Actor, Author and Proud American To Talk Manufacturing in KC

To television viewers, he is best known as Cliff Clavin, the endearing mail carrier with a seat at the bar on the NBC sitcom Cheers, but John Ratzenberger considers himself a blue-collar everyman and has dedicated much of his career to celebrating America’s manufacturers.

Ratzenberger will join the Association at the Fall Convention to share thoughts on U.S. manufacturing and its workforce.

From 2004 to 2008, Ratzenberger produced and hosted the Travel Channel’s Made in America, an exploration of the production process behind products such as electric guitars, yachts, beer, rotary cutters, and more. The series was a forerunner to shows spotlighting the American work ethic such as Dirty Jobs, Deadliest Catch and Ice Road Truckers.

Ratzenberger is in pre-production today on a new series—American Made—that he describes as featuring the “best in today’s American-made companies, including small batch local manufacturers, hip new brands, cutting edge products, and the household names we all know and love.”

Earlier this year, the actor donated $1 million to schools in Georgia to reinstate industrial arts classes. In announcing the gift, he said students need to learn trades, and school should restore courses that teach self-reliance.

Ratzenberger’s story begins in Bridgeport, Conn., where his mom would cut the cords off toasters and radios and encourage him to take them apart. He moved to London as an adult and worked as a carpenter while beginning his performing arts career.

“You see,” he writes on his website, “I love this country, and I love making stuff, and I love watching stuff being made.” S