Just two weeks after the death of his uncle George Wendt, Jason Sudeikis has opened up about his relationship with the late Cheers star.

Wendt – who was the brother of Sudeikis’ mum, Kathryn Sudeikis – died on May 20 at the age of 76, with his family confirming that he passed peacefully in his sleep.

Now, as part of a panel at the Big Slick Celebrity Weekend in Kansas City, Sudeikis has remembered his uncle as an “amazing guy”.

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As the Ted Lasso star began to speak about Wendt, his microphone cut out and comedian Rob Riggle who was sat beside him handed Sudeikis his to use instead.

“That’s him, messing with the sound board,” Sudeikis joked.

“He’s like, ‘Don’t talk about me!’… Just good, Midwestern humility.”

The actor went on to talk about the old saying of “don’t meet your heroes”, explaining that it’s usually said out of fear of them not living up to expectations.

”But he’s not one of those people,” he said of his late uncle.

“He’s as fun and kind and as warm as any character he played on television or in films.”

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Sudeikis remembered his uncle as a “great influence” on him, crediting Wendt with teaching him that acting was a career that a kid from the Midwest could have “if you really care about it”.

He also praised the Cheers star for staying “connected to his roots” no matter the level of fame he achieved.

”Both in Chicago where he’s from but also the time he spent here going to [Rockhurst University],” Sudeikis added.

“And to a bar called Mike’s a whole bunch, where I think he logged maybe 18 credit hours.

“But it was all in preparation of a job that we all know him for, Cheers. All time well spent. But yeah, we miss him greatly, and I love him dearly.”

Sharing the stage with Riggle, Heidi Gardner, Paul Rudd and Eric Stonestreet, as he wrapped up Sudeikis looked to those beside him for support.

Without missing a beat, each of them began to share their own anecdote about Wendt and his involvement with multi-day fundraising event since it’s inception in 2010.

Riggle remembered him as someone who was “always fun to be around” while Rudd said that he was a “really, really sweet guy” adding this his absence “is going to be felt”.

Gardner recalled Wendt’s ’Superfan’ sketch from 2024’s event describing it as “incredible”, and Stonestreet shared a sweet memory he shared with the star.

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“One year – I forget what hotel it was, there was an outside balcony – and he and I were sitting there talking and he goes, ‘you like Winstead’s cheeseburgers?'” the Modern Family star said with a chuckle.

“And I said, ‘Uh, yeah, I like Winstead’s cheeseburgers’, and he’s like, ‘we should send somebody to order us a bunch of them’.

“And miraculously a hundred cheeseburgers showed up and we sat there and toasted each other with cheeseburgers. It was perfect.”

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