Cliff Clavin

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Cheers character

Ratzenberger as Cliff in Cheers
Clifford C. Clavin, Jr.
"Cliff"
Gender Male
Hair color Gray
Eye color Brown
Role in Cheers Customer
Portrayed by John Ratzenberger
Clifford C. Clavin, Jr. was a character on the American television show Cheers, portrayed by John Ratzenberger. Cliff was a postal worker and Norm Peterson's best friend. He lived with his mother, Esther Clavin (Frances Sternhagen) in a two-story house, where Cliff spent his childhood. It was bulldozed after Esther sold her property, and moved with her newfound nestegg to Florida. Cliff then moved into a small apartment of his own, in which the couch doubled as a bed.

Cheers character
Ratzenberger as Cliff in Cheers
Clifford C. Clavin, Jr. "Cliff"
Gender	Male
Hair color	Gray
Eye color	Brown
Role in Cheers	Customer
Portrayed by	John Ratzenberger

A rambler by nature, Cliff was well known as a storehouse of useless trivia, often of indeterminate veracity and bearing little relation to the conversation being had around the bar. Carla did not like Cliff, and often insulted him or his opinions. Cliff took great pride in his job as a postal worker and often became agitated when people insulted his job or the U.S. postal service. Cliff's father made a brief appearance on Cheers, before fleeing the country to Australia to avoid prison for fraud.

[Spoiler warningSpoiler warning]: Plot and/or ending details follow.

Background

The character was created for Ratzenberger, who had earlier auditioned for Norm's role. The producers let him know that he had impressed them, but that he didn't really click as Norm. Ratzenberger responded by pointing out that what the ensemble didn't have was a "bar know-it-all". They asked Ratzenberger for an example, he improvised some dialogue for the know-it-all, and he was invited to play the role.Newport Under the Stars (2005)(2006). [John Ratzenberger's Newport Under the Stars]He was also featured in an episode of Frasier, when he decided to leave Boston for Florida only to change his mind, much to the annoyance of Carla.

Jeopardy

Main Article: Jeopardy in Cheers

Cliff was a contestant on Jeopardy! in the Cheers episode "What is... Cliff Clavin?", but lost after betting all his money on his Final Jeopardy question of "Who are three people who have never been in my kitchen?" Cliff was actually winning by enough that had he made a small wager he would have been guaranteed a win. Alex Trebek has jokingly referred to this situation (making a risky Final Jeopardy bet with a dominating lead) several times in the actual show as "pull[ing] a Cliff Clavin." This episode has been voted one of the top ten favorite episodes of TV.com members.(as of March 2006) [TV.com list of user voted favorite episodes]

References

Cheers characters

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