John Ratzenberger



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Early life

John Dezso Ratzenberger was born on Easter Sunday, April 6, 1947, in Bridgeport, Connecticut, the son of Bertha Veronica, and Dezso Alexander Ratzenberger, a WWII veteran who had been a combat engineer in the Philippines. John's father, Dezso, was of Austrian and Hungarian descent, and John's mother was of Polish ancestry. Ratzenberger attended St. Ann's School, Fairfield Prep, and Bassick High School in Bridgeport and then Sacred Heart University in Fairfield, Connecticut. In 1969, Ratzenberger worked at the Woodstock Festival as a heavy equipment operator and as part of the crew building the stage. John moved to London in 1971, where he began his acting, writing, and directing career.

Career

Ratzenberger began his career in the performing arts while living in London, England. Through the 1970s, he performed with Ray Hassett as the comedic theatrical duo Sal's Meat Market, which toured throughout Europe for eight years. Sal's Meat Market heavily influenced Peter Richardson and Nigel Planer as a duo in The Outer Limits and in The Comic Strip. His first role in a major feature film was as a patron in The Ritz. 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 Lieutenant James Megellas; Superman, as a missile controller; Superman II, as the NASA control man; Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back as Major Derlin; Outland as a doomed mine worker named Tarlow; and Gandhi, filmed in India, playing an American lieutenant.

''Cheers''

Ratzenberger played mail carrier Cliff Clavin on the sitcom Cheers. 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. Ratzenberger also came up with the idea for Cliff's trademark white socks, which he wore as a tribute to French comedian Jacques Tati. Cliff became known for his outlandish stories, trivia, and his trademarked, "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 an Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series in 1985 and again in 1986. Ratzenberger provided the voice for an animated version of Cliff on The Simpsons sixth-season episode "Fear of Flying". He also played the role in the short-lived spin-off The Tortellis and in an episode of Wings, which was made by the same creators.

Voice work

Ratzenberger has contributed voice work for several animated projects, most notably Pixar productions.
Ratzenberger has voiced characters in 24 Pixar films. His roles include:
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 becoming good friends with former Pixar filmmaker John Lasseter, who directed or executive-produced each of the first 20 Pixar films. Ratzenberger's tenure at Pixar was parodied during the end credits of Cars, where his character, Mack, watches car-themed versions of Pixar films. 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?!" The practice of regularly casting Ratzenberger in Pixar films was so well-known that his characters also occasionally shared the same voice actor in languages other than English, notably Renato Cecchetto who dubbed nearly all of Ratzenberger's Pixar roles for the Italian versions of the respective films. Ratzenberger has stated that his favorite Pixar roles were Hamm from the Toy Story series and P.T. Flea from A Bug's Life.
Following Lasseter's exit from Pixar, Ratzenberger reportedly revealed at Motor City Comic Con in May 2024 that 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. Pixar's 23rd feature film, Soul, 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-director Kemp Powers; the cameo was also confirmed by director Pete Docter on the film's audio commentary track. After having voiced a character in each of Pixar's first 22 films, Toy Story through Onward, Ratzenberger would not have another role in any Pixar film except for sequels in which he would reprise roles he previously played, such as Fritz in Inside Out 2 and Hamm in Toy Story 5. Ratzenberger would also reprise previous Pixar roles in new television series produced by Disney Television Animation rather than Pixar, including Yeti and a new character named Bernard in Monsters at Work, and Mack in the upcoming Cars: Lightning Racers.
Ratzenberger has also continued to work with Lasseter, who produces all feature films and executive-produces all series at Skydance Animation. Ratzenberger has appeared in every Skydance Animation feature film and series to date. His roles include:
Aside from Pixar and Skydance animated productions, Ratzenberger voiced Harland the jet tug in Disneytoon Studios' Planes, and Brodi the plane in its sequel, Planes: Fire & Rescue, which are spin-offs of Pixar's Cars series and executive-produced by Lasseter. Additionally, Ratzenberger provided the voice for Aniyaku the assistant manager in the English dub version of Studio Ghibli’s Spirited Away, which Lasseter also executive-produced.

Personal life

Ratzenberger lived in London for 10 years. Since 1994, he has lived in Vashon, Washington as well as in Southern California's communities of Calabassas and Westlake Village. Ratzenberger married Georgia Stiny in 1984; during their 18-year marriage they had a daughter together and also adopted a son; after a separation, their divorce finalized in 2004. John was engaged to Catarina Novak for several years, then, after their breakup, he married Julie Blichfeldt in 2012; they separated for several years and their divorced was finalized in 2024. At last, John married long-time love and previous fiancee, Catarina, in 2026.
Ratzenberger developed a packaging-alternatives product made from biodegradable and non-toxic recycled paper as a safe alternative to foam peanuts and plastic bubble wrap. This product, SizzlePak, was manufactured by his company Eco-Pak Industries, which Ratzenberger co-founded in 1989. In 1992, he sold Eco-Pack to Ranpak Corp.

Political views

Ratzenberger has been a longtime registered Republican. During the 2008 presidential race, Ratzenberger campaigned for John McCain, appearing with former Cheers co-star Kelsey Grammer at several Republican party events. Ratzenberger was outspoken in opposition of the 2010 health care reform bill, referring to it as socialism. On January 17, 2010, he appeared and endorsed Scott Brown for the United States Senate at Mechanics Hall in Worcester, Massachusetts. Ratzenberger campaigned for Republican Josh Mandel of Ohio for state treasurer in 2010 and served as master of ceremonies for Mandel's inauguration into the position in 2011. He considered running for the U.S. Senate in Connecticut in 2012.
Ratzenberger endorsed Mitt Romney in 2012. He appeared on Your World with Neil Cavuto to support Donald Trump's candidacy during the 2016 presidential race, shortly after Trump was declared the presumptive Republican nominee. He praised his performance as president in 2017, saying he had done "a wonderful job as far as manufacturing is concerned".
During the COVID-19 pandemic, Ratzenberger expressed his support for the United States Postal Service in 2020 via Cameo and suggested people who wished to help them donate and buy presents for Christmas early.