'Cheers' Barfly George Wendt's Horrific Multiple Causes of Death Revealed After He Ballooned to a Staggering 450 Pounds While 'Eating and Drinking Himself to Death'

Cheers star George Wendt's cause of death has been revealed – after we told how he became a "prisoner in his own body” from eating and drinking himself into the grave and ballooning to more than 450 pounds.

RadarOnline.com can reveal the beloved television star died in his sleep at his home in Los Angeles on May 20, 2025.

According to a Los Angeles County Department of Public Health death certificate, the television star died from cardiac arrest.

Per the certificate, which was obtained by TMZ, congestive heart failure, coronary artery disease and hypertension were also listed as underlying reasons.

Other contributing causes noted on the certificate were end-stage renal disease, kidney failure and hyperlipidemia.

The Cheers star was pronounced dead at 10 in the morning on May 20 and cremated just days later on May 28.

Following his death, Wendt's family said in a statement: "George was a doting family man, a well-loved friend and confidant to all of those lucky enough to have known him.

"He will be missed forever. The family has requested privacy during this time."

In a separate statement, his Cheers co-star Ted Danson, 77, who played bartender Sam Malone, paid tribute to his "Georgie."

In a statement to People, he said: "I am sending all my love to Bernadette and the children. It is going to take me a long time to get used to this. I love you, Georgie."

Another co-star, Rhea Perlman, called Wendt the "sweetest" and "kindest" man before adding: "It was impossible not to like him. As Carla, I was often standing next to him, as Norm always took the same seat at the end of the bar, which made it easy to grab him and beat the crap out of him at least once a week.

"I loved doing it, and he loved pretending it didn’t hurt. What a guy! I’ll miss him more than words can say."

Wendt was a fan favorite on the hit series and played Norm Peterson in all 275 episodes of the show, which aired from 1982 to 1993 on NBC.

His iconic role earned him six consecutive Emmy nominations for outstanding supporting actor in a comedy series.

After Cheers came to an end, NBC considered creating a spinoff show featuring Wendt and co-star John Ratzenberger, who played mailman Cliff Clavin, as bar buddies, but it never advanced.

In 1995, Wendt landed his own series on CBS, The George Wendt Show, where he played a Wisconsin garage owner and co-host of a call-in radio show about car repair.

The comedy wasn't a huge success and only lasted six episodes.

Many years after he parted ways with his beloved Cheers character, Norm, he co-wrote the book Drinking With George: A Barstool Professional’s Guide to Beer.

In the 2009 book, he wrote: "I'm a simple man, I don’t ask for much. Give me a nice comfortable chair, a cool breeze, a ballgame on the radio and an ice-cold beer, and I couldn’t be happier.

"Truth be told, if it came down to it, I could live without the chair. A cool breeze is nice, but it isn’t exactly mandatory for a good time. And there are plenty of times when I don’t have access to a ballgame.

"But a world without beer? I don’t know if that’s the kind of world I want to live in."