George Wendt’s mistaken jabs at John Boehner link ‘Cheers’ and Ohio politics

There was no mistake when the beloved but forlorn accountant Norm Peterson chugged his way into the fictional TV bar “Cheers.”

“Norm!!!” hollered the regulars in unison, ranging from mail carrier Cliff Clavin to “Mayday” Sam Malone, the former Major League pitcher-turned barkeep.

If only former House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, or late Rep. Buz Lukens, R-Ohio, had been as recognizable to George Wendt, the actor who played Norm on the sitcom.

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Wendt died last week at age 76. The portly, everyman, “Willy Loman” character Wendt created was one of the most iconic in the history of comedic television. Wendt’s portrayal of Norm earned him six consecutive Emmy nominations for Best Supporting Actor in a primetime series.

But during Boehner’s first race for Congress in 1990, Wendt inadvertently manufactured a bizarre and permanent connection to the future Speaker of the House.

In 1989, Lukens represented Ohio’s 8th Congressional District. But WSYX-TV in Columbus, Ohio, secretly recorded Lukens at a McDonald’s speaking with the mother of a teenage girl. Lukens talked to the woman about getting her a government job. He hoped to keep her quiet about his sexual activities with her daughter.

Lukens denied any wrongdoing in public. He was charged and later convicted of contributing to the delinquency of a minor. The House Ethics Committee launched an investigation. But Lukens declined to step aside. That teed up a three-way Republican primary between Lukens, the former congressman who represented the district, the late Rep. Tom Kindness, R-Ohio, and Boehner. 

Boehner was a state legislator at the time. The scandal embroiling Lukens created a rare opportunity to head to Washington.

As strange as it seems now, Boehner was the least-known of the three Republican candidates in what turned out to be a brutal primary. But Boehner’s innate political acumen shone through – decades before he would ascend to the Speaker’s suite. 

Despite the scandal, Lukens remained popular in the district. He had served as the congressman decades earlier and returned to the House when Kindness ran unsuccessfully for the Senate against late-Sen. John Glenn, D-Ohio, in 1986. So with the Lukens scandal, Kindness wanted his job back. And Boehner hoped to capitalize on the opportunity.

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Can you top a name like that? “Congressman Kindness.” No wonder it was such a challenge for the upstart, future Speaker with the unpronounceable, Teutonic surname.

But Boehner won. And even though he felled Lukens and Kindness, it was not a done deal that Boehner would win the general election.

Boehner ran against Democrat Greg Jolivette, the mayor of Hamilton, Ohio, the biggest city in the 8th Congressional District. Jolivette was best known for changing the name of “Hamilton,” to “Hamilton!” in the 1980s. He also ran Jolly’s Drive-Ins in Hamilton. Imagine 1970s hamburger joints where you can order from your car, bedecked in orange.

But we’re talking about “Cheers” here. Not “Happy Days.”

Wendt was at the height of his popularity during the summer of 1990 as Boehner and Jolivette barreled toward a general election faceoff. So Wendt appeared on late-night TV on “The Arsenio Hall Show.”

Look him up, kids.

Hall’s syndicated show was never going to beat NBC’s “The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson” in the ratings. But the program scored major headlines in 1992, when future President Bill Clinton played saxophone on the show in an effort to appeal to a younger demographic, which gravitated to Hall rather than Carson.

Clinton’s appearance was a seminal moment in American politics and may have helped him win the election. Certainly the most important political event on Hall’s show. Wendt’s appearance proved to be the second-most important.

Jolivette was Wendt’s brother-in-law. He periodically parachuted into Ohio’s 8th District to campaign for Jolivette and against Boehner. So Hall asked him about Wendt’s political involvement and Jolivette.

Wendt proceeded to essentially libel Boehner on the air. Wendt never mentioned Boehner by name. But Wendt mixed up Lukens and his sex scandal with Boehner. On national TV, no less.

“The guy he’s running against had some problems a while back,” said Wendt, referring to Jolivette’s opponent, but mixing Boehner up with Lukens. “The guy from the 8th District had some convictions, some felony or a misdemeanor or something. So I think it’s time for a change. One thing’s for sure, I know, Greg’s not going to be a criminal.”

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Hall is an Ohio native. But he was apparently not versed in the Lukens scandal – even though it was a national story and commanded daily headlines. He didn’t inquire further or correct Wendt. After all, this was a late-night comedy and variety show. Not “Meet the Press.”

A publicist for Hall blamed the issue entirely on Wendt, saying the host has no control over “what (guests are) going to say.”

Things then turned nasty when Boehner’s team put out a statement.

“We, like a lot of viewers, are confused about the conversation last night. We don’t know if they were talking about Congressman Lukens’ problems or perhaps the theft complaint filed with the Hamilton (Ohio) Police against Greg Jolivette,” said the Boehner campaign.

Jolivette’s campaign argued this was an old allegation and it wasn’t true. They then demanded that Boehner fire Barry Jackson, Boehner’s campaign manager. Jackson called the episode “cheap gutter politics.”

Boehner himself pinned the case of mistaken identity on Wendt. He believed the actor should have been more responsible for what he said on national TV.

Boehner didn’t fire Jackson. Jackson worked with Boehner for years and later served as his chief of staff when he became House speaker.

Wendt’s gaffe was not fatal for Boehner. Even though there were nearly as many Democrats as Republicans registered in the 8th District in those days, it had elected Republicans for years. And Boehner vanquished Jolivette 61-39 percent in the general election.

The rest is history for Boehner.

Fast-forward to today. Boehner took to X after the actor’s death. The former Speaker explained how Wendt was the brother-in-law of his opponent and “went on a late-night TV show and said some tough things.” 

Boehner said that Wendt was “confusing me with someone else. He called later to apologize and we had a great conversation. Raising a glass tonight to the man America will always remember as Norm.”

Or, as they might say on the show, “Cheers.”