A brash barmaid who modeled herself after Rhea Perelman’s hilarious character, Carla, on Cheers, found that her wise cracks didn’t work so well in real life.
Nora Frommet, 38, a barmaid at Les Kudos, thought that being “Carla-esque” was not only great fun, but in fashion.
So she began shooting insults, dropping car keys into mugs of beer, clapping drinkers on the head, and splashing faces with drinks.
However, unlike Norm, Cliff, Sam, Woody, and Dr. Fraiser Crane, Nora’s regular customers didn’t think it was funny.
In fact, they found it so irritating that they finally put a stop to it by bathing her in cold beer and covering her soaked body with feathers.
“They got me back, and I learned my lesson,” says Nora. “I can safely say that I now understand the difference between T.V. and real life.”
The regular drinkers at Les Kudos counter-attacked one night when Nora splashed Jerry Milkoan, 44, in the face with a beer.
Says Milkoan: “I said, ‘Nora, how about a beer?’ and she said, ‘sure.’ The next thing I knew, I was drenched. She threw the thing right in my face from very close range. I was wearing a new tie and a pretty nice suit. It was the last straw.”
A handful of regular customers then picked Nora up and escorted her from the bar kicking and screaming. They took her to Milkoan’s house, held her down in the bathtub, and emptied three cases of lager into the tub. Then they broke open a few pillows and covered her with feathers.
“She ran out of there smelling like a brewery and looking like an ugly goose,” says Milkoan. “But she had it coming.”
When Nora returned the bar the next day, she was back to her old, timid self.
“It wasn’t all my fault,” she says. “The guys kept telling my I looked like Carla, and I do. So, I started to talk like her, and then I started to act like her. It felt good. I’ve never really stuck up for myself before. Everybody thought it was funny at first, but the fun wore-off for them before it did for me.
“Sure, I deserved what I got. I was abusive. It got to the point where I was releasing my own tension by being Carla. But those guys aren’t completely innocent. They egged me on.”
Al Wagsphall, owner of Les Kudos, says Nora simply didn’t know when to stop.
“Everyone enjoys a good joke, and Nora didn’t mean any harm. She just kept it going too long. I warned her about it, but she was so obsessed with Carla that she wouldn’t listen to me.”