Jason Sudeikis' uncle earned Emmy nominations six years running after getting started on Second City in his hometown of Chicago.

But the more viewers got to know the character — played, of course, by George Wendt, who died yesterday at 76 in his sleep of unknown causes, according to his family — the more complex, and in some ways tragic,

A burly, easygoing Chicago native, he became a staple of living rooms across the country for more than a decade as one of America’s favorite barflies.