‘Really generous’: George Wendt remembered by Rainbow Stage for 2011 performance

Carson Nattrass, Rainbow Stage’s artistic director, holds a shoe signed by George Wendt when he appeared in a 2011 production of Hairspray on May 21, 2025. (Scott Andersson/CTV News Winnipeg)

The life and career of George Wendt is being honoured in Winnipeg, where the ‘Cheers’ star once performed on a local stage.

Wendt, who died Tuesday at the age of 76, stopped in Winnipeg in 2011 when a production of Hairspray was performed in the city.

Carson Nattrass, Rainbow Stage’s artistic director, worked with Wendt in the show and remembered him fondly.

“I was nervous; I was shy,” he said. “This is a cultural icon that had been on the TV in my house for as long as I could remember, and it turned out that he was really generous with his time and generous with his stories.”

Wendt previously played the role of Edna in the show on Broadway.

During an interview with CTV News Winnipeg at the time, he called the kids in Winnipeg’s cast ‘amazing,’ but noted he was unable to see much of the city due to the rehearsal schedule.

“He loved working at the theatre, but he didn’t have any of those negative attributes you might have to a celebrity,” Nattrass said. “He was the everyman that Norm was on ‘Cheers,’ like he just felt like another one of the crew, another one of the actors. And on stage, he was so relaxed.”