If Sam Malone is king of Cheers, then its most ubiquitous patron -- portly everyman Hilary Norman Peterson -- is its mayor. Norm, as he is known to everyone in the bar (and it would seem that everyone does know him based on the greeting that goes up whenever he enters the place), has a nightly ritual of stopping in for a beer before heading home to his wife, Vera, the seeming bane of his existence. Norm's seat of honor is at the extreme end of the bar, where he can be found trading quips with best buddy, postal employee Cliff Clavin. No one ever sits there except him, and if they do, it’s only because they’re new and don’t know any better!

Norm is such a steady regular at Cheers that his running tab (one that Rebecca Howe futilely tries to get him to pay) is so large it’s kept in several black binders behind the bar -- even unemployment won’t stop him from indulging in his nightly beer. It’s not that Norm doesn’t want to pay; it’s just that his employment situation isn’t always steady. It’s not that Norm doesn’t want to work either; he just can’t manage to keep a job for very long. He works at several accounting firms (from which he is subsequently fired), and in tight times even takes a dishwasher job at reviled Melville’s. Eventually, Norm figures he’ll be happier being his own boss, and tries his hand at several business endeavors: accounting, house painting, and interior decorating, to name a few. Norm’s a pretty sharp fellow; he just doesn’t seem to have a passion for much beyond spending time at the bar with his friends.

And after years of married life, it’s painfully apparent that Norm doesn’t’ have much passion for his wife Vera -- commenting once that she has a face like Ed Asner. It is clear, though, that however much disdain he may feel for Vera, Norm is devoted to her. He’ll have his temptations through the years (believe it or not, some women find this rotund smart aleck quite sexy, proof positive that it's all in the attitude), but in the end Norm remains true to Vera -- whom no one in Cheers (including Cliff) has ever seen.