John Ratzenberger
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Image:John ratzenberger promo1.jpg Image:Cheers cliff.jpg John Deszo Ratzenberger (born April 6 1947 in Bridgeport, Connecticut) is an American actor. Ratzenberger is perhaps best known for his role as "Clifford C. 'Cliff' Clavin, Jr." in the Cheers (1982) TV Series.
He was born to Roman Catholic parents: Deszo Alexander Ratzenberger, of German heritage, and Bertha Grohowski, of Polish stock.
Acting career
His acting credits include 47 productions and an additional 22 notable television appearances. His first role was a Patron in The Ritz (1976), before appearing in minor roles in movies including Firefox; A Bridge Too Far; Superman: The Movie as a missile controller; Superman II as the NASA control man; Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back (1980) as "Major Bren Derlin"; and Gandhi (1982) as an American Lieutenant.
All of Pixar Animation's feature films include Ratzenberger, who has become something of a "good luck charm" to the studio. John is also a member of Pixar's softball team.
- Hamm the Piggy Bank in Toy Story (1995)
- P.T. Flea the Circus Ring Leader in A Bug's Life (1998)
- Hamm the Piggy Bank in Toy Story 2 (1999)
- The Abominable Snowman in Monsters Inc. (2001)
- Fish School in Finding Nemo (2003)
- The Underminer in The Incredibles (2004)
- Mack Truck in Cars (2006)
Disney also cast him to voice the bathhouse's assistant manager in the English-language dub of the Japanese animated film Spirited Away (2002).
An animated movie called Ray Gun (film)
He currently (2005) is host of a Travel Channel TV series about things made in the USA called John Ratzenberger's Made in America.
Ratzenberger also hosts the Wildcard section in ATARI's PC game based on the popular board game, Trivial Pursuit.
Recently, John Ratzenberger indicated he would not reprise the role of Hamm for the proposed movie Toy Story 3 on the grounds that Pixar would not have been involved. With Pixar's purchase by Disney, he will most likely reconsider his involvement in any proposed Toy Story sequel.
John Ratzenberger is also a close and personal friend of the Honorable John Gillis, Mayor of Seaton, Victoria, Australia. John (Ratzenberger) credits the mayor with his inspiration for his role in "Cheers".
Additionally, Ratzenberger appeared on television commercials promoting the Pitney Bowes personal post office. His sign off tag line is "Hey, I look good in red!"