John Ratzenberger is best known for playing mail carrier ‘Cliff Clavin’ on one of the most popular sitcoms of all time “Cheers.” He had read for the part of Norm Peterson, but after the audition, he could tell they weren’t going to give him the part. 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 was known for being an overall pretentious blowhard.
Star Wars fans world wide know John for his role as ‘Major Derlin’ as seen in “Star Wars The Empire Strikes Back” and those same fans will recognize him from another huge franchise; “Superman 1 & 2”! Horror fans remember him from “House II” and “Motel Hell”, films which are on the oposite side of the spectrum when it come sto what kids know him for today!
John’s popularity has crossed over from the sitcom, Sci-Fi and fantasy worlds into another huge demographic, being recognized by kids off all ages for his various roles in the Disney/Pixar animated films! John is the only actor to voice a character in every single Pixar film ever made. A running “gag” that he and director John Lasseter decided on together. John never tells fans which character he voices, he was them to be surprised and figure it out for themselves when they see the film. John can currently be heard in the new films “Coco” and “The Incredibles 2” and reprised his character’s role of Hamm for “Toy Story 4”!
