John Ratzenberger

JOHN RATZENBERGER is an accomplished director, producer and multi-Emmy® nominated actor with notable credentials as an entrepreneur and humanitarian. While he is best known to international audiences as postman Cliff Clavin on Cheers, for which he garnered two Emmy nominations, Ratzenberger is the only actor to voice a role in all of the Disney/Pixar films. Besides the charming and witty Hamm, heard previously in Toy Story, Toy Story 2 and 3, Ratzenberger was P.T. Flea in A Bug‘s Life, Yeti the snow monster in Monsters, Inc., a school of Moonfish in Finding Nemo, a philosophical villain named The Underminer in The Incredibles, a Mack Truck in Cars, head waiter Mustafa in Ratatouille, and John, a human living aboard the spaceship Axiom in WALL•E.

A former carpenter, archery instructor, carnival performer and oyster-boat crewman, Ratzenberger was raised in Bridgeport, Connecticut. An English literature major at Sacred Heart University, he starred in one man shows and directed others after graduation. Ratzenberger spent a decade in England as co-founder of the improvisational duo Sal‘s Meat Market, earning acclaim across Europe and a grant from the British Arts Council. Early in his career, he appeared in numerous motion pictures, including A Bridge Too Far, Superman, Gandhi, and Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back. Ratzenberger also starred in the Granada TV series Small World and cut his teeth as a producer and writer for the BBC, Granada TV and several prestigious theater companies.

In 1982, Ratzenberger auditioned for a role on Cheers, suggesting to the creators that they consider adding a know-it-all bar regular. The character of Cliff Clavin was brought to life, and the Cheers team rewrote the pilot to include him. During eleven seasons on Cheers, Ratzenberger improvised many of his lines, helping bring freshness and enduring popularity to a show that earned 28 Emmys®. With Cheers still airing in worldwide syndication, Cliff Clavin remains one of television‘s most beloved characters.

Ratzenberger has reprised his role of Cliff Clavin in Frasier, The Simpsons, Blossom, Wings, St. Elsewhere and eight NBC specials. The accomplished character actor has also appeared on 8 Simple Rules, That'70s Show, Sabrina, the Teenage Witch, Murphy Brown, The Love Boat, Magnum P.I. and Hill Street Blues. Among his numerous TV movies are starring roles in The Pennsylvania Miners Story for ABC, A Fare to Remember, Remember Wenn, PBS Masterpiece Theater‘s The Good Soldier, and the BBC‘s Song of a Sourdough and The Detectives. Ratzenberger‘s big-screen animation success extends to the small screen in the long-running TBS series Captain Planet and the Planeteers and The New Adventures of Captain Planet. He was also a fan favorite on the hit ABC show Dancing with the Stars.

His more than 40 film credits include The Ritz (1976), Yanks (1979), Superman 2 (1980), Ragtime (1981), Reds (1981), Outland (1981), Firefox (1982), Protocol (1984), The Falcon and the Snowman (1985), She‘s Having a Baby (1988), One Night Stand (1997), That Darn Cat (1997), Tick Tock (1999), and Determination of Death (2001).

Ratzenberger‘s other credits include the film The Village Barbershop, winner of the Audience Choice Award at the Cinequest Festival, and Our First Christmas for Hallmark. For five seasons, he was host of the popular Travel Channel series John Ratzenberger‘s Made in America.

Ratzenberger created the show in 2004 to showcase American-made products, a cause that remains dear to his heart. Ratzenberger‘s nonprofit organization, Nuts, Bolts, and Thingamajigs Foundation, is positioned to restore esteem and dignity to the manual and industrial arts, and to inspire the next generation of American artisans, inventors, engineers, repairmen and skilled workers.

©Disney/Pixar. All Rights Reserved.