Clifford C. Clavin, Jr. is a character on the
AmericanThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district. The country is situated mostly in central North America, where its forty-eight contiguous states and Washington, D...
televisionTelevision is a widely used telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images, either monochromatic or color, usually accompanied by sound. "Television" may also refer specifically to a television set, television programming or television transmission...
show
CheersCheers is an American situation comedy television series that ran for eleven seasons from 1982 to 1993. It was produced by Charles/Burrows/Charles Productions in association with Paramount Network Television for NBC, having been created by the team of James Burrows, Glen Charles, and Les Charles...
, co-created and portrayed by
John RatzenbergerJohn Deszo Ratzenberger is an American actor and voice actor, best known for his role as Cliff Clavin in Cheers.-Early life:...
.
Character history
The character was co-created by Ratzenberger, who had earlier auditioned for the Norm Peterson 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-allA know-it-all or know-all is a person who believes that he/she has an accurate comprehension of a topic and/or situation when in reality, his/her comprehension is inaccurate and limited. This belief may or may not be outwardly expressed....
". They asked Ratzenberger for an example, he improvised some dialogue for the know-it-all, and he was invited to play the role for a two-show tryout; he remained a regular throughout the show's 11-year run. He was also featured in an episode of
FrasierFrasier is an American sitcom that was broadcast on NBC for eleven seasons, from September 16, 1993 to May 13, 2004. The program was created and produced by David Angell, Peter Casey, and David Lee in association with Grammnet and Paramount Network Television.A spin-off from Cheers, Frasier stars...
, when he decided to leave
BostonBoston is the capital and largest city in Massachusetts, and is one of the oldest cities in the United States. The largest city in New England, Boston is sometimes regarded as the unofficial "Capital of New England" for its economic and cultural impact. Boston city proper had a 2009 estimated...
for
FloridaThe state of Florida is located in the southeastern region of the United States, bordering Alabama to the northwest and Georgia to the north. It was the 27th state admitted to the United States...
only to change his mind, much to the annoyance of Carla. Ratzenberger also appeared as Cliff in a series of
New Zealand PostNew Zealand Post, commonly referred by its acronym, NZPost is a State owned enterprise responsible for providing postal service in New Zealand.-History:...
advertisements in the 1990s, each featuring a different service of the postal administration. He also appeared in a Pitney-Bowes commercial for automated postal scales for small businesses.
On the Cheers 200th Episode Special, host
John McLaughlinJohn McLaughlin is an American television personality and political commentator. He created, produces and hosts the long-running political commentary series The McLaughlin Group as well as John McLaughlin's One On One....
asked Ratzenberger about Cliff Clavin. Ratzenberger said that Cliff would describe himself as the
"Winged nut that holds western civilization together." However Ratzenberger said that he would describe Cliff simply as
"A winged nut." When McLaughlin asked Ratzenberger if there was anything of him in Cliff, Ratzenberger said that he was also interested in fascinating facts and that the only part of Cliff in him was that he wears white socks.
Ratzenberger appeared on the cover of some of the books in the series
The Complete Idiot's Guide to..., presumably as Cliff, the self-styled expert on everything.
Cliff appeared in 273 episodes of
Cheers between 1982-1993 and originally appeared as a guest star. He appeared as an animated character (voiced by Ratzenberger) in
The SimpsonsThe Simpsons is an American animated television series created by Matt Groening for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series is a satirical parody of a working-class American lifestyle epitomized by its eponymous family, which consists of Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa, and Maggie...
episode "
Fear of Flying"Fear of Flying" is the eleventh episode of The Simpsons' sixth season. It was first broadcast on the Fox network in the United States on December 18, 1994. In the episode, Homer is banned from Moe's Tavern and struggles to find a new bar...
". He also made guest appearances in the
Wings episode "The Story of Joe" and the
Frasier episode "Cheerful Goodbyes" (his final appearance).
In 2010, Ratzenberger's character Hamm from the
Toy StoryToy Story is a 1995 American computer-animated family film, the first Disney/Pixar film to be made, as well as the first feature film in history to be made entirely with CGI. Directed by John Lasseter and featuring the voices of Tom Hanks and Tim Allen, the film was co-produced by Ralph Guggenheim...
series appeared as a letter carrier in an advertisement promoting the
United States Postal ServiceThe United States Postal Service is an independent agency of the United States government responsible for providing postal service in the United States. It is one of the few government agencies explicitly authorized by the United States Constitution. Within the United States, it is commonly...
's Priority Mail service.
Fictional biography
Cliff was a
postalThe United States Postal Service is an independent agency of the United States government responsible for providing postal service in the United States. It is one of the few government agencies explicitly authorized by the United States Constitution. Within the United States, it is commonly...
worker and
Norm PetersonHillary Norman "Norm" Peterson is a character on the American television show Cheers, portrayed by George Wendt. Norm's real first name was revealed to be Hillary, named after his grandfather....
's best friend. He lived with his mother, Esther Clavin (
Frances SternhagenFrances Hussey Sternhagen is an American actress. Sternhagen has appeared on and off Broadway, in movies and on TV since the 1950s. -Personal life:...
) in a two-story house, where Cliff spent his childhood. It was bulldozed after Esther sold her property and moved with her newfound nest egg to Florida. Cliff then moved into a small apartment of his own, in which the
couchA couch is a generic term in North America, Australia, and New Zealand for an item of furniture designed to seat more than one person. Typically it will have an armrest on either side. Couches are normally found in the family room, living room, den or the lounge...
doubled as a bed.
A chatter-box by nature, Cliff was well known as a storehouse of useless
triviaThe trivia are the three lower Artes Liberales, i.e. grammar, rhetoric and logic. These were the topics of basic education, foundational to the quadrivia of higher education, and hence the material of basic education, of interest only to undergraduates.Beginning in the 1960s, the plural trivia in...
, often of dubious veracity and bearing little relation to the conversation going on at the
barA bar is an establishment that serves alcoholic drinks — beer, wine, liquor, and cocktails — for consumption on the premises....
.
CarlaCarla Maria Victoria Angelina Teresa Apollonia Lozupone Tortelli LeBec, known as Carla Tortelli, is a waitress on the American television show Cheers, portrayed by Rhea Perlman. Outwardly, at least, Carla is a mean-spirited woman who expresses disdain for many people...
did not like Cliff and often insulted him or his opinions (Carla's hatred ran so deep that in the
FrasierFrasier is an American sitcom that was broadcast on NBC for eleven seasons, from September 16, 1993 to May 13, 2004. The program was created and produced by David Angell, Peter Casey, and David Lee in association with Grammnet and Paramount Network Television.A spin-off from Cheers, Frasier stars...
episode "Cheerful Goodbyes" Carla has to be dragged out of Cliff's retirement party after she finds out he isn't leaving, and has to have a diver's spear gun wrestled from her hands). 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. He sometimes talked about his job as if he were in the police force. Cliff's father made a brief appearance on
Cheers before fleeing the country to Australia to avoid prison for fraud.
Socially awkward and generally ignored by women, Cliff didn't have any real relationship (or, for that matter, any sexual experience) until meeting fellow oddball postal worker Margaret O'Keefe (
Annie GoldenAnnie Golden is an American actress and singer.Born in Brooklyn, New York, Golden began her career as the lead singer of The Shirts . During the early 90s she performed as part of the duo Golden Carillo with Frank Carillo...
) in the seventh season. After using a postal vehicle to drive to a tryst with Cliff and then falsely reporting it stolen to cover up the deed, Margaret was fired from the postal service. Feeling compelled to remain a postal worker, she left Boston and moved to Canada to work for
Canada PostCanada Post Corporation, known more simply as Canada Post , is the Canadian crown corporation which functions as the country's primary postal operator...
. Cliff briefly considered going with her, but ultimately his patriotism would not let him leave the United States.
Margaret returned in the eighth season and wanted Cliff to commit to her, which he did, although he had a fit of
hysterical blindnessConversion disorder is a condition where patients present with neurological symptoms such as numbness, paralysis, or fits, but where no neurological explanation is possible...
before feeling fully comfortable with the arrangement.
Jeopardy
Cliff was a contestant on
Jeopardy!Jeopardy! is an American quiz show featuring trivia in topics such as history, literature, the arts, pop culture, science and sports. The show has a unique answer-and-question format in which contestants are presented with clues in the form of answers, and must phrase their responses in question...
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 TrebekGeorge Alexander "Alex" Trebek is a game show host. Since 1984 he has been the host of the game show Jeopardy!, and prior to that, he hosted game shows such as Pitfall and Strategy. He has appeared in numerous television series, usually as himself...
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."
Buffalo Theory
"The Buffalo Theory" is an "Urban legend" that is often attributed to Cliff Clavin from Cheers.
The "quote" does sound like something Cliff could have said but is not from the actual show. The
Buffalo Theory goes like the following:
"Well you see, Norm, it's like this... A herd of buffalo can only move as fast as
the slowest buffalo and when the herd is hunted, it is the slowest and weakest ones
at the back that are killed first. This natural selection is good for the herd as a
whole, because the general speed and health of the whole group keeps improving by
the regular killing of the weakest members. In much the same way, the human brain
can only operate as fast as the slowest brain cells. Now, as we know, excessive
drinking of alcohol kills brain cells. But naturally, it attacks the slowest and
weakest brain cells first. In this way, regular consumption of beer eliminates
the weaker brain cells, making the brain a faster and more efficient machine. And
that, Norm, is why you always feel smarter after a few beers."
US Postal Service
Cliff Clavin was always a proponent and friend to the USPS Letter Carrier. This work has allowed him to be inducted as the first honorary member of the Ye Old Farts Club, the Retirees group for Branch 43 of the
National Association of Letter CarriersFounded in 1889, The National Association of Letter Carriers is the labor union of city letter carriers employed by the United States Postal Service.- History:...
in
Cincinnati, OhioCincinnati is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Hamilton County. The municipality is located north of the Ohio River at the Ohio-Kentucky border. The population within city limits was estimated to be 333,200 in 2009, making it the state's third-largest city...
. A large autographed photo of Cliff, in uniform, anchors the wall and is surrounded by members on their day of induction, their last day on the job.
Cliff, as well as the rest of the Cheers cast, also appear in a training video for new U.S. Postal Services members. In the
FrasierFrasier is an American sitcom that was broadcast on NBC for eleven seasons, from September 16, 1993 to May 13, 2004. The program was created and produced by David Angell, Peter Casey, and David Lee in association with Grammnet and Paramount Network Television.A spin-off from Cheers, Frasier stars...
episode "Cheerful Goodbyes", Cliff stated email had hurt postal mail for the time being, but dismissed it saying "The computer's going to be dead in about 5 years anyway. The Post Office will rise again, my friend, will rise again."