Together again, for a good cause

Harvard professor Henry Louis Gates Jr. and Cambridge police Sergeant James Crowley apparently weren’t kidding when they agreed to continue talking after their White House beer arranged by President Obama. Last evening, we’re told, Gates and Crowley were in deep conversation in a booth at River Gods in Cambridge. Crowley, you’ll recall, arrested Gates for disorderly conduct after responding to a possible break-in at Gates’s home. The charges were later dropped.

It’s hard to imagine anyone in Los Angeles having much sympathy for Frank or Jamie McCourt, whose bitter divorce is laying bare a lifestyle worthy of Robin Leach. In her 100-plus page court filing this week, Jamie makes it clear she was accustomed to living very large while serving as CEO of the LA Dodgers. (Frank, the former Boston real estate developer who bought the team in 2004, fired his wife over the weekend.) Jamie is asking the court for $320,967 per month in spousal support if she’s reinstated as CEO - and $487,634 per month if she’s not. The documents also detail the couple’s considerable real estate holdings, which include two palatial homes in LA, a 100-acre estate in Cotuit, a six-bedroom condo at the Willowbend Country Club in Mashpee, a place in Montana, a condo in Vail, Colo., and a vacation property in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico. Describing the Cotuit crib, which the McCourts bought for $19.5 million in 2000, Jamie uses the words “lovely’’ and “stunning.’’ And it’s apparently for sale. “Although not formally listed,’’ Jamie writes, “it is quietly on the market for $50 million.’’

Conductor Gustavo Dudamel is the recipient of the 2010 Eugene McDermott Award in the Arts at MIT. The 28-year-old Dudamel, one of the world’s most in-demand conductors, is music director of the Los Angeles Philharmonic. He joins a select list of distinguished recipients of the Eugene McDermott Award, including architects Elizabeth Diller and Ricardo Scofidio, writer Junot Diaz, architect Santiago Calatrava, playwright Suzan-Lori Parks, and artist Isaac Julien. In addition to $75,000 cash prize, the recipient is offered a campus residency. (As part of his residency next April, Dudamel will visit the MIT Media Lab and conduct an open rehearsal with the MIT Symphony Orchestra on April 16, where university President Susan Hockfield will present the award.) Said Dudamel: “You cannot imagine how excited I am to visit MIT and see the wonderful music program and the Media Lab first hand - the next generation in music and technology all in one place!’’

MSNBC’s Chris Matthews, a former aide to Tip O’Neil, was at the Seaport Hotel yesterday, invited by Boston magazine to talk about Ted Kennedy. In its new issue, the mag contemplates the late senator’s many contributions.

Style Network crews arrived in Taunton yesterday to tape an episode of “Clean House,’’ the network’s makeover show about clutterbugs and the people who love them. Taunton resident Sue Crites was nominated for the show by her kids, who have been increasingly grossed out by her mess. An embarrassed Crites checked in with us yesterday as boisterous “Clean House’’ host Niecy Nash and designer Mark Brunetz took over her home, surveying the damage. Crites admits that her house has become a storage space for useless knickknacks. She blames her shopping habit. “I love sales,’’ Crites told us, explaining that she does most of her damage at the Christmas Tree Shops. “It’s a challenge to see who can get the best price. I just buy things and bring them home.’’ The “Clean House’’ crew will camp out at Crites’s home on Berkley Street through the weekend. The “Clean House’’ taping will include a public yard sale of her unnecessary belongings from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Saturday at the Roseland Ballroom on Broadway in Taunton. All are welcome to attend (as long as they don’t mind appearing on a reality show). Host Nash - who you also may know as a comedian and actress (she was in “Reno 911,’’ “The Proposal,’’ and “The Bernie Mac Show’’) - got on the phone with us when she arrived in Taunton yesterday to give us a sense of disarray at the Crites homes. “I’d definitely put it in the ‘oh-my-gosh’ category’’ she said.

We’re told Food Network freak Guy Fieri will kick off his 21-city rock ’n’ roll culinary tour in Lowell next month. A cross between a rock concert and a food demo, the Nov. 17 event will feature Fieri - clad in black leather - with a full kitchen, a DJ, a 25-gallon margarita maker, and even an opening act. Who’s that? Via Matta chef Michael Schlow will warm up the crowd.

Robert Pattinson fans should cool their proverbial jets. Organizers of the “Twilight’’ mall tour (which stops at the Natick Collection next month) say Boston might not get to see Pattinson, Kristen Stewart, or Taylor Lautner in person. The Hub will be getting a visit from one or two of “The Twilight Saga: New Moon’’ cast members - but not necessarily the three stars.

While in town to celebrate the 20th anniversary of BU’s Culinary Arts Program, chef Jacques Pepin stopped by Toro. Tweeted chef Jamie Bissonnette: “Jacques Pepin at the bar? Tonight couldn’t be better.’’