Conversation with Alumnus John Ratzenberger Aims to Raise Funds for Emergency Relief Fund
WSHU interview with Pixar voice actor John Ratzenberger looks to bring joy and funding to SHU community
Sacred Heart University and WSHU will host a conversation with alumnus, actor and Bridgeport native John Ratzenberger on Giving Tuesday Now.
Giving Tuesday Now (an extension of Giving Tuesday) is a global day of unity scheduled to take place on Tuesday, May 5, as a response to the great need caused by COVID-19.
During a streamed video conference with WSHU radio host Randye Kaye at noon on May 5, Ratzenberger will discuss growing up in Connecticut, his successes at SHU and what led to his acting career, including Cheers and the Disney Pixar movies. Denisse Rodriguez, senior and student government president, will also join the conversation.
Ratzenberger will encourage listeners to donate and support institutions that are important to the viewer including WSHU and SHU’s emergency relief fund. The emergency relief fund raises money for students who need extra financial help during this difficult time.
“Let’s bring joy to our community with a fun, light-hearted conversation with one of our favorite alumni all while assisting our students and families who have been hit the hardest by the pandemic,” said Bill Reidy, vice president for university advancement. The conversation will stream live at noon on May 5, Giving Tuesday Now.
Born in Bridgeport in 1947, Ratzenberger grew up in a blue-collar neighborhood with traditional values and a strong work ethic. From factory work to building sets at the Woodstock music festival and living life in the big city, he’s done it all. His career reflects his versatility, taking him from his start in a comedy troupe traipsing through Europe and improvising his role as the bar know-it-all in the award-winning Cheers to the fine art of carpentry as he retreated from the demands of Hollywood to a picturesque island in the Pacific Northwest.
Ratzenberger hosted the hit Travel Channel series John Ratzenberger’s Made in America, which embraces all the things he loves about America but many people often forget. He is most physically recognizable for his role as Cliff Clavin, the trivia-dispensing mailman who spent 11 years hanging around the bar at Cheers. Before that gig, Ratzenberger could be seen in small roles on big films such as A Bridge Too Far, Superman, The Empire Strikes Back and Gandhi.
After Cheers Ratzenberger entered a new phase in his career, voicing piggy bank Hamm in the pioneering computer-animated feature Toy Story. Pixar liked what they heard and he's since lent his distinctive vocals to every subsequent film from the studio.