John Dezso Ratzenberger (born April 6, 1947)^[1] is an American actor. He is best known for playing the characterCliff Clavin on the comedy seriesCheers, for which he earned twoPrimetime Emmy nominations. Ratzenberger reprised the role in the short-lived spin-offThe Tortellis, an episode ofWings, as well as in an episode ofFrasier. He has voiced various characters in severalPixar animated feature films includingHamm in theToy Story franchise,The Abominable Snowman in theMonsters, Inc. franchise,Mack in theCars franchise,The Underminer inThe Incredibles franchise, Fritz in theInside Out franchise, and many others.

John Ratzenberger
Ratzenberger in 2016
Born	John Dezso Ratzenberger[1][2] (1947-04-06)April 6, 1947 (age 78) Bridgeport, Connecticut, U.S.
Alma mater	Sacred Heart University
Occupation	Actor
Years active	1973–present
Agents	Saskia Delp-Kullock Global Artists
Political party	Republican
Spouses	Georgia Stiny ​ ​ (m. 1984;div. 2004)​ Julie Blichfeldt ​ (m. 2012)​
Children	2
Honours	PhD, Humane Letters, Sacred Heart University
Website	ratzenberger.com

Ratzenberger began his entertainment career while living in London in the 1970s. He acted in and wrote film and television through the 1970s and early 1980s before returning to America. At an audition for a role in a new sitcom, Ratzenberger created the character of Cliff Clavin.Cheers (1982–1993) was a success and went on to run for 11 years. AfterCheers, he began voicing characters for Pixar; Ratzenberger's first role was Hamm in Pixar's debut feature filmToy Story (1995), and he would continue to voice characters in many subsequent Pixar films. Including voice acting and cameos, he is thethird highest-grossing actor of all time.

John Dezso Ratzenberger was born onEaster Sunday, April 6, 1947,^[3] in Bridgeport, Connecticut, the son of Bertha Veronica (née Grochowski), and Dezso Alexander Ratzenberger, a WWII veteran who had been acombat engineer in the Philippines.^[4][5] John's father, Dezso, was of Austrian and Hungarian descent, and John's mother was of Polish ancestry.^[6] Ratzenberger attended St. Ann's School and Bassick High School in Bridgeport and thenSacred Heart University in Fairfield, Connecticut.^[1] In 1969, Ratzenberger worked at theWoodstock Festival as a heavy equipment operator and as part of the crew building the stage.^[7] John moved to London in 1971, where he began his acting, writing, and directing career.^[1]

Ratzenberger began his career in the performing arts while living in London, England.^[1] Through the 1970s, he performed with Ray Hassett as the comedic theatrical duo Sal's Meat Market, which toured throughout Europe for eight years.^[8] Sal's Meat Market heavily influencedPeter Richardson andNigel Planer as a duo inThe Outer Limits and inThe Comic Strip.^[9] His first role in a major feature film was as a patron inThe Ritz (1976). Throughout the late 1970s and early 1980s, Ratzenberger appeared in various roles in feature films throughout Europe including:A Bridge Too Far, filmed in Holland, as LieutenantJames Megellas;Superman, as a missile controller;Superman II, as theNASA control man;Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back as Major Derlin;Outland as a doomed mine worker named Tarlow; andGandhi, filmed in India, playing an American lieutenant.

Ratzenberger played mail carrierCliff Clavin on the sitcomCheers. As an improv artist, he asked the producers if they had written a bar know-it-all character; the producers decided it was a great idea, and the character of Cliff Clavin was born.^[10] Ratzenberger also came up with the idea for Cliff's trademark white socks, which he wore as a tribute to French comedianJacques Tati.^[11] Cliff became known for his outlandish stories, trivia, and his trademarked (and oft repeated), "It's a little known fact..." Cliff and Norm, the primary customer characters of the iconic bar, Cheers, played buddies who met at Cheers to talk about the day or nothing in particular. Ratzenberger was nominated for anEmmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series in 1985 and again in 1986.^[12][13] Ratzenberger provided the voice for an animated version of Cliff onThe Simpsons sixth-season episode "Fear of Flying". He also played the role in the short-lived spin-offThe Tortellis and in an episode ofWings, which was made by the same creators.

Ratzenberger has contributed voice work for several animated projects, most notablyPixar productions.

Ratzenberger has voiced characters in 23 Pixar films.^[14] His roles include:

• Hamm thepiggy bank in theToy Story series (1995,1999,2010,2019)
• P.T. Flea, the Circus Ring Leader inA Bug's Life (1998)
• Yeti the Abominable Snowman in theMonsters, Inc. series (2001,2013)
• The school ofMoonfish inFinding Nemo (2003)
• The Underminer inThe Incredibles series (2004,2018)
• Mack the truck in theCars series (2006,2011,2017)
• Mustafa the waiter inRatatouille (2007)
• John the Axiom passenger inWALL-E (2008)
• Tom the construction worker inUp (2009)
• Gordon the Dunbroch palace guard inBrave (2012)
• Fritz the mind worker in theInside Out series (2015,2024)
• Earl theVelociraptor inThe Good Dinosaur (2015)
• Bill the crab inFinding Dory (2016)
• Juan Ortodoncia the deceased dental patient inCoco (2017)
• Fennwick thecyclops construction worker inOnward (2020)

According to Ratzenberger, Pixar's tradition of including him as a good luck charm in every film beginning with the studio's first film,Toy Story, was due to him being good friends with former Pixar filmmakerJohn Lasseter,^[15] who directed or executive-produced each of the first 20 Pixar films. Ratzenberger's tenure at Pixar was parodied during the end credits ofCars, where his character, Mack, watches car-themed versions of Pixar films (Toy Car Story,Monster Trucks, Inc., andA Bug's Life, the latter of which references theVolkswagen Beetle). Mack notes that all the characters that John Ratzenberger has played had excellent voice actors until he realizes that they are performed by the same actor, at which point he remarks, "They're just using the same actor over and over," and asks, "What kind of a cut-rate production is this?!" Ratzenberger stated his favorite Pixar role was Hamm from theToy Story series,^[16] and he has given honorable mention to P.T. Flea fromA Bug's Life.^[17]

Following Lasseter's exit from Pixar, Ratzenberger revealed he was not a fan of the regime that replaced Lasseter or the studio's subsequent films, claiming "[...] they suck", and was critical of the political messaging that he felt was being placed in the films.^[15][18] Pixar's 23rd feature film,Soul (2020), was the first Pixar film that did not involve Ratzenberger himself, though it featured a character animated in his likeness as a cameo according to the film's co-directorKemp Powers;^[19] the cameo was also confirmed by directorPete Docter on the film'saudio commentary track. After having voiced a character in every Pixar film fromToy Story (1995) throughOnward (2020), Ratzenberger would not have another role in any Pixar film with the exception of their 28th feature film,Inside Out 2 (2024).^[15][20]

Ratzenberger has continued to work with Lasseter, who produces all feature films and executive-produces all series atSkydance Animation.^[18][21][22] His roles include:

• Rootie the bad luck root inLuck (2022),^[23] the studio's first feature film
• Caruncle the alien in the first season ofWondLa (2024),^[24] the studio's first series
• Milo the monster handler inSpellbound (2024),^[25] the studio's second feature film

Aside from the Pixar and Skydance productions, Ratzenberger voiced Harland the jet tug inDisneytoon Studios'Planes (2013)^[26] and Brodi the plane in its sequel,Planes: Fire & Rescue (2014),^[27][28] which are spin-offs of Pixar'sCars series and executive-produced by Lasseter.^[29] Additionally, Ratzenberger provided the voice for Aniyaku the assistant manager in the English dub version ofStudio Ghibli’sSpirited Away (2002),^[30] which Lasseter also executive-produced.

Ratzenberger also reprised his role as Yeti (now named Adorable) and voiced a new character named Bernard in theDisney Television Animation seriesMonsters at Work, which is set after the main events of Pixar'sMonsters, Inc.^[31]

Ratzenberger lived in London for 10 years.^[32] Since 1994, he has lived inVashon, Washington.^[33] Ratzenberger married Georgia Stiny in 1984; during their 20-year marriage they had two children together before divorcing in 2004.^[4] He then married Julie Blichfeldt in November 2012.^[34]

Ratzenberger developed a packaging-alternatives product made from biodegradable and non-toxic recycled paper as a safe alternative tofoam peanuts and plastic bubble wrap. This product, SizzlePak, was manufactured by his company Eco-Pak Industries, which Ratzenberger co-founded in 1989.^[35] In 1992, he sold Eco-Pack to Ranpak Corp.^[35]

Ratzenberger is aRepublican. During the2008 presidential race, Ratzenbergercampaigned forJohn McCain, appearing with formerCheers co-starKelsey Grammer at several Republican party events.^[36][37] Ratzenberger was outspoken in opposition of the2010 health care reform bill, referring to it associalism.^[38] On January 17, 2010, he appeared and endorsedScott Brown for the United States Senate atMechanics Hall inWorcester, Massachusetts. Ratzenberger campaigned for RepublicanJosh Mandel of Ohio for state treasurer in2010 and served as master of ceremonies for Mandel's inauguration into the position in 2011.^[39] He consideredrunning for the U.S. Senate in Connecticut in 2012.^[40]

Ratzenberger endorsedMitt Romney in2012.^[41] He appeared onYour World with Neil Cavuto to supportDonald Trump'scandidacy during the2016 presidential race, shortly after Trump was declared the presumptive Republican nominee.^[42] He praised his performance as president in 2017, saying he had done "a wonderful job as far as manufacturing is concerned".^[43]

During theCOVID-19 pandemic, Ratzenberger expressed his support for theUnited States Postal Service (USPS) in 2020 viaCameo and suggested people who wished to help them donate and buy presents for Christmas early.^[44][45]

• Official website
• John Ratzenberger atIMDb
• John Ratzenberger at theTCM Movie Database