Clarke happy to chill with Ice

Comic Lenny Clarke had preconceived notions -- boastful, arrogant, full of himself -- about Robert "Vanilla Ice" Van Winkle, his cohost at an event yesterday in Copley Square promoting flavored iced coffees. But Clarke admits he was wrong about the washed-up rapper and reality-TV star. The two guys were judging a contest in which people were invited to rewrite the lyrics to Van Winkle's one hit, "Ice Ice Baby," to promote Dunkin' Donuts. "I actually enjoyed his company," said Clarke, currently working on the TV shows "Rescue Me" and "The Winner." "He was very good about the whole thing." The winner -- Kristin Shoaf, a Bridgewater State College Spanish professor from Kingston -- won a year's worth of iced coffee, a Nintendo Wii, and $1,000. (Sample lyric: "Call me addicted / yo, it's all good / I drink it all down / like a good girl should.") As for Clarke, who has a reputation for loving freebies, says he was let down on that front. "I'm very disappointed that I didn't hit the Dunkin' Donuts people up for a Dunkin' Donuts credit card," he said.

Clothes make the management

InterContinental Hotels honcho Andrew Cosslett couldn't have thought up a better way to test the skills of the staff at the new Boston waterfront hotel if he had lost his luggage on purpose. Arriving Monday from Australia via Los Angeles, the company CEO found that his bags hadn't made the whole trip with him. That's when Tim Kirwan, the new hotel's managing director, and his concierge team tapped a couple of Newbury Street notables to bail out Cosslett. First stop was JoS. A. Banks Clothiers for a week's worth of 44-Tall duds. But what about making them actually fit the former rugby player's physique? Kirwan called upon Alan Rouleau, who's a fave among those who favor bespoke tailoring, to ensure Cosslett looked good for a week of meetings and tomorrow night's blowout at hotel.

Hemingway on the run to marathon

Actress Mariel Hemingway, who is filming on the Cape for the movie "Chatham," will be taking a break to head to New York's Central Park this weekend to host MORE magazine's marathon and half marathon for women over 40. We're told Hemingway won't be the only one racing down to NYC for Sunday's event. Some 144 of the 5,000 women entered in the race are from the Boston area. Although Hemingway won't be running, she will offer a few inspirational words to the runners before they take off on the course as well as meet the winners at the finish. Hemingway has been working on "Chatham" this week with actors Bruce Dern, Rip Torn, and David Carradine. Fellow castmate Charles Durning was flying in from LaLa Land yesterday to join the production.

Jim Thistle, the only person to serve as news director at channels 4, 5, and 7, confirmed yesterday that he has throat cancer. Diagnosed a few weeks ago, Thistle, 64, said he'll undergo radiation and chemotherapy soon. "The doctors at Beth Israel are optimistic that we detected the tumor early enough," he said. "They tell me the prognosis is good." The director of BU's broadcast journalism program, Thistle was for many years one of the most trusted names in local news. The BU alum began his career at Channel 4, moved to Channel 5, and finished, as a favor to his friend David Mugar, with a three-year stint at Channel 7. Formerly a heavy smoker, a la Edward R. Murrow, Thistle suspects the bad habit finally caught up with him. But with any luck, he'll be back teaching a bunch of budding journos in the fall. . . .

We know what we'll be watching Monday morning at 10: "Six Degrees" star Bridget Moynahan on Martha Stewart's show on Channel 5. The Longmeadow lass, who is four months pregnant with the child of her ex, Pats QB Tom Brady, will likely do the usual cooking and entertainment segment. . . . Hot-ticket soprano Karita Mattila will not perform Beethoven's "Fidelio" with the Boston Symphony Orchestra, because of illness. Supersub Christine Brewer will replace Mattila in the three concert performances starting Friday.

Names can be reached at names@globe.com or at 617-929-8253.