In reality, 'Joe Millionaire' is good as gold
BETTER THAN YOUR AVERAGE JOE We can't believe we're writing this, because like you we already had our minds made up about reality TV pioneer and the original "Joe Millionaire," Evan Marriott. But here it is, folks: He's a great guy. After listening to Marriott talk about a hundred different subjects over lunch at the Palm in Copley Square yesterday, we're among the converts. Marriott is in town tonight from 9 to 11 at the Rack, recruiting potential contestants for "Fake-A-Date," in which one person gets two dates, one with an actual suitor and the other faking the whole shebang to win a prize. In a turnabout from his "Joe Millionaire" days, Marriott gets to host the show and watch as others pretend to be something they are not. So back to 29-year-old Marriott. Is he as stupid as they made him out to be on the Fox show? No. "But I can see how people think that," he said. "They'd always cut me off or edit it to make me sound like I was from a trailer park in Virginia." (So Mr. Smartypants, what are you reading? David McCullough's "John Adams," Marriott answered.)
KERRY ALONG On the heels of a successful fund-raiser in Boston, the John Kerry camp made its way to New York City for a mega-wattage event. Among those attending were Chevy Chase, Kathleen Turner, and a bevy of congressmen, including Harold Ford of Tennessee and the Bay State's own Ed Markey, who is moving full speed ahead with plans to run for Kerry's seat should he win the presidency. Later, at trendy Crobar, Kerry was feted by a group that included actor Steve Buscemi, actress and Harvard gal Natalie Portman, and blink-182 musician Tom DeLonge. The real crowd-pleaser, however, was Kerry's stepson Andre Heinz. Fresh in from Sweden, where he works as an environmental lawyer, he performed a string of impressions of Bill Clinton, George H.W. Bush, and Arnold Schwarzenegger.
OFFICERS ON THE RUN These police officers don't mind making this chase. More than 100 members of the Boston Police Runners Club headed to the New Balance Factory Store in Brighton the other night to pick up their team uniforms for Monday's marathon and get some pointers from Attleboro native and Team New Balance athlete Mark Coogan. Coogan, a '96 Olympian and the third American finisher in the 2002 Boston Marathon, proved that absolutely everything in these parts relates to the Red Sox. Coogan told the officers that finishing the Boston course is "like [how] David Ortiz felt when he hit that homer on Sunday." The Boston Police Runners Club Marathon Team has raised more than $15,000 as part of their marathon training, with proceeds benefiting the Boston Police Foundation/Kids at Risk Program.
DOWN IN PHILLY A few Boston accents filled Citizens Bank Park, the new home of the Philadelphia Phillies, when the Citizens Bank board held its board meeting there yesterday. Joining Citizens chairman and CEO Larry Fish in making the trek to the City of Brotherly Love were board members Jim Davis, CEO of New Balance; Frank Doyle, CEO of Connell Limited Partnership; Neal Finnegan, chairman of Citizens Bank of Massachusetts; Ted Kelly, CEO of Liberty Mutual Group; Ted Ladd, chairman of Standish Mellon Asset Management; George Miles Jr., president of WQED Multimedia; Regina Pisa, managing partner of Goodwin Proctor; and Eli Segal, formerly of the Welfare to Work Partnership.
OF DAVIO'S, RED SOX, AND YANKEES Today from noon to 2 p.m., Harvey Frommer and Frederic J. Frommer, authors of "Red Sox vs. Yankees: The Great Rivalry," will host their first Boston book signing at Davio's in Park Square, just in time for this weekend's visit by the dreaded pinstripes. . . . While we're on the subject of Davio's, Wednesday night proved an interesting one at the Italian steakhouse with Baltimore Orioles manager Lee Mazzilli and a table of 10 team coaches and staff dining. Also spotted in the dining room was WZLX morning radio funnyman Steve Sweeney. . . . And while we're on the subject of the Red Sox, the team's dapper principal owner, John Henry, was spotted yesterday checking out the suits at Louis Boston. Glen Johnson of the Globe staff contributed. Names can be reached at names@globe.com or at 617-929-8253.
