In the years leading up to the Cheers star’s passing, Jason Sudeikis remembered the daring side of his uncle George Wendt.
In an interview with The A.V. Club that took place at Second City’s Roast of George Wendt event in 2017, the Ted Lasso actress, who was 49 years old at the time, reflected on a childhood experience that she had with the late actor. This was held almost eight years before Wendt passed away on May 20.
“We all went out to California to visit, and George had just gotten a new car,” the native of Kansas City, Missouri revealed in the interview that he and his late uncle conducted together. The vehicle was a kickass BMW with a manual transmission, which was something I had never seen before. You know, I was fairly young at the time.
At the same time as Wendt was laughing, he said, “He took my dad and me for a ride.” My father was riding shotgun. I was the only one at the back of the room. It is not the time when you should have been wearing your seatbelt, as you are aware.
Wendt, who is the brother of Sudeikis’ mother, Kathy, was the one who drove the father-son tandem through Laurel Canyon in Los Angeles. Although Wendt had traversed the canyon “hundreds and thousands of times,” the experience that they were about to have was shocking.
“He had my dad holding onto [the car] like nothing you’ve ever seen,” the former cast member of Saturday Night Live remembered. And I’m just kind of slithering about in the background due to the fact that the chairs were spanking new.
He came to the conclusion that “I hold that memory very fondly.”
During an interview on the Still Here Hollywood podcast in 2024, Wendt had nothing but positive things to say about Sudeikis. This was just one example of how often the two were hailed by the media.
“Either David Letterman or Conan O’Brien was the one who did it. It was then that he offered his thoughts, saying, “Did your uncle George have any advice for you?” Then Jason adds, ‘Yeah, he advised me to just go on the finest program on television and one of the greatest shows of all time and just pretty much take it from there.’ He is so astute. “And Jason goes,” he says. It is then that he says, “So I did.”
He proceeded by saying, “He got SNL.”
He is such a wonderful young man. Extremely proud with myself. Especially proud, you know, not only of the achievement, but also of the fact that he is reliable. Have you gone through the profiles and so on? That is to say, he is such a gentleman, so intelligent, and so kind. In other words, everything is revealed in the program. You agree?
In a similar vein, Sudeikis discussed the relationship he had with his uncle in an interview that he gave to Playboy magazine in July of 2011.
“He’s always been very encouraging, but there was no ‘Tuesdays With Morrie’ kind of relationship between him and I,” Sudeikis said in an interview with HuffPost.
“He was just a good example that being an actor was a viable option,” he said in conclusion. “Here is a man from the Midwest who is a member of my family who chose the path that was less trodden, and it turned out to be beneficial for him. I say this in jest, but the piece of advise that he offered me was, “Get on one of the best sitcoms of all time and then ride it out.”
In the morning of May 20th, Wendt passed away at the age of 76. “Beloved actor and comedian George Wendt, best known for starring in the NBC hit comedy Cheers, has passed away,” his publicist Melissa Nathan said in a statement to PEOPLE. “Our hearts go out to his family and friends after his passing.”
“George’s family confirmed the news of his death early Tuesday morning, announcing that he passed away peacefully in his sleep while he was at home,” the statement said. “George was a devoted family man, a friend who was much loved, and a confidant to all of those who had the good fortune to have met him. For all of eternity, he will be missed.