Wendt, Kazurinsky salute the 1980s at broadcast museum event

23-Jun-13 – (Left) Actor, comedian, and writer Tim Kazurinsky, a cast member on Saturday Night Live from 1981 to 1984, and George Wendt, Chicago native and actor best known for playing Norm Peterson in all 275 episodes of Cheers, clown for the audience at a celebration of the 1980s Saturday evening at the Museum of Broadcast Communications.

About 150 people attended the dinner and hour-long presentation on North State Street in River North. Presenters, including Chicago news personality Walter Jacobson, covered genres such as television comedy, drama, music/variety, talk, sports, and news.

“In terms of stars, style, and substance, much of the TV landscape of today finds its genesis in 1980s television,” MBC founder Bruce DuMont said recently. DuMont is the nephew of Allen DuMont, founder of the first commercial television network.

Wendt filled in for former Chicago Bear Steve McMichael, who was scheduled to present the sports segment and was seen at the museum before the program started. As Chicago “superfan” Bob Swerski, a character he made famous on Saturday Night Live, Wendt talked about the 1985 Chicago Bears.

“This team has not stopped giving to the city of Chicago,” said Wendt in a thick south Chicago accent. “As of tonight, this team has given us 241 sports radio talk shows, 119 sports bars and restaurants, and 441 DUIs.”

On Wednesday, the museum will begin hosting a tribute to 1980s television icon Gary Coleman, a native of Zion, north of Chicago. The exhibit will run through September 14.

(Below) Kazurinsky speaks with ABC 7 news reporter Theresa Gutierrez, who was also a presenter at the Museum of Broadcast Communication’s event, “Celebrating the Sights, Sounds & Stars of the 80s.” (Click on images to view larger versions.)

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