John Ratzenberger

John Dezso Ratzenberger (born April 6, 1947) is an American actor. He is best known for playing the character Cliff Clavin on the comedy series Cheers, for which he earned two Primetime Emmy nominations. Ratzenberger also played a role in the short-lived spin-off The Tortellis and in an episode of Wings, which was made by the same creators. He has voiced various characters in Pixar Animation Studios' feature films, including Hamm in the Toy Story franchise, The Abominable Snowman in the Monsters, Inc. franchise, Mack in the Cars franchise, The Underminer in The Incredibles franchise, and many others. Ratzenberger began his entertainment career while living in London in the 1970s. He acted in and wrote film and television through the 1970s and early 1980s before returning to America. At an audition for a role in a new sitcom, Ratzenberger created the character of Cliff Clavin. Cheers (1982–1993) was a success and went on to run for 11 years. After Cheers, he began acting in voice roles for Pixar; Ratzenberger's first role was as Hamm in Pixar's first feature film Toy Story (1995) and Ratzenberger went on to voice other Pixar characters in every film and video game until 2020. Early life John Dezso Ratzenberger was born on Easter Sunday, April 6, 1947, in Bridgeport, Connecticut, the son of Bertha Veronica (née Grochowski), and Dezső 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 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