Actor and comedian Jason Sudeikis broke his silence on the death of his uncle, Cheers star George Wendt, while hosting the Big Slick 2025 kickoff in Kansas City this weekend.

“With regard to my uncle George, there’s that saying, ‘don’t meet your heroes… usually cause they let you down,’ I assume is the back half of that statement. But he’s not one of those people,” Sudeikis said via the Kansas City Star. “He’s as fun and kind and as warm as any character he played on television or in films. He was an incredible influence to me, both as someone that blazed the trail being from the Midwest and teaching me that acting was a career you could actually have, and it’s also a career where you could meet the love of your life like his wife, and AKA permanent girlfriend, Bernadette.”

Wendt's family said he died peacefully at the age of 76 in his sleep at his home on May 20, though his official cause of death has not yet been publicly revealed.

“George was a doting family man, a well-loved friend and confidant to all of those lucky enough to have known him,” a rep for Wendt said in a statement obtained by the Hollywood Reporter. “He will be missed forever. The family has requested privacy during this time.”

Wendt, a Chicago native got his first big break with the famed Second City improvisational comedy troupe in the 1970s and appeared in several television shows and films before landing his signature role on Cheers in 1982, appearing in all 275 episodes from 1982 to 1993 -- an accomplishment only matched by Ted Danson and Rhea Perlman -- and receiving six consecutive Emmy nominations for outstanding supporting actor in a comedy series.

Wendt also appeared as Bob Swerski in the iconic reoccurring 'Bill Swerski's Superfans' Saturday Night Live skits as the brother of the title character, played by Joe Mantegna in the original sketch that aired when he hosted the show on January 12, 1991, with Bob taking over as host in subsequent sketches. Sudeikis, who took on the role of Todd O'Connor previously played by the late Chris Farley, appeared alongside his uncle and longtime SNL writer Robert Smigel in a 'Super Fans' skit with Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce and quarterback Patrick Mahomes for the Big Slick Celebrity Weekend in Kansas City last year.

Wendt's film credits also include Dreamscape (1984), House (1985), Fletch (1985), Gung Ho (1986), Plains Clothes (1987), Never Say Die (1988), Guilty by Suspicion (1991), Forever Young (1992) and Spice World (1997).

Denise Plante