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The Wisconsin State Journal Melanie Conklin Column: Local Celebrities Dish a Little Dirt for a Good Cause

Posted on: Wednesday, 22 February 2006, 09:00 CST

By Melanie Conklin, The Wisconsin State Journal

Feb. 21--Not only does United Cerebral Palsy's Celebrity Banquet at Blackhawk Country Club raise money for a good cause, it also affords me the perfect opportunity to hassle local celebrities who are waiting tables.

I began Saturday's event giving WISC-Ch. 3 anchor Eric Franke grief for not getting back to me with his celebrity crush for the Valentine's Day column. His excuse: He's the dad of a 10-month-old baby, in the process of moving and it was sweeps week. His wife, Fox-47 anchor Kim Sveum, backs up his story, saying "it's been a crazy time."

Franke took exception with emcee Dan Smith's description of his replacement as head sports guy at Ch. 3. Introducing George Johnson, Smith called him, "a breath of fresh air." Franke, in the back of the room, muttered, "Hey, they need to be a little sensitive here."

No need for a noisemeter to tell which celebrity got the most applause. It was NBC-15's Mike McKinney, who says he's enjoying being back at work after taking a year off while battling cancer. Tables were willing to tip just for visits from McKinney. Same with UW Band Director Mike Leckrone.

Madison police spokesman Mike Hanson was packing heat while waiting tables, explaining that Chief Nobel Wray said it was appropriate to be in full uniform, which includes a service weapon. Thanks to the introduction, I learned that Hanson is the son of the former UW Police Chief Ralph Hanson, who headed the department for 26 years, including during turbulent anti-war times. That didn't keep Hanson from getting ribbed for taking the wrong part of the ticket stub for the raffle. Commented a guest: "You'd think a police officer could handle tickets."

I have it on good authority that Triple M morning show host Jonathan Suttin ate food off a plate he was clearing -- a tomato from the plate of the wife of NBC-15 meteorologist Charlie Shortino, to be precise.

Shortino probably didn't notice because there was a dining room bidding war between one table offering him money to take his shirt off, while another paid more for him to keep it on.

Shortino briefly considered bidding on the silent auction to be a guest meteorologist with David George on his station's 5 p.m. news. It would have been even better if Bob Lindmeier or Brian Olson of rival WKOW-27 had won it. But they were busy answering questions about umbrellas -- so busy that their table was among the last to get dessert.

A good night for good causes

UCP of Dane County's Barb Folco says not only did the UCP event bring in lots of tips, the person who won a raffle for a $1,000 diamond necklace was from Stoughton, and had lost her home "and all her jewelry" in last summer's tornado.

More than manganese in Nakoma's well

What would cause Stuart Levitan to take time out from penning the final chapter of his book, "Madison: The Illustrated Sesquicentennial History Vol. I," due out in September?

The chance to perform a Bob Dylan tune. His song was "The Water it is A-Changin' " and the event was the 82nd Annual Twelfth Night Dinner, where he played engineer Seth Poole. The evening theme was foreign substances found in the Nakoma well turning men into Stepford husbands. It's a Nakoma neighborhood tradition -- each year there are cocktail parties followed by a catered dinner and show, this year written by neighbors Nanci Bjorling, Harvey Briggs and Rob Lux.

Walking corpses

Gary Cannalte, John Karcher and Verona Mayor John Volker are all dead men.

Let me clarify, that's not a threat. Next weekend each will play dead guys leading the parade of victims during the curtain call for the play "Arsenic and Old Lace," being staged by Verona Area Community Theater.

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Copyright (c) 2006, The Wisconsin State Journal

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Source: The Wisconsin State Journal

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