George Wendt might be best known for the 11 seasons he spent as Norm Peterson delivering wisecracks on Cheers. But he’s finally getting to play the role he’s dreamed of taking on since he became an actor in the 1970s: the tragic Willy Loman in Arthur Miller’s Death of a Salesman.

Wendt will lead Drayton Entertainment’s production of Arthur Miller's Death of a Salesman, which will run from Oct. 18 to Nov. 4 at the St. Jacobs Country Playhouse in Waterloo, Ont.

After Cheers went off the air in 1993, the Emmy-nominated star appeared on the short-lived George Wendt Show. Guest spots on Sabrina, the Teenage Witch, Clipped, SNL (as Bob Swerski) and others followed.

But Wendt, 68, who has been working steadily in film and TV since Cheers wrapped almost 25 years ago, has relished his work in live theatre where he has played such roles as Edna Turnblad in Broadway’s Hairspray and Santa Claus in a stage adaptation of Will Ferrell’s Elf.

Death of a Salesman, though, is the “holy grail.”

“If I can manage to pull this off it should be quite a capper in a career in the theatre,” Wendt chuckles down the line from Los Angeles.

With the television world obsessed with reboots, Wendt says he’s ready to resurrect Cheers if and when NBC brass come calling (“Hey, we’re all still alive”). But until then, he’ll keep returning to the stage.

“It’s still so much fun,” he says.

During a wide-ranging conversation with Postmedia Network, Wendt reflected on Cheers’ legacy, Death of a Salesman and speculated on what Norm Peterson might be doing nowadays.

What was the attraction to Willy Loman and Death of a Salesman?

I’m finally old enough for it, so that’s good. It’s considered one of the classics and I’d say that’s spot-on. It’s got classic themes — fathers and sons, big picture operatic themes.

Is playing this part on your bucket list as an actor?

I usually never approach things in that way, but yes it is.

Why do you think Death of a Salesman has endured?

Fathers and sons have always had issues and husbands and wives have always had issues. The hustle is always to leave your mark, to mean something, to be remembered, to be loved — these are some of the big issues in Death of a Salesman and those never go away. I’m sure the Greeks had similar themes.

What have been your highlights onstage as a theatre actor?

I started out in Second City in Chicago. We weren’t doing plays, but that live audience experience was very formative for me and that was a big beginning. Playing Edna in Hairspray was a total joy. That will always be Harvey Fierstein’s role; the rest of us just sublet it from time to time. And Art, I got to play the role of Ivan, it’s three friends arguing over a piece of art one of them bought, it was a real highlight. It was a piece that works, it’s got a big ass speech, which was great to pull off.

Is it true that when you originally went in for Cheers you had one line — beer?

Yes.

How did you go from one word to one of the most iconic TV characters in history?

The casting director, the late Stephen Kolzak, I was in his office and he said, ‘There’s this role, but it’s too small. You can’t just say beer.’ So he handed me the part of Norm. It wasn’t that big, but it was the guy who always wanted another beer and didn’t want to leave. So I read for that and they were interested but I wasn’t available, oddly. I was doing a different show. So they had me on the pilot as a guest star and then my other show got cancelled, so then they made Norm a regular role.

It’s been off the air for almost 25 years, but people still talk about it. Are you surprised that Cheers was such a lasting hit?

Yes because it’s such a pleasant surprise that something you were a part of could make such an impact. I do recall at the time that the producers wanted the show to be shot on film; they liked the way it looked. They stayed away from topical references because they wanted it to be forever. They were very clever writers, obviously, and they were almost from another time. That Sam (Ted Danson) and Diane (Shelley Long) thing was timeless in the way that Spencer Tracy and Katharine Hepburn was. At the end of the day, it’s a romantic comedy. Those are both easy and hard. But to sustain it for five years with Shelley that was amazingly hard. After Shelley left, they tried to do that a little bit with Kirstie (Alley), but her character was too wacky for that. So after Shelley left, it just became more of an ensemble comedy.

Could Cheers come back?

I think some sort of reboot is inevitable whether it’s a movie or a show. They tried it onstage, but that didn’t work out. Studios and networks do love brands, so because the brand is recognizable they might try to exploit that brand. As for a proper reboot with a 70-ish Sam Malone, I think that’s a very interesting idea. And hey, we’re still all alive. Coach died early, but it could be great fun. But I wouldn’t hold my breath.

A modernized update would be hard, though, because everyone would be on their phones.

Yeah, you’re right. (laughs)

TV finales are always hard. What did you think of how Cheers ended?

I haven’t really taken a look at it from a distance. I was such a mess when we shot it and when it aired. I mean I had worked on it for 11 years — that was a quarter of my life at that point. So it was tough to let go. But I should look at the finale again to get a proper perspective. It seemed like a fairly satisfying ending and it did leave the door wide open for a sequel. In theory, those people are still walking in there every day. It’s not like Sam torched the place.

What’s the craziest Cheers fact fans might not know about?

I used to be good with spitballs because the waitress station was right next to where Norm sat. There were these cocktail napkins and I used to launch spitballs across the set at Woody (Harrelson). I would wait until he had a scene with a lot of dialogue and I would just pelt him while the cameras were rolling. If you pause some of those scenes, you’ll see spitballs bouncing off his forehead.

Norm had that saying, ‘It’s a dog eat dog world and I’m wearing Milk-Bone underwear.’ What’s George Wendt’s motto?

Follow the shade.

Looking back on it, how did your dreams of stardom measure up to what the reality was?

I count myself fortunate. I didn’t have dreams of stardom or even dreams of a career in entertainment at all. I didn’t have any goals at all until I was about 23, maybe, and then my goal was to be in Second City. Had I had a goal to be an actor or be in a classic sitcom, that would have been far too daunting... So there was never any grand plan and I would recommend that sort of thinking to youngsters starting out.

You mentioned that Sam Malone at 70 would be interesting, where do you think Norm Peterson is at 70?

He’s probably managing a sober-living house somewhere in Boston with tragically sexy young addicts.

You’re going to be up here during the baseball playoffs, who are you rooting for?

Being from Chicago, you’d think I’d be a Cubs fan, and I try not to hate the Cubs. But I’m a White Sox fan, because I’m a south-sider. This year, I kind of like the Astros... But good Lord, the Dodgers are tearing it up, too.

Death of a Salesman is on from Oct. 18 to Nov. 4 at the St. Jacobs Country Playhouse in Waterloo, Ont. For tickets and info, visit draytonentertainment.com.