RIP 'Norm'

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Norm.

Speaker 2 (00:01):
Norm has passed away. George Went at the age of
seventy six. I love that theme song, as for Norm,
as for baby and do that. I mean George Went
did a whole lot more than that. I mean, of course,
there's the Bears. I never really got why he was
included in all of those sketches. And you know what

(00:23):
I saw last night on one newscast is he's Jason Sudeikis.
That's his uncle George Went. Now does that mean he
got him in? I mean he was doing the Bears
long before Jason Sudeikis found his way to Saturday Night Live,
Second City Guy. So much of his career was really
tied to the Bears. Norm. I hesitate to say, but really,

(00:47):
compilation of catchphrases, you got a lot of coverage. I
don't mean to be disrespectful. I love Norm. I loved Cheers.
I remember I used to watch Cheers my junior year
of high school with a girlfriend of mine. A girl
friend a friend of mine who one day in history class,

(01:08):
she was like, do you watch this? It was nineteen
eighty three, She's like, are you watching this show? Cheers?
I don't remember my answer. I probably was all I
did was watch DV and she's like, I love that
show so much, and we started watching it on the
phone together. Every way it is a friend of mine,
but we would watch and the whole Sam and Diane

(01:29):
thing ramped up. It was really kind of the beginning
of the will they won't They? Then every show decided,
well we got to have that. Cheers was just really
a groundbreaker in a lot of ways. Particularly with that,
I felt like Cheers started all that, and next thing,
you know, Moonlighting came along. Everybody had to have a

(01:50):
will they won't They? You can't say a lot of
people want to say it was the start of the
ensemble comedy.

Speaker 1 (01:57):
Bull.

Speaker 2 (01:58):
I mean, did you ever see the Mary Tyler War Show?

Speaker 1 (02:00):
You know?

Speaker 2 (02:00):
Just bull, That's just not true. That said, and with
all due respect, and I remember those Thursday nights, you know,
fondly just watched TV on the phone with a friend
of yours and laughing and as Jimmy J knows, every
Sunday night, I'm good, lord, I'm a full grown I'm
still watching TV on the Vote with a girl right now.

Speaker 3 (02:23):
Every Sunday night, I watch a movie on the vote
with a girl. This is what I'm madly in love
with Nonetheless, I was surprised at all the love, pleasantly
surprised that George went got the first thing that Jimmy
J brought up this money.

Speaker 2 (02:37):
He's like, yeah, I remember the Michael Jackson video, and
that was huge.

Speaker 3 (02:41):
Man.

Speaker 2 (02:41):
You know, black or white, great Michael Jackson to McCauley
culkin as his kid. I'll never forget the series finale
of Cheers. Most people think of the series finale of
Cheers and they think about how hammered and insane they
all were on the Tonight Show later that night as
they were. They were a cast that loved each other.

(03:02):
I just remember that at a window and Ted Danson
and I mean Woody I think, just stoned all day
every day. Rhea Pearlman. They were all just hammered and
shouting out of wind. They got hammered the night that
that episode aired, and then they did the Tonight Show.
But well, a lot of people don't remember about that
series finale, and I was always moved by it. I

(03:24):
was moved by the simplicity of it. You know, Sam
almost got back with Diane. Was wild that Shelley Long
she came back. That was huge, and Sam didn't go
through with it, which was a surprise. And in the
end he just spun that sign closed and life was
and they said, we just want Cheers is open. I've

(03:46):
been to the chairs in Boston, you know, I took
photos with my kids. There's a little museum like like
she posts, one of those todays would be fun to
look back on. But what a lot of people don't
recall is the last bit of dialogue in the series
finale of Cheers was this, I'm off.

Speaker 1 (04:11):
But Samy, can I let you in on a little secret?
For sure? I knew you'd come back, is it? You
can never be unfaithful to your one true love. You
always come back to her. Who is that? Think about it?

Speaker 2 (04:35):
Sam? And that's it. George Went had the final line
of dialogue the final episode of Cheers, I'm gonna be honest.
With the time of it airing, I kind of did.
I was a younger man, didn't really know what he
was talking about. Sam had just bailed on Diane at

(04:57):
the altar. Uh. Every time I've watched that ever since,
I got goosebumps. Because Sam's one true love. Because Sam's
like he had Norman, And who is that? Think about it.
It's the bar the bar rest in peace. George went