginning with a welcome by the bar crowd yelling his name (which later included the filming audience), followed by a joke from Norm. A typical entrance went:

Norm enters

Norm: Afternoon, everybody!

Customers: NORM!

Diane: Norman...

Coach: How's life treating you, Norm?

Norm: Like he caught me in bed with his wife.

Coach: Can I draw you a beer, Norm?

Norm: No, I know what they look like. Just pour me one.

Coach: How about a beer, Norm?

Norm: Hey I'm high on life, Coach. Of course, beer is my life.

Sam: What do you know, Norm?

Norm: Not enough!

Sam: What's going down, Norm?

Norm: My blood alcohol level.

Sam: What's up, Norm?

Norm: My nipples, it's freezing out there!

Woody: Hey, Mr. Peterson, what do you say to a cold one?

Norm: "See you later, Vera. I'll be at Cheers."

Woody: What's going on, Mr. Peterson?

Norm: "Let's talk about what's going in Mr. Peterson."

Homages

The Simpsons

Norm's typical entrance is referenced in The Simpsons episode "Flaming Moe's" where Barney Gumble walks into the newly successful and popular Moe's Tavern to be greeted with the friendly cry of "Barney!".^[7][8] When a bartender similar to Woody Boyd asks him how he's doing, Barney burps in response. Also in the episode "22 Short Stories About Springfield," Moe refers to Barney's bar tab having been sent to, and now returned by, NASA (just as Sam had sent Norm's bar tab to NASA in Cheers' final episode).

Star Trek: Deep Space Nine

The character of Morn was patterned after Norm, and "Morn" is an anagram of "Norm." A similar character is seen briefly between Kirk and Uhura in the beginning of the bar scene in Star Trek (2009), directed by J.J.Abrams.

Scrubs

Bob Kelso is asked why he repeatedly returns to Sacred Heart even though he has retired. He responds by saying he's the Norm of the hospital. They are similar in the fact that they both go to a location and get something: Norm gets beer and Kelso gets muffins.

Becker

On the season 4 episode "V-Day", George Wendt appears as a bartender conversing with John Becker, played by Cheers bartender Ted Danson.

References

1. ^ Reinhold, Robert (1993-04-02). "One Last Round as 'Cheers' Finale Is Taped". The New York Times. http://www.nytimes.com/1993/04/02/news/one-last-round-as-cheers-finale-is-taped.html?scp=16&sq=sam%20malone%20cheers&st=cse. Retrieved 2010-08-16. 
2. ^ Steinberg, Jacques (1993-05-21). "Hoisting a Few to Say Goodbye to Themselves; At Tavern in Larchmont, the Appeal of 'Cheers' Can Be Seen in the Barroom Mirror". The New York Times. http://www.nytimes.com/1993/05/21/nyregion/hoisting-few-say-goodbye-themselves-tavern-larchmont-appeal-cheers-can-be-seen.html?scp=13&sq=sam%20malone%20cheers&st=cse. Retrieved 2010-08-16. 
3. ^ "Knights of the Scimitar"
4. ^ "Where Have All The Floorboards Gone?"
5. ^ "Friends, Romans and Accountants"
6. ^ "Cheerful Goodbyes Transcript". Archived from the original on 2009-10-25. http://www.webcitation.org/query?url=http://www.geocities.com/Hollywood/Derby/3267/921.html&date=2009-10-25+08:03:39. 
7. ^ Martyn, Warren; Wood, Adrian (2000). "Flaming Moe's". BBC. http://www.bbc.co.uk/cult/simpsons/episodeguide/season3/page10.shtml. Retrieved 2010-08-17. 
8. ^ Richmond, Ray; Antonia Coffman (1997). The Simpsons: A Complete Guide to our Favorite Family. Harper Collins Publishers. pp. 72–73. ISBN 0-00-638898-1.