Parade Recalls Invitation to ‘Cheers’ Actor

Leaders of one of New Orleans’ most popular Carnival parades rescinded their invitation to Emmy award-winning television actor Woody Harrelson to be grand marshal because of his link to anti-war protests.

Harrelson, who plays dimwitted bartender Woody Boyd on the TV comedy “Cheers,” was to head the Endymion parade Feb. 9--the weekend before Mardi Gras.

“I was flattered and appreciative that Endymion wanted me to be in their parade,” Harrelson said today when contacted in Los Angeles. “As far as I’m concerned, Mardi Gras had nothing to do with politics.”

Like most other Carnival marching clubs, Endymion’s parade was to feature a patriotic salute to U.S. troops serving with Operation Desert Storm.

News reports linked Harrelson to protests on the West Coast and to Ron Kovic, one of the country’s most vocal opponents of the war in the Middle East. Kovic’s life story was documented in a movie based on the book “Born on the Fourth of July.”

“While recognizing that Mr. Harrelson, like every American, has the right of opinion and expression, the board of Endymion reminds all that New Orleans Mardi Gras is nonpolitical,” said a news release from the organization.