Larry Mendte Biography
Larry Mendte (full name: Lawrence David Mendte) is an American news anchor, commentator and radio talk show host. He hosts Jersey Matters, The Delaware Way, and Another Thing with Larry Mendte. He also hosts The Larry Mendte Show on WABC (AM) in New York. Formerly, he wrote and delivered nightly commentaries at WPIX in New York City that were aired at TV stations across the country.
Mendte was the first male host of the American syndicated television show Access Hollywood. He was also the lead anchor of the 6pm and 11pm newscasts for KYW-TV (Channel 3), the CBS O&O in Philadelphia from 2003 to mid 2008. He led the station to compete with first place WPVI-TV (Channel 6) after nearly two decades in last place. KYW-TV (Channel 3) lured Mendte away from WCAU-TV (Channel 10), where he had anchored the 4, 6 and 11 pm newscasts and also led the station to win news ratings in some time slots for the first time in 30 years.
Mendte attended St. Philomena Catholic School elementary school. At this time, he began delivering the Philadelphia Bulletin. He graduated from Monsignor Bonner High School in nearby Drexel Hill. He was inducted into the high school’s Hall of Fame in 2003. Mendte attended West Chester University from where he earned a B.A. in communications and was also named a distinguished alumnus. In 2006, after giving a commencement address, he was awarded the President’s Medal for Service in recognition of his community work.
Larry Mendte Age
Lawrence David Mendte was born on January 16, 1957 in Lansdowne, Pennsylvania, U.S. He is 62 years old as of 2019.
Larry Mendte Dawn Stensland Larry Mendte and Dawn Stensland | Larry Mendte Wife
Larry Mendte is married to Dawn Stensland-Mendte who is a former 10 pm news co-anchor at Fox’s WTXF (Channel 29), since 2000. Mendte then came to Philadelphia in 1997 as an anchor for KYW, then anchored CBS News Saturday Morning for a year and a half. In the 1990s, Dawn was also an anchor and reporter at WBBM in Chicago, Illinois, and WKYC in Cleveland, Ohio. The couple has two sons together; his first son, Michael was born in 2004, and David was born in 2006.
Larry Mendte Photo
Mendte also has two adult children, Stacia and Jonathan, from a previous marriage.
Larry Mendte Career
Mendte was a weekend anchor on WABC from 1984 to 1988 as well as a fill-in sports anchor. He anchored the news and was an investigative reporter at WBBM in Chicago from 1991 to 1995. His series of reports on school bus safety while at WBBM resulted in a new state law. He won a record 27 Emmy Awards in Chicago and was twice named Best reporter by the Illinois Associated Press. Mendte anchored the news at WCMH in Columbus, Ohio, WLYH in Lebanon, Pennsylvania (where he also did the sportscast), WTAJ in Altoona and KIEM in Eureka, California.
Larry was also a weather personality at San Diego’s KFMB and also performed stand-up comedy in Southern California comedy clubs. He wrote and produced a humor commentary feature called “How Come?” for the Paramount Studios syndicated program Hard Copy. He was the first male host of Access Hollywood when the show debuted in 1996. Mendte co-hosted Monday through Friday with Giselle Fernández and also co-hosted the weekend edition with future weekday host Nancy O’Dell. He debuted “Access Hollywood” on September 9, 1996, with the words “Hello everyone, I’m Larry Mendte and this is Access Hollywood.”
Larry Mendte Radio
Larry joined KYW in 2003 after being wooed from WCAU. KYW then made a great “Make the Switch” promotional campaign when Mendte arrived. The campaign’s idea was Mendte’s. Mendte also helped reformat the newscast and introduced the “walking anchor” to KYW that he was famous for at WCAU. The ratings of the station immediately jumped with Mendte in the main seat with Alycia Lane co-anchoring. Within a year the station would overtake WCAU at 11 pm and 6 pm for second place.
Larry Mendte Fired
Alycia Lane was later fired in December 2007 after being charged with a felony for assaulting a female police officer in New York. He then anchored solo for a short time before being teamed with Susan Barnett. Mendte was fired in June 2008 after an investigation revealed he accessed Lane’s email accounts.
Larry Mendte Philadelphia
From 2010 to 2015, Larry was a contributor to the online version of Philadelphia Magazine. His post on the drowning death of his niece stands as one of the most read columns ever on the site. He occasionally writes for the print version of the magazine including a feature article on his life after he was let go by KYW. He also wrote over 200 articles for the site in five years.
Larry Mendte Wabc | Larry Mendte Wabc Radio
Mendte was hired by WABC (AM) radio in New York City to host a Sunday Night talk show called “The Larry Mendte Show” in June 2014. Mendte also fills in frequently for Gerald Rivera and Curtis Sliwa during the week. He has also filled in for Ronn Owens on KGO-AM radio in San Francisco.
Larry Mendte Podcast | Larry Mendte Radio Show | Larry Mendte Show
Larry returned to WABC in October 2016 to host “The Larry Mendte Show” on Saturday Night from 11 PM to 2 AM. He co-hosted the station’s coverage with Rita Cosby on election night 2016.
Larry Mendte Alycia Lane | Larry Mendte Email
Larry Mendte pleaded guilty on August 22, 2008 to the charge of intentionally accessing his co-anchor Alycia Lane’s email account without authorization. He read a statement and acknowledged having had an “improper relationship” with Lane. Mendte said that he ended the relationship and it “quickly turned into a personal feud” and that a vengeful Lane was attempting to get him fired.
He received a sentence of 3 years probation (later reduced) on November 24, 2008, including 6 months home confinement and 150 hours of community service. Federal Judge Mary A. McLaughlin ended his probation and all other sentencing requirements.
Larry Mendte Net Worth
Through his wide career in anchoring, commentating, and radio hosting, Mendte has acquired an estimated net worth of $10 million.
