The Times-Picayune
01/24/99
Page L23
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COMMENTARY
Basically a promotion for the NAPTE Convention, this article lists some of the attendees, which included Lucy Lawless.PRIMARY SOURCE
Get your star-gazin' glasses out: When NATPE '99 arrives in town this week, the city will be crawling with TV celebs. The initials stand for National Association of Television Program Executives, and the 10,000 or so participants at the Ernest N. Morial Convention Center Tuesday through Thursday will be wheeling and dealing at the world's largest marketplace for buying and selling television programs. SP Locals can indulge in a little sideline entertainment: Expect lots of stretch limos, waiting lines at restaurants and a passing parade of producers, executives, stars, wannabe stars and hangers-on. In conjunction with the big convention, "Live with Regis and Kathie Lee" will return for four shows (Tuesday through Friday 8 a.m. Ch. 4) broadcast from the Big Easy's State Palace Theatre. There will be many other high-profile types in town this week, based on a list of celebrity attendees that was still "a work in progress" at press time. Visiting talk show hosts range from the mainstream - Larry King - to the outspoken - Maury Povich - to the outrageous - Jerry Springer and Howard Stern. You might also look for judicial types (it's the daytime TV flavor of the month, after all) such as Judge Mills Lane. And pretty much the entire crew from "The View" - Joy Behar, Bill Geddie, Star Jones, Merefith Vieira and Barbara Walters - are booked. Ditto Consuelo Mack of "The Wall Street Journal Report." Primetime celebs on tap range from the comedic - John Lithgow of "3rd Rock from the Sun" - to the beautiful - "Bay-watch's" Michael Bergin, Brooke Burns and David Hasselhoff - to the heroic - Lucy Lawless, "Xena: Warrior Princess" and "Conan" Ralf Moeller. Game shows will be represented by Louie Anderson of "Family Feud" and Michael Burger of "The Match Game." Watch also for Lorenzo Lamas and Shauna Sands Lamas with "Air America," Yasmin Bleethe of "Nash Bridges," Erik Estrada pf "American Adventures," Roger Moore touting "The Secret KGB Files," "Nobody's Noddy, Robert Stack with "Lords of the Mafia," Ally Walker and Robert Davi of "The Profiler," Don Cornelius of "Soul Train," that golden "Oldie" Richard Simmons, one of New Orleans' own, and well, lots, lots more. On the four-legged front: Last year's NAPTE convention had armadillo races (yes, with real armadillos). This year, we hear, coventioneers will be shaking paws with a couple of live bulldogs.
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