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Woody and Norm Woody, the unforgettable bartender, and his regular customer Norm were icons in tvland’s favorite bar Cheers. In real life Woodrow Tracy Harrelson owned a bar in Hollywood, one that served oxygen and vegan cuisine. Unfortunately, The Oxygen Bar was fairly short lived. Perhaps because they didn’t serve beer? One is for sure, Woody keeps busy supporting righteous causes. In 1996 he performed civil disobedience by planting four industrial hemp seeds in Kentucky (the state that also spawned Kentucky Hemp Beer, r.i.p.). He was arrested for his efforts. In his defense he said he was challenging a state law that fails to distinguish hemp from its illegal cousin. But that wasn’t his first brush with the law. He was once arrested in Columbus, Ohio and charged with disorderly conduct for dancing in the street and halting traffic. So, he is obviously an activist, and he served beer on TV, but according to a column he penned in 2002 in Britain's left-leaning newspaper The Guardian, he quit drinking beer. Later in the same column, however, he admits to having a few beers with his chauffer! On the other hand, he is widely reported to be a regular marijuana smoker. Harrelson and his partner Laura Louie are behind the website VoiceYourself.com, which features sections on raw foods and vegan cuisine (Woody is vegan); highlights a variety of environmental causes like sustainable energy; and serves up eco-shopping options for hemp products and other green goods. The site’s action alerts draw attention to issues like the dangers of pesticides and destructive oil drilling projects proposed for Montana and Wyoming.

 

Woody and about a dozen other hemp activists and environmentalists took a bicycle tour across America, starting in Seattle, Washington and 1000 miles later ending at the University of Santa Barbara in California. The tour was escorted by the "Mothership", a Chicago city transit bus fueled by hemp oil & powered by solar panels. He also supports the arts by serving on the board of directors for the Ex'pression Center For New Media, an art school in Emeryville, California.

Manly Moondog and the Three Kool Hats is the band in which Woody serves as lead singer. His friends Darius Rucker, Mark Bryan, Dean Felber and Jim 'Soni' Sonefeld of the rock band Hootie & The Blowfish wrote the song "Woody" about him. The number can be found on the group's eponymous 2003-album. He was once married to Neil Simon's daughter, Nancy Simon and has had relationships with Ally Sheedy and Moon Unit Zappa.

According to a fan website, he admitted to having been a sex addict and claimed to have 17 jobs in one year. Perhaps this strange behavior comes from his unusual father, Charles Voyde Harrelson, who supposedly was twice convicted of committing paid murders and is believed to be one of "the hobos" taken away from the area known as "the grassy knoll" right after the shooting of President Kennedy.

He started bartending on Cheers in 1982 and in 1989-90 won an Emmy Award for Best Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series.

Woody and Norm's Classic Quips
Woody: How would a beer feel, Mr. Peterson?
Norm: Pretty nervous if I was in the room.

Woody: Draw you a beer Mr. Peterson?
Norm: Naw, I know what they look like, just pour me one.

Woody: Hey, Mr. Peterson, there's a cold one waiting for you.
Norm: I know, and if she calls, I'm not here.

Sam: Beer, Norm?
Norm: Have I gotten that predictable? Good.

Sam: What will you have, Norm?
Norm: Well, I'm in a gambling mood, Sammy. I'll take a glass of whatever comes out of that tap.
Sam: Oh, looks like beer, Norm.
Norm: Call me Mister Lucky.

Sam: What's up Norm?
Norm: God's in His Heaven, [pause] something, something, something.

Coach: What would you say to a beer, Normie?
Norm: Daddy wuvs you.

Coach: How about a beer, Norm?
Norm: Hey I'm high on life, Coach. Of course, beer is my life.

Coach: What would you say to a nice beer, Normie?
Norm: Going down?

Woody: What's the latest, Mr. Peterson?
Norm: Zha-Zha marries a millionaire, Peterson drinks a beer. Film at eleven.

Sam: What do you know there, Norm?
Norm: How to sit. How to drink. Want to quiz me?

Woody: Can I pour you a draft, Mr. Peterson?
Norm: A little early, isn't it Woody?
Woody: For a beer?
Norm: No, for stupid questions.

Woody: Hey, Mr. Peterson, Jack Frost nipping at your nose?
Norm: Yep, now let's get Joe Beer nipping at my liver, huh?

Woody: What's the story, Mr. Peterson?
Norm: The Bobbsey twins go to the brewery. Let's just cut to the happy ending.

Coach: How's a beer sound, Norm?
Norm: I dunno. I usually finish them before they get a word in.

Sam: Well, look at you. You look like the cat that swallowed the canary.
Norm: And I need a beer to wash him down.

Woody: How are you feeling today, Mr. Peterson?
Norm: Poor.
Woody: Oh, I'm sorry to hear that.
Norm: No, I meant "pour."

Coach: Beer, Norm?
Norm: Naah, I'd probably just drink it.

Woody: Hey, Mr. Peterson, you got room for a beer?
Norm: Nope, but I am willing to add on.

Sam: How's life treating you?
Norm: It's not, Sammy, but that doesn't mean you can't.

Coach: What's up, Norm?
Norm: Corners of my mouth, Coach.

Coach: What's the story, Norm?
Norm: Thirsty guy walks into a bar. You finish it.

[Norm goes into the bar at Vic's Bowl-A-Rama]
Off-screen crowd: Norm!
Sam: How the hell do they know him here?
Cliff: He's got a life, you know.

Sam: Whaddya say, Norm?
Norm: Well, I never met a beer I didn't drink. And down it goes.

Coach: What'll it be, Normie?
Norm: Just the usual, Coach. I'll have a froth of beer and a snorkel.

Coach: Beer, Normie?
Norm: Uh, Coach, I dunno, I had one this week. Eh, why not, I'm still young.

Sam: What'll you have, Norm?
Norm: Fame, fortune, and fast women.
Sam: How 'bout a beer?
Norm: Even better.

Woody: Hey, Mr. Peterson, what do you say to a cold one?
Norm: See you later, Vera, I'll be at Cheers.

Woody: What's going down, Mr. Peterson?
Norm: My cheeks on this barstool.

Sam: What do you say, Norm?
Norm: Any cheap, tawdry thing that'll get me a beer.

Woody: Would you like a beer, Mr. Peterson?
Norm: No, I'd like a dead cat in a glass.

Woody: What's going on, Mr. Peterson?
Norm: Let's talk about what's going in Mr. Peterson. A beer, Woody.

Woody: Hey, Mr. Peterson, what's up?
Norm: The warranty on my liver.

Sam: What'd you like, Normie?
Norm: A reason to live. Gimme another beer.

Sam: What can I do for you Norm?
Norm: Well, I am going to need something to kill time before my second beer. Uhhh, how about a first one?

Woody: Hey, Mr. Peterson, what's the story?
Norm: Boy meets beer. Boy drinks beer. Boy gets another beer.

Sam: What's new, Norm?
Norm: Terrorists, Sam. They've taken over my stomach & they're demanding beer.

More Norm Quotes
What's doing, Norm?
"Well, science is seeking a cure for thirst. I happen to be the guinea pig."

What's up, Norm?
"My nipples. It's freezing out there."

What's shaking, Norm?
"All four cheeks & a couple of chins."

Hey Norm, how's the world been treating you?
"Like a baby treats a diaper

What's going on, Mr. Peterson?
"A flashing sign in my gut that says, 'Insert beer here.'"

"Whatcha up to, Norm?"
"My ideal weight if I were eleven feet tall."

How's life treating you, Norm?
"Like it caught me sleeping with its wife."

"Women. Can't live with 'em.... pass the beer nuts."

Pour you a beer, Mr. Peterson?
"Alright, but stop me at one....make that one-thirty."

How's it going, Mr. Peterson?
"It's a dog eat dog world, Woody & I'm wearing Milk Bone underwear."

What's new, Norm?
"Most of my wife."

Norm comes in with an attractive woman. Normie, Normie, could this be Vera?
"With a lot of expensive surgery, maybe."

[coming in from the rain] "Evening, everybody."
Norm!
Still pouring, Norm?
"That's funny, I was about to ask you the same thing."

What's your pleasure, Mr. Peterson?
"Boxer shorts and loose shoes. But I'll settle for a beer."

How's life, Mr. Peterson?
"Oh, I'm waiting for the movie."

What can I do for you, Mr. Peterson?
"Elope with my wife."

How's life in the fast lane, Normie?
"Beats me, I can't find the on-ramp."

What's happening, Mr. Peterson?
"The question, Woody, why is it happening to me?"

How are you today, Mr. Peterson?
"Never been better, Woody. ... Just once I'd like to be better."

Hey, Mr. Peterson, how's life?
"Well, the plot's okay, Woody, but it kind of falls apart at the end."

Hey, how's life treating you there, Norm?
"Beats me. ... Then it kicks me and leaves me for dead."

What can I do for you, Norm?
"Open up those beer taps and, oh, take the day off, Sam."

What's going on, Normie?
"My birthday, Sammy. Give me a beer, stick a candle in it, and I'll blow out my liver."

How about a beer, Norm?
"That's that amber sudsy stuff, right? I've heard good things about it!"

What's shaking Mr. Peterson?
"What isn't?"

How's it going, Norm?
"Cut the small talk and get me a beer."

How's life Norm?
" Ask a man whose got one."

How's the world treating you, Norm?
"Like I just ran over its dog."