CHER'S MAILMAN EATING HIMSELF INTO THE GRAVE!
John Ratzenberger gains deadly 100 lbs.
CHEERS legend John Ratzenberger’s weight has exploded to a staggering 293 pounds — and friends and medical experts warn the beloved actor is digging his grave with a knife and fork!
The 71-year-old star, best known as lovable mailman Cliff Clavin on the long-running ’80s sitcom, is only five-foot-nine, so it’s no wonder he seemed to be struggling to hold up his nearly 300-pound load at an event at Universal Studios Hollywood on Jan 31.
“John’s put on more than 100 pounds in the last few years,” dishes an insider. “He’s never met a plate of linguini he didn’t like and he’s eating the whole pot by the looks of it.
“He can wolf down a submarine sandwich with everything on it and a side of chips with dessert in a matter of seconds.”
While the burly star once confessed “pushing away a piece of pie” was a “challenge,” Ratzenberger’s rep insists he “NEVER gorges on pasta and pie and is in incredible shape.”
However, the spokesman concedes the actor has, indeed, “gained some weight because he’s enjoying life and has an amazing wife who is an incredible chef and that can catch up with you.”
Dr. Gabe Mirkin warns John’s weight puts him at risk of killer medical conditions.
“He has such massive obesity he must be storing extra fat in his belly and liver that markedly increases the risk of diabetes, heart attacks and premature death,” says the lifespan expert, who hasn’t treated the actor.
The insider notes John’s neck is “so thick that he can’t even close the top button of his shirt. He loves to eat but hates to exercise. He’s a heart attack waiting to happen!”
Now living in Connecticut with third wife Julie, he’s mostly doing voice work in hits like Toy Story, Incredibles 2, Cars and Coco — and that’s helped turn him into a blimp, says the source.
However, Ratzenberger “challenges anybody to walk 18 holes with him and then hit a desert mountain biking range,” his rep says.
But the source insists, “He’s let himself go to the point where he’s so overweight he can’t walk across a parking lot to the studio without huffing and puffing.”