Cliff Clavin

Cliff Clavin
Cheers character
Cliff Clavin (left) and Norm Peterson (right) in the episode "Rebound Part 1" (3x01)
Portrayed by	John Ratzenberger
Information
Gender	Male
Occupation	Postal Carrier[1]
Nationality	American

Clifford C. Clavin, Jr. (born 1950) is a character on the American television show Cheers, co-created and portrayed by John Ratzenberger.^[2]

Character history

The character was co-created by Ratzenberger, who had earlier auditioned for the Norm Peterson role. The producers let him know that he had impressed them, but that he did not really click as Norm. Ratzenberger responded by pointing out that what the ensemble did not have was a "bar know-it-all". They asked Ratzenberger for an example, he improvised some dialogue for the know-it-all, and he was invited to play the role for a two-show tryout; he remained a regular throughout the show's eleven-year run.^[3] He was also featured in an episode of Frasier, when he decided to leave Boston for Florida only to change his mind, much to the annoyance of Carla. Ratzenberger also appeared as Cliff in a series of New Zealand Post advertisements in the 1990s, each featuring a different service of the postal administration. He also appeared in a Pitney-Bowes commercial for automated postal scales for small businesses.

On the Cheers 200th Episode Special, host John McLaughlin asked Ratzenberger about Cliff Clavin. Ratzenberger said that Cliff would describe himself as the "wingnut that holds western civilization together." However Ratzenberger said that he would describe Cliff simply as "A winged nut." When McLaughlin asked Ratzenberger if there was anything of him in Cliff, Ratzenberger said that he was also interested in fascinating facts and that the only part of Cliff in him was that he wears white socks.

Ratzenberger appeared on the cover of some of the books in the series The Complete Idiot's Guide to..., presumably as Cliff, the self-styled expert on everything.

Cliff appeared in 273 episodes of Cheers between 1982–1993 and originally appeared as a guest star. He appeared as an animated character (voiced by Ratzenberger) in The Simpsons episode "Fear of Flying".^[4] He also made guest appearances in the Wings episode "The Story of Joe" and the Frasier episode "Cheerful Goodbyes" (his final appearance).

In 2010, Ratzenberger's character Hamm from the Toy Story series appeared as a letter carrier in an advertisement promoting the United States Postal Service's Priority Mail service.^[5]

Fictional biography

Cliff was a postal worker and Norm Peterson's best friend. He lived with his mother, Esther Clavin (Frances Sternhagen) in a two-story house, where Cliff spent his childhood. It was bulldozed after Esther sold her property and moved with her newfound nest egg to Florida. Cliff then moved into a small apartment of his own, in which the couch doubled as a bed.

A chatter-box by nature, Cliff was well known as a storehouse of useless trivia, often of dubious veracity and bearing little relation to the conversation going on at the bar. Carla did not like Cliff and often insulted him or his opinions. (Carla's hatred ran so deep that in the Frasier episode "Cheerful Goodbyes" Carla has to be dragged out of Cliff's retirement party after she finds out he is not leaving - a decision he made after misinterpreting a vicious tirade as a show of affection - and has to have a diver's spear gun wrestled from her hands.) Cliff took great pride in his job as a postal worker and often became agitated when people (often barfly Paul) insulted his job or the U.S. Postal Service. He sometimes talked about his job as if he were in the police force. Cliff's father made a brief appearance on Cheers before fleeing the country to Australia to avoid prison for fraud.

Socially awkward and generally ignored by women, Cliff did not have any real relationship (or, for that matter, any sexual experience) until meeting fellow oddball postal worker Margaret O'Keefe (Annie Golden) in the seventh season. After using a postal vehicle to drive to a tryst with Cliff and then falsely reporting it stolen to cover up the deed, Margaret was fired from the postal service. Feeling compelled to remain a postal worker, she left Boston and moved to Canada to work for Canada Post. Cliff briefly considered going with her, but ultimately his patriotism would not let him leave the United States.

Margaret returned in the eighth season and wanted Cliff to commit to her, which he did, although he had a fit of hysterical blindness before feeling fully comfortable with the arrangement.

In a Frasier episode, Sam Malone tells Frasier that, after reading an article about flesh-eating bacteria, Cliff has not left home. This has been good for the bar, though, because several customers returned.

Cliff may have a sixth toe on his left foot, as claimed by Carla in the season 9 episode "Carla Loves Cliff". Cliff has a tattoo on his rear of a big heart that reads "I love Vera" which he got after a mix up at a tattoo parlor he and Norm visited, after a night drinking cocktails made by Carla at Cheers.

Jeopardy

Cliff was a contestant on Jeopardy! in the Cheers episode "What Is... Cliff Clavin?", but lost after betting all his money on the Final Jeopardy question, answering: "Who are three people who have never been in my kitchen?". Cliff was winning by enough that, had he made a small wager, he would have been guaranteed a win. Alex Trebek has jokingly referred to this situation (making a risky Final Jeopardy bet with a dominating lead) several times in the actual show as "pulling a Cliff Clavin."

US Postal Service

Cliff Clavin was always a proponent and friend to the USPS Letter Carrier. This work has allowed him to be inducted as the first honorary member of the Ye Old Farts Club, the Retirees group for Branch 43 of the National Association of Letter Carriers in Cincinnati, Ohio. A large autographed photo of Cliff, in uniform, anchors the wall and is surrounded by members on their day of induction, their last day on the job.^{[citation needed]}

Cliff, as well as the rest of the Cheers cast, also appears in a training video for new U.S. Postal Services members.^{[citation needed]} In the Frasier episode "Cheerful Goodbyes", Cliff stated email had hurt postal mail for the time being, but dismissed it saying "The computer's going to be dead in about 5 years anyway. The post office will rise again, my friend, will rise again."

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. ^ Newport Under the Stars (2005)(2006). John Ratzenberger's Newport Under the Stars
4. ^ Martyn, Warren; Wood, Adrian (2000). "Fear of Flying". BBC. http://www.bbc.co.uk/cult/simpsons/episodeguide/season6/page11.shtml. Retrieved 2010-08-19. 
5. ^ United States Postal Service Kicks off ‘Toy Story 3′ Priority Mail Campaign, 2010-05-25, http://www.stitchkingdom.com/disney-news/movies/united-states-postal-service-kicks-toy-story-3-priority-mail-campaign/, retrieved 2010-05-30