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John Deszo Ratzenberger (born April 6, 1947 in Bridgeport, Connecticut) is an American actor. Ratzenberger is perhaps best known for his role as "Clifford C. 'Cliff' Clavin, Jr." in the Cheers (1982) TV Series.
Life and career
Ratzenberger was born to Deszo Alexander Ratzenberger, a German-American, and Bertha Grohowski, a Polish-American, raised as a Roman Catholic, and attended St. Ann's School.
His acting credits include 47 productions and an additional 22 notable television appearances. His first role was a Patron in The Ritz (1976), before appearing in minor roles in movies including Firefox; A Bridge Too Far; Superman: The Movie as a missile controller; Superman II as the NASA control man; Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back (1980) as "Major Bren Derlin"; Gandhi (1982) as an American Lieutenant; and House II: The Second Story (1987) as Bill Towner.
Cheers
Ratzenberger is best known for playing mail carrier Clifford Clavin on Cheers. Ratzenberger had read for the part of Norm Peterson, but was rejected. Sensing an opportunity, he asked if they had written a bar know-it-all, which the producers decided was a great idea. Cliff became known for his outlandish stories of plausible half-truths, irrelevant trivia, and ignorant misinformation, and Cliff and Norm, the primary customer characters, became iconic bar buddies. Though Ratzenberger enjoyed his time on Cheers, he was critical of the series' spin-off, Frasier, which he described as a "snob" show that lacked the working-class appeal of Cheers. While several Cheers cast members made guest appearances on Frasier, Ratzenberger did not appear until a special Cheers reunion episode of Frasier.
When Paramount Television licensed the look of the Cheers bar to another company for use in airports, the group also created animatronic barflies. They were called called "Hank" and "Bob," but bore an obvious resemblance to Cliff and Norm. Ratzenberger and George Wendt sued Paramount and the bar owners for using their likenesses without permission, and the case languished in court for eight years before all sides settled in 2001. Pixar
All of Pixar Animation's feature films include Ratzenberger, who has become something of a "good luck charm" to the studio (and, according to Andrew Stanton, Pixar actually has a rule stating that Ratzenberger must be in all Pixar films). John has appeared in the following Pixar films:
* Hamm The Piggy Bank in the Toy Story series (1995 and 1999)
* P.T. Flea the Circus Ring Leader in A Bug's Life (1998)
* The Abominable Snowman in Monsters Inc. (2001)
* The School of Moonfish in Finding Nemo (2003)
* The Underminer in The Incredibles (2004)
* Mack in Cars (2006)
* undisclosed voice in Ratatouille (2007)
* Hamm The Piggy Bank in Toy Story 3 (2010)
He also voiced the bathhouse's assistant manager in the English dub of Spirited Away, overseen by Pixar's John Lasseter. He has become such a stable part of the company that he plays on its softball team. It seemed that luck had come to him when he worked on Irvin Kershner's The Empire Strikes Back as Bren Derlin which George Lucas supervised. Coincidentally, George Lucas would later help start Pixar four years after the release of Episode V. Ratzenberger is also set to voice-in for Ratatouille in 2007.
Ratzenberger had the chance to make fun of his tenure at Pixar during the end credits of Cars, where his character, Mack, watching car-themed versions of Pixar movies ("Toy Car Story", "Monster Trucks, Inc.", and "A Bug's Life" (as in VW Bugs)), notes that all the characters Ratzenberger has played were excellent, until he realizes that they're the same actor, at which point he asks "what kind of a cheap cut-rate production is this?"
Recently, John Ratzenberger indicated he would not reprise the role of Hamm for the proposed movie Toy Story 3 on the grounds that Pixar would not have been involved. However, in February 2006 Pixar took over production following its purchase by Disney, which held exclusive rights to make additional Toy Story sequels. It is unknown if this will affect his decision. It is presumable that he will indeed be cast, as Tom Hanks and Tim Allen had previously adopted this stance, but have since been confirmed as part of the cast since Pixar took over production.
Other TV and voice work
Ratzenberger hosts the Travel Channel TV series about things made in the USA called John Ratzenberger's Made in America (2003-present).
Ratzenberger also hosts the Wildcard section in Atari's PC game based on the popular board game, Trivial Pursuit.
Additionally, Ratzenberger appeared on television commercials promoting the Pitney Bowes personal post office. His sign off tag line is "Hey, I look good in red!"
In the first season of fellow sitcom veteran John Ritter's sitcom 8 Simple Rules, Ratzenberger guest-starred in three episodes. He played Fred Doyle, Ritter's character's pesky and annoying neighbor. For the "Doyle Wedding" ex-Cheers co-star Shelley Long played Fred's wife Mary Ellen. For his other two appearances Laverne and Shirley's Cindy Williams played Mary Ellen. Ratzenberger's last appearance on 8 Simple Rules was on the first segment of the Goodbye episode following Ritter's death from an aortic dissection in 2003.
On the short-lived Nickelodeon show Yakkity Yak, he played Keo the Pineapple's father.
John also appeared on That 70's Show as Glen, a sad man stuck in an awful marriage with his high school sweetheart whose negative example gives Eric second thoughts about marrying Donna.
Ratzenberger has co-authored a book, We've Got it Made in America: A Common Man's Salute to an Uncommon Country (ISBN 1-931722-84-6). Ratzenberger co-founded the Nuts, Bolts and Thingamajigs Foundation, dedicated to raising awareness of skilled trades and engineering disciplines among young people.
Dancing with the Stars
On March 2, 2007, the ABC television network announced that Ratzenberger would be a participant in its Spring 2007 Dancing with the Stars reality show. He will be partnered to professional ballroom dancer Edyta Sliwinska.
| Latest news about John Ratzenberger |
'Cheers' Actor John Ratzenberger Stumps for Josh Mandel, Running ...John Ratzenberger is still best known as a federal employee who spent most of his time on a barstool – not the likeliest route into politics, even if the stool was in the place where “everybody knows your name.” ... Continue reading
Actor John Ratzenberger Visits Lyndhurst, Gives 'Cheers' to Josh ...“He's a no nonsense straight shooter,” Mandel said of Ratzenberger. “I feel strongly, as does John, about revitalizing manufacturing in our state and our country. We are a country that grew strong based on invention and making things. ... Continue reading
CNN Political Ticker: All politics, all the time Blog Archive ...Actor John Ratzenberger, known partly for his role as Cliff Clavin in the 1980s sitcom "Cheers," slammed the Democratic bill as a form of socialism. "These are Woodstock Democrats," he said at the rally. "We have to remember where their ... Continue reading
John Ratzenberger Rallys Against House Health Billtalkradionews posted a photo: John Ratzenberger Rallys Against House Health Bill. Conservative activists made a "House Call" on DC Thursday to protest the House health care bill. Seen here is actor John Ratzenberger, who played Cliff on ... Continue reading
UP - November 10Amazon.com: Up (4 Disc Combo Pack with Digital Copy and DVD) [Blu-ray]: Edward Asner, Jordan Nagai, John Ratzenberger, Christopher Plummer, Bob Peterson, Delroy Lindo, Jerome Ranft, David Kaye, Elie Docter, Jeremy Leary, Mickie McGowan, ... Continue reading
Did You See That?: Up!Actors: Edward Asner, Jordan Nagai, John Ratzenberger, Christopher Plummer, Bob Peterson Directors: Bob Peterson, Pete Docter Writers: Bob Peterson, Pete Docter, Thomas McCarthy. Producers: Andrew Stanton, Denise Ream, John Lasseter ... Continue reading
Poll: Teens turn thumbs down on manufacturing career"It's a tragedy that we no longer teach our young people to work with their hands or even encourage them to try it on their own," said actor and producer John Ratzenberger, an NBT founder who leads the organization's communications ... Continue reading
FREE IS MY LIFE: FREE Blockbuster Film Series @ Dearborn Main ...With the voices of Ed Asner, Christopher Plummer and John Ratzenberger. Directed by Peter Docter and Bob Peterson. (PG, 96 min.) DECEMBER 14 – STAR TREK (2009) – The future begins. In this fun prequel we meet James T. Kirk, Spock, ... Continue reading
John Ratzenberger likes Tea PartiesAlways watch out for the marketing style names. We all realize that “patriot act” doesn't exactly live up to its moniker. Who was there supporting Michelle Bachman's madness? Cliff from Cheers. Mr. John Ratzenberger. ... Continue reading
John Ratzenberger's House - Virtual GlobetrottingJohn Ratzenberger's House - Virtual Globetrotting. Continue reading
Hollywood Actors Jessica alba John Ratzenberger pictures and John Ratzenberger biography
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