Larry Mendte
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Larry Mendte (born January 16, 1957) is an American news anchor. He anchors KYW-TV's Eyewitness News at 6 p.m. and 11 p.m. in Philadelphia. Mendte has been named as one of the 75 Greatest Living Philadelphians by the Philadelphia Daily News in honor of the Philadelphia Eagles 75th anniversary.
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[edit] Biography
Born and raised in Lansdowne, Pennsylvania, a suburb of Philadelphia, Mendte attended St. Philomena School, a local Catholic School. During this time, Mendte got his start in news, when he delivered the former Philadelphia Bulletin. Upon graduating from Monsignor Bonner High School in nearby Upper Darby, Mendte attended West Chester University and earned a B.A. in journalism.
From 1984 to 1988 he was a weekend anchor on WABC, as well as fill-in sports anchor. He has also anchored the news and was an investigative reporter at WBBM in Chicago from 1991 to 1995. While at WBBM, Mendte's series of reports on school bus safety resulted in a new state law. Mendte also anchored the news at WCMH in Columbus, Ohio, WLYH in Lebanon, PA, WTAJ in Altoona, PA and KIEM in Eureka, CA. Mendte also has anchored the weather at KFMB in San Diego. For a short time during his stint in San Diego, Mendte also performed as a stand-up comedian in both San Diego and Los Angeles. He also wrote and produced a humorous feature called "How Come?" that ran nationally on the syndicated show Hard Copy. He also has been the main sports anchor at WLYH-TV.
Mendte was the first male host of Access Hollywood when the show debuted in 1996. He co-hosted Monday through Friday with Giselle Fernández and also co-hosted the weekend edition with Nancy O'Dell.
Mendte left Access Hollywood in 1997 to return to Philadelphia and become the main anchor of WCAU (Channel 10)'s newscasts, including the 4pm, 6pm and 11pm programs, with the 4pm show being the first on at that time in the market. He also hosted the public affairs program Live at Issue. During his time at WCAU the 11pm newscast outrated market leader WPVI (Channel 6) for the first time since the 1970's.
Mendte joined KYW in 2003 after being wooed from WCAU. KYW launched a big "Make The Switch" promotional campaign when Mendte came over. KYW's ratings immediately jumped with Mendte in the main seat, and within a year Channel 3 would overtake Channel 10 at 11pm and 6pm for second place.
Mendte received a great deal of notoriety for a series of reports he did on the Eternal Flame, a tribute to American veterans, in Philadelphia's historic Washington Square. Mendte's reports on the flame forced the city to fix a gas line and relight the flame. His efforts were read into the Congressional record by Pennsylvania Senator Rick Santorum. Mendte was honored with an Edward R. Murrow Award in the writing category for his reports on the Eternal Flame and a report on the Iraq War.
In 2006 Mendte was inducted into the Philadelphia Broadcast Pioneers Hall of Fame. Mendte has 70 Regional Emmy Awards from New York, San Diego, Chicago and Philadelphia. He has set Emmy records in both Chicago and Philadelphia. In Philadelphia, he has won a record 4 Emmys in the Outstanding Anchor category.
He is married to [Dawn Stensland],[1] who is the 10pm news anchor at Fox station WTXF (Channel 29) since 2001. She came to Philadelphia in 1997 as anchor for KYW, then anchored CBS News Saturday Morning for a year and a half. In the 1990s she was an anchor and reporter at WBBM in Chicago, Illinois and WKYC in Cleveland, Ohio. Together, they have two children, Michael, born in 2004; and David born in 2006. In addition, Mendte has two adult children Stacia and Jonathan from a previous marriage.
On May 31, 2008 it was reported by the Philadelphia Inquirer that Mendte is currently under investigation by the FBI.[2] The investigation is centered around Mendte's alleged reading of former co-anchor Alycia Lane's private Yahoo Mail account. Mendte's home computer was seized, and CBS Corporation was instructed by the FBI to retain his e-mail records. Unauthorized viewing of another's e-mail is considered a federal offense. KYW announced on June 1, 2008 that Mendte will not appear on Channel 3 pending the results of the investigation.[3]
[edit] Filmography
Mendte has a small filmography, having appeared in three movies. All three were made in 1998 or later, and in each one, Mendte has appeared as a television anchor or reporter. Mendte has never acted in more than a cameo style appearance. These films included Primary Colors, Shadow of Doubt, and Snipes.
Mendte has also written and directed two short documentaries. Ben Franklin: Stealing Lightning from the Sky aired across the country on Ben Franklin's birthday in 2006. The documentary questioned whether Ben Franklin really did conduct his famous kite experiment. Later that year Mendte wrote and directed Alex Scott: A Stand for Hope, a short documentary about Alex Scott, founder of Alex's Lemonade Stand. Alex Scott: A Stand for Hope won the award for Best Documentary at the Reno, Oxford, Danville, West Chester, Lake Arrowhead and Reel Award film Festivals. Mendte was also named Best Pennsylvania Film maker for Ben Franklin: Stealing Lightning From the Sky at the West Chester Film Festival. A Stand for Hope also won the Sigma Delta Chi award for best documentary in the country in 2007. The Sigma Delta Chi Awards are given each year by the Society of Professional Journalists.
Larry has a litter of pug puppies on the way in July.
[edit] References
- ^ http://www.myfoxphilly.com/myfox/pages/InsideFox/Detail?contentId=419080&version=10&locale=EN-US&layoutCode=TSTY&pageId=5.3.1
- ^ http://www.philly.com/inquirer/front_page/20080601_Mendte_target_of_FBI_probe_into_snooping_of_Lane_e-mail.html
- ^ http://cbs3.com/topstories/larry.mendte.cbs.2.737862.html
[edit] External links
- Official CBS3 Philadelphia Bio
- Article in Philadelphia's CityPaper
- Article about FBI investigation
- Larry Mendte at the Internet Movie Database
| Preceded by none |
Host of Access Hollywood with Giselle Fernandez 1996–1997 |
Succeeded by Pat O'Brien with Giselle Fernandez |
| Persondata | |
|---|---|
| NAME | Mendte, Larry |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | |
| SHORT DESCRIPTION | American news anchor |
| DATE OF BIRTH | 1957-01-16 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | |
| DATE OF DEATH | |
| PLACE OF DEATH | |
