A hefty, curly-haired supporting player, George Wendt gained national recognition as Norm Peterson, the beer-swilling accountant-turned-housepainter-and-sometime-decorator on the long-running NBC sitcom "Cheers" (1982-93), parlaying his sudsmeister image into a run as pitchman for a national brewery. A native of Chicago, Wendt spent two years traveling throughout Europe and North Africa after earning a degree in economics, before returning home and enrolling in the Second City comedy troupe's acting workshop. Graduating to their company, he performed with the group from 1974-80. The NBC comedy