Although John Ratzenberger is most known for his role as Cliff Clavin in the television sitcom Cheers, his loyalty shows as he has appeared in every Pixar animated film, and when asked recently to appear in Toy Story 3 to reprise his role as Hamm the Piggy Bank, he refused the offer, unless Pixar would be brought back into the fold.
Ratzenberger was born on April 6, 1947, in Bridgeport, Connecticut, to his parents, Deszo Alexander Ratzenberger and Bertha Grohowski, and is one of three children. He first became interested in entertaining others while at St. Ann's Elementary School, singing songs on stage such as With a Shelalee Under My Arm and a Twinkle in my Eye. Ratzenberger majored in English literature at Sacred Heart University, and joined the drama club as well. While there, he began an improvisational theater group, Sal's Meat Market.
After completing his schooling, Ratzenberger became affiliated with another theater group, The Downtown Cabaret, and became friends with the mother of Meg Ryan, Susan Ryan. His first movie role was in The Ritz, in the minor role of a patron. Ratzenberger went on to have more minor film roles in the films A Bridge Too Far, Superman and Superman II, and Motel Hell. Ratzenberger also appeared in Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back, Ragtime, and Reds. Ratzenberger appeared in Gandhi, but his voiced was dubbed in by someone else as the director found his voice "grating."
Ratzenberger moved on to larger roles as a regular on the series Cheers, starring Danson, Shelley Long, and Rhea Perlman. He had tried out for the role of Norm Peterson, but was turned away, and the role went to George Wendt. Ratzenberger asked the show if they had any parts for a bar know-it-all, and the role of mail carrier Cliff Clavin was then created. The two characters seemed to be always present at the bar. Years later the look of the Cheers bar was licensed out to airports, and animatronic bar patrons who resembled Norm and Cliff were included in the look. Wendt and Ratzenberger sued, and after a long battle, the case was settled out of court.
Many of the characters of Cheers appeared on Kelsey Grammer's spin-off, Frasier, but it was something Ratzenberger was hesitant to do, feeling that the show was too stuffy, and missing the blue collar feel of Cheers. Eventually, Frasier featured a Cheers reunion and Ratzenberger did show. Appearing as Cliff Clavin on Cheers for eleven years, Ratzenberger not only brought the character back on Frasier, but also on the shows St. Elsewhere, The Tortellis, Wings, and The Simpsons.
After Cheers, Ratzenberger found success on the animated film Toy Story, created by Pixar, an animation studio crated in part by George Lucas, whom Ratzenberger had met while filming Star Wars. He brought the character of Hamm the Piggy Bank back for Toy Story 2, and other voices were brought back as well, such as that of Tim Allen and Tom Hanks. Ratzenberger has found quite a niche with the animation studio, as he has appeared in every Pixar film, inlcuding A Bug's Life, Monsters Inc., Finding Nemo, The Incredibles, and Cars. Reportedly Toy Story 3 is in production as well, and when the animation was going to a studio other than Pixar, Ratzenberger refused to take part, as did Allen and Hanks. Disney then picked up Pixar, and all three have agreed to appear.
Interspersed between filming Cheers and his many Pixar films, Ratzenberger has found the time to appear in other projects as well. He had a recurring role on 8 Simple Rules, with none other than Shelley Long playing his wife for one episode, yet she was later replaced by Cindy Williams. He also appeared on the Nickeloden show Yakkity Yak, and hosts a show on the Travel Channel called John Ratzenberger's Made in America. He is also appearing on Dancing With the Stars for season four, replacing Vincent Pastore who left after finding the show too physically demanding.
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