John Ratzenberger facts for kids

Quick facts for kids John Ratzenberger
Ratzenberger in 2016
Born	John Dezso Ratzenberger (1947-04-06) April 6, 1947 (age 78) Bridgeport, Connecticut, U.S.
Alma mater	Sacred Heart University
Occupation	Actor
Years active	1973–present
Agent	Saskia Delp-Kullock Global Artists
Political party	Republican
Spouse(s)	Georgia Stiny ​ ​ (m. 1984; div. 2004)​ Julie Blichfeldt ​ (m. 2012)​
Children	2
Honours	PhD, Humane Letters, Sacred Heart University

John Dezso Ratzenberger (born April 6, 1947) is an American actor. He is famous for his role as Cliff Clavin on the TV show Cheers. He also received two Emmy nominations for this role. John Ratzenberger has voiced many characters in Pixar animated movies. These include Hamm in the Toy Story movies and The Abominable Snowman in the Monsters, Inc. movies. He also voiced Mack in the Cars movies and The Underminer in The Incredibles films.

Ratzenberger started his acting career in London in the 1970s. He acted and wrote for films and TV before returning to America. During an audition for a new TV show, he created the character of Cliff Clavin. The show, Cheers (1982–1993), was very popular and ran for 11 years. After Cheers, he began voicing characters for Pixar. His first Pixar role was Hamm in Toy Story (1995). He continued to voice characters in many Pixar films. He is known as one of the highest-earning actors of all time, thanks to his many roles.

Early Life and Education

John Dezso Ratzenberger was born on April 6, 1947, in Bridgeport, Connecticut. His mother was Bertha Veronica, and his father was Dezso Alexander Ratzenberger. His father was a veteran of World War II. John's family had roots in Austria, Hungary, and Poland. He went to St. Ann's School, Fairfield Prep, and Bassick High School in Bridgeport. He then attended Sacred Heart University in Fairfield, Connecticut. In 1969, Ratzenberger worked at the Woodstock Festival. He helped build the stage there. In 1971, John moved to London, where he began his career in acting, writing, and directing.

Acting Career Highlights

Ratzenberger on the set of the series "Made in America"

Ratzenberger started his acting journey in London, England. In the 1970s, he performed with Ray Hassett as a comedy duo called Sal's Meat Market. They toured Europe for eight years. His first role in a big movie was in The Ritz (1976). In the late 1970s and early 1980s, Ratzenberger appeared in many films. These included A Bridge Too Far, Superman, and Superman II. He also appeared in Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back as Major Derlin. Other roles were in Outland and Gandhi.

Playing Cliff Clavin in Cheers

Ratzenberger became very well-known for playing Cliff Clavin, a mail carrier, on the TV show Cheers. He was an improv artist, meaning he could make up characters and lines on the spot. He asked the show's producers if they needed a character who knew a lot of random facts. The producers loved the idea, and the character of Cliff Clavin was created. Ratzenberger also thought of Cliff's famous white socks. These socks were a tribute to a French comedian.

Cliff was known for his wild stories and interesting trivia. His catchphrase was, "It's a little known fact..." Cliff and Norm were two main customers at the Cheers bar. They were best friends who met there to chat about their day. Ratzenberger was nominated for an Emmy Award in 1985 and again in 1986 for his role. He also voiced an animated version of Cliff on The Simpsons. He played Cliff in the spin-off show The Tortellis and in an episode of Wings.

Voice Acting Roles

John Ratzenberger has lent his voice to many animated projects. He is especially famous for his work with Pixar Animation Studios.

He has voiced characters in 23 Pixar films. Some of his roles include:

• Hamm the piggy bank in the Toy Story movies (1995, 1999, 2010, 2019, 2026)
• P.T. Flea, the Circus Ring Leader in A Bug's Life (1998)
• Yeti the Abominable Snowman in the Monsters, Inc. movies (2001, 2013)
• The school of Moonfish in Finding Nemo (2003)
• The Underminer in The Incredibles movies (2004, 2018)
• Mack the truck in the Cars movies (2006, 2011, 2017)
• Mustafa the waiter in Ratatouille (2007)
• John the Axiom passenger in WALL-E (2008)
• Tom the construction worker in Up (2009)
• Gordon the Dunbroch palace guard in Brave (2012)
• Fritz the mind worker in the Inside Out movies (2015, 2024)
• Earl the Velociraptor in The Good Dinosaur (2015)
• Bill the crab in Finding Dory (2016)
• Juan Ortodoncia, a dental patient, in Coco (2017)
• Fennwick the cyclops construction worker in Onward (2020)

Pixar started including Ratzenberger in every film as a good luck charm. This tradition began with their first movie, Toy Story. This was because he was good friends with former Pixar filmmaker John Lasseter. Lasseter directed or produced many of the early Pixar films. The end credits of Cars even made a joke about Ratzenberger's many roles. His character, Mack, watches car-themed versions of Pixar films. Mack then realizes the same actor voices all the characters and jokes about it. Ratzenberger has said his favorite Pixar role is Hamm from the Toy Story series. He also liked P.T. Flea from A Bug's Life.

After Lasseter left Pixar, Ratzenberger did not have roles in every Pixar film. For example, Soul (2020) was the first Pixar film without his voice. However, a character in Soul was animated to look like him as a small appearance. After voicing characters in every Pixar film from Toy Story (1995) through Onward (2020), Ratzenberger had another role in Inside Out 2 (2024).

Ratzenberger has continued to work with John Lasseter at Skydance Animation. His roles there include Rootie in Luck (2022). He also voiced Caruncle in the TV series WondLa (2024) and Milo in Spellbound (2024).

Besides Pixar and Skydance, Ratzenberger voiced Harland in Disneytoon Studios' Planes (2013) and Brodi in Planes: Fire & Rescue (2014). These movies are spin-offs of Pixar's Cars series. He also voiced Aniyaku in the English version of Studio Ghibli’s Spirited Away (2002).

Ratzenberger also returned to voice Yeti (now called Adorable) and a new character named Bernard in the TV series Monsters at Work. This show takes place after the events of Pixar's Monsters, Inc..

Ratzenberger at the 2008 Rhode Island International Film Festival

Personal Life

John Ratzenberger lived in London for 10 years. Since 1994, he has lived in Vashon, Washington. He married Georgia Stiny in 1984. They had two children together before they divorced in 2004. He then married Julie Blichfeldt in November 2012.

Ratzenberger also created a product called SizzlePak. It is a type of packaging made from recycled paper. It is safe for the environment and a good alternative to foam peanuts and plastic bubble wrap. He co-founded a company called Eco-Pak Industries in 1989 to make this product. In 1992, he sold Eco-Pack to another company.

Political Involvement

John Ratzenberger is a member of the Republican Party. He has supported Republican candidates in elections. For example, he campaigned for John McCain in the 2008 presidential election. He also supported Scott Brown for the United States Senate in 2010. Ratzenberger also campaigned for Josh Mandel in Ohio in 2010. He supported Mitt Romney in the 2012 presidential election. He also appeared on TV to support Donald Trump's campaign in 2016. In 2017, he praised Trump's work related to manufacturing. During the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, Ratzenberger showed his support for the United States Postal Service (USPS).

Filmography

Film Roles

Television Roles

Video Game Voice Roles

Musical Roles

Production Work

Awards and Nominations

See also

In Spanish: John Ratzenberger para niños