EPISODE · Jun 22, 2019 · 17 MIN
John Ratzenberger
During more than three decades of moviemaking and theater, John Ratzenberger has enjoyed success as a screenwriter, director, producer and multi Emmy-nominated actor. He is also an accomplished entrepreneur and philanthropist. In 1982, John accepted a writing assignment for CBS in Los Angeles. On the day he was scheduled to return to London, he auditioned for a role on the upcoming Cheers. At the time of his audition, the character of the postman did not exist. As he walked out of the room, he turned and asked the creators “Do you have a bar know-it-all?” They didn’t know what that was, so John gave them five minutes of improv, demonstrating exactly what it meant with the perfect Boston accent. They loved what they saw and Cliff Clavin was born. In the history of television, only a handful of series have achieved the worldwide success of Cheers, on which John portrayed Cliff for the show’s entire 11-year run. To this day, thanks to daily syndication, Cliff continues as one of America’s most beloved characters. John is better known to a younger generation as the only actor to voice a character in every Pixar film including the witty Hamm the piggy bank in every Toy Story; P.T. Flea, the circus ringmaster in Bug’s Life; the lovable snow monster Yeti in Monsters, Inc. and Monsters University; the ever-changing school of Moonfish in Finding Nemo; the philosophical character The Underminer in The Incredibles and The Incredibles 2; a Mac-truck in Cars, Cars 2 and Cars 3; Mustafa, the head waiter in Ratatouille; as John, a human in WALL-E; the construction worker in Up!; Gordon the guard in Brave; Harland in Planes; Fritz in Inside Out; Earl in The Good Dinosaur; Bill the Crab in Finding Dory; and Juan Ortodoncia in Coco. Pixar artists always find a way to include John’s recognizable eyebrows and mustache. Pixar’s creators call John their “good luck charm.” In all, John has acted in 38 major motion pictures including blockbusters such as Superman, Star Wars: Episode V –The Empire Strikes Back and Ghandi to independent films like his hit The Woodcarver. He has written, directed or produced hundreds of television projects over the span of his career making him the 6th largest grossing actor of all time based on box-office receipts. Since climbing off the barstool at Cheers over a decade ago, John has immersed himself in what makes America great, a country in which a truck driver’s son wound up being a TV icon. He wrote the book: We’ve Got it Made in America, A Common Man’s Salute to an Uncommon Country, a collection of essays from his five years on the road visiting factory towns throughout the country on the Travel Channel show “John Ratzenberger’s Made in America.”
What this episode covers
During more than three decades of moviemaking and theater, John Ratzenberger has enjoyed success as a screenwriter, director, producer and multi Emmy-nominated actor. He is also an accomplished entrepreneur and philanthropist. In 1982, John accepted a writing assignment for CBS in Los Angeles. On the day he was scheduled to return to London, he auditioned for a role on the upcoming Cheers. At the time of his audition, the character of the postman did not exist. As he walked out of the room, he turned and asked the creators “Do you have a bar know-it-all?” They didn’t know what that was, so John gave them five minutes of improv, demonstrating exactly what it meant with the perfect Boston accent. They loved what they saw and Cliff Clavin was born. In the history of television, only a handful of series have achieved the worldwide success of Cheers, on which John portrayed Cliff for the show’s entire 11-year run. To this day, thanks to daily syndication, Cliff continues as one of America’s most beloved characters. John is better known to a younger generation as the only actor to voice a character in every Pixar film including the witty Hamm the piggy bank in every Toy Story; P.T. Flea, the circus ringmaster in Bug’s Life; the lovable snow monster Yeti in Monsters, Inc. and Monsters University; the ever-changing school of Moonfish in Finding Nemo; the philosophical character The Underminer in The Incredibles and The Incredibles 2; a Mac-truck in Cars, Cars 2 and Cars 3; Mustafa, the head waiter in Ratatouille; as John, a human in WALL-E; the construction worker in Up!; Gordon the guard in Brave; Harland in Planes; Fritz in Inside Out; Earl in The Good Dinosaur; Bill the Crab in Finding Dory; and Juan Ortodoncia in Coco. Pixar artists always find a way to include John’s recognizable eyebrows and mustache. Pixar’s creators call John their “good luck charm.” In all, John has acted in 38 major motion pictures including blockbusters such as Superman, Star Wars: Episode V –The Empire Strikes Back and Ghandi to independent films like his hit The Woodcarver. He has written, directed or produced hundreds of television projects over the span of his career making him the 6th largest grossing actor of all time based on box-office receipts. Since climbing off the barstool at Cheers over a decade ago, John has immersed himself in what makes America great, a country in which a truck driver’s son wound up being a TV icon. He wrote the book: We’ve Got it Made in America, A Common Man’s Salute to an Uncommon Country, a collection of essays from his five years on the road visiting factory towns throughout the country on the Travel Channel show “John Ratzenberger’s Made in America.”
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John Ratzenberger
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