Cliff Clavin

Clifford C. "Cliff" Clavin, Jr. (born 1947 or 1949), is a fictional character on the American television show Cheers co-created (and played) by John Ratzenberger. A postal worker, he is the bar's know-it-all and was a contestant on the game show Jeopardy! Cliff was not originally scripted in the series' pilot episode, "Give Me a Ring Sometime", but the producers decided to add a know-it-all character and Ratzenberger helped flesh it out. The actor made guest appearances as Cliff on St. Elsewhere, Wings and Frasier.

Development

Creation

The original script for the 1982 pilot, "Give Me a Ring Sometime", did not include Norm Peterson (contrary to the belief that Norm is an original character) or Cliff Clavin. George Wendt and John Ratzenberger originally auditioned for a minor character George, and George Wendt was hired for that role. George was Diane Chambers' first customer, had one line (consisting of the order, "Beer!") and was intended for only one episode.

Since Wendt was cast as George (who evolved into Norm Peterson), Ratzenberger suggested to the producers that a know-it-all character should be added; this led to the creation of Cliff Clavin. Ratzenberger based his role on a police officer in his hometown of Bridgeport, Connecticut. Cliff was originally a security guard, but two days before the pilot's filming he was changed to a postman; the producers thought a postman would be more knowledgeable than a guard. Ratzenberger agreed to seven episodes of the first season, but his role expanded.