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Dan Gross: A Mendte Emmy dilemma?
By Dan Gross
Philadelphia Daily News
Aug 19, 2008
L ARRY MENDTE usually cleans up at the mid-Atlantic Emmys, raking in awards every year, but this year the local chapter of the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences is trying to figure out how to handle his entries. Mendte was charged in federal court Monday with one count of illegally accessing former co-anchor Alycia Lane 's e-mails 537 times and will soon plead guilty to the charge. The U.S. Attorney's charging document against Mendte also alleges that he provided information he got from Lane's e-mails to the Daily News .
NATAS board members are scheduled to have a conference call today to discuss whether Mendte should be allowed to be nominated or win an Emmy. Nominations will be announced Aug. 5.
We're told Mendte submitted more than 20 stories for possible award consideration this year.
NATAS' mid-Atlantic president, Susan Buehler, confirmed yesterday that the former CBS 3 anchor has entered stories for possible nomination, but she would not reveal how many.
Each year, Mendte typically submitted dozens of stories, sometimes covering the entry fees of other staffers who worked on pieces with him.
"We are looking for assistance from NATAS for guidance on this issue," Buehler told us yesterday. "Concerns have been raised by board members and stations about how we are going to handle that."
Interestingly, Mendte once successfully hacked the NATAS Web site to get an early peek at the list of nominees. He changed a date in the past year's Web site list, to reflect the current year. It worked.
Mendte did not return an e-mail we sent him yesterday, and his attorneym Michael A. Schwartz m didn't return our calls.
Howard has Philadelphia Style Terrence Howard is excited to go on tour when his CD comes out in September. Howard says he'll play Philly in October as part of the tour for his debut album.
We caught up with the "Iron Man" and "Hustle & Flow" actor at a Tuesday-night party by Philadelphia Style at 10 Arts, chef Eric Ripert 's new restaurant at the Ritz-Carlton. Howard's the cover story of the magazine's new issue. Howard, who lives in Lafayette Hill, addressed the crowd before his first single "Love Makes You Beautiful" was played.
The actor caught up with Jim Ellis , longtime swim coach and employee of the city's Department of Recreation. In the movie "Pride," Howard portayed Ellis, whose longtime pool at the Marcus Foster Recreation Center was recently closed. Ellis now trains swimmers at Kelly Pool in Fairmount Park and at LaSalle University's pool.
Chef Ripert says he's enjoying Philadelphia and loves the hour-long commute by Acela from New York.
We asked Ripert whether viewers of Bravos' "Top Chef" could expect to see him next season and he cited a confidentiality clause he signed for the show indicating he could be sued for up to $2 million if he discusses it. "I don't have that kind of money," Ripert said, begging off discussing the program with us.
Ripert was hanging out with BJ Spencer , who, along with husband Craig, owns the Ritz-Carlton and co-owns the Philadelphia Soul.
He told us the couple was leaving today for New Orleans, where the Soul play Sunday afternoon in the Arena Bowl XXII. "3 o'clock on ABC," Spencer shouted, unable to contain her excitement about the team's amazing season.
Clothing designer Reuben Harley was at the party to give some of his new R.Harley collection to Howard. Harley has slimmed down, from jogging on Kelly Drive, and may soon shrink out of his longtime nickname Big Rube.
Red Tettemer gets 'Mad' Local ad agency Red Tettemer's love for AMC's excellent "Mad Men" shows on its Web site redtettemer.com. The men and women of the agency posed for a tribute to the Scotch-drinking, cigarette-smoking aura of the show, which centers on a New York ad agency in the early 1960s. "Mad Men" starts its second season at 10 p.m. Sunday.
Hadas hobbles after dance injury
KYW NewsRadio 1060's Hadas Kuznits has been hobbling around of late. The reporter recently tore a right calf muscle while teaching a hip-hop dance class at a Philadelphia Sports Clubs location. Kuznits has been dancing for 10 years. She's out of her cast but still using crutches.
City to honor Bob Marley's family Terry Lee Barrett of the Philadelphia Foundation for World Music and Arts and the city of Philadelphia will honor Bob Marley with a citation signed by Mayor Nutter to be presented to the late reggae legend's sons, Stephen and Damian Marley . The pair will play July 31 at the TLA. *
Visit PhillyGossip.com for Dan's latest stories. Have a tip? Call 215-854-5963, or e-mail grossd@phillynews.com . For recent columns, visit go.philly.com/dangross.
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