Charitably minded
"One Tree Hill" actor Brett Claywell and girlfriend Miss Maine Katie Whittier will attend Heidi and Cole Hamels' Thursday's Diamonds and Denim event at Union Trust (717 Chestnut) to benefit the Hamels Foundation.
Claywell and Whittier are friends with Ethan Zorn, who won "Survivor: Africa," who will also be in attendance as will former "Survivor" contestant Jenna Morasca. Morasca and "Survivor" alum Heidi Hamels, who'll be blinged out in diamonds from Bernie Robbins, have both modeled for Playboy, whose 2006 Playmate of the Year, Kara Monaco, will also be at the sold-out charity event. Money raised will benefit Philadelphia public schools and help build a girls school in Malawi, Africa.
Olympic athlete and "Dancing with the Stars" contestant Maurice Greene is also expected to attend. LeAnn Rimes and Tony Orlando perform at the event, as does comedian Joe Conklin.
* Penn's Abramson Cancer Center, the FOP's Survivor's Fund, the Greater Philadelphia Traditions Fund and the Philadelphia Veterans Multi-Service & Education Center are the recipients from two SugarHouse Casino (1001 N. Delaware) test play sessions for invited guests today and Wednesday.
The casino is scheduled to open to the public at 1:30 Thursday afternoon.
Out and about
Pavement's Stephen Malkmus dedicated "Unfair" to concussion-suffering Eagles QB Kevin Kolb during the band's show Friday at the Mann Center. Local favorites Kurt Vile and the Violators opened up the show.
* Charles Barkley shopped the other day at the Acme (829 Montgomery) in Narberth, where he ran into publisher Joe Ball, who is now producing the "Business of Sports" show that airs at 7:30 Saturdays and 7 a.m. Sundays on WHAT (1340-AM).
* Star of stage and screen Ben Vereen was in Cherry Hill last week recording a new album at 4-Star Studios.
* Actress Elisabeth Shue was at the Sofitel (17th & Sansom) Thursday with husband Davis Guggenheim, who was here doing press for his film "Waiting for Superman," a documentary about America's public schools.
* ESPN basketball analyst Tim Legler and former Eagles Cheerleader bride Christina Fuller took in Eastern State Penitentiary's "Terror Behind the Walls" Saturday night.
* University of Florida President Bernie Machen stopped by the Field House (12th & Filbert) Saturday afternoon while the Philly Gators, Florida Alumni Association was watching the Florida/Tennessee football game.
'The Jungle' screens Friday
Producer Harold Haskins and several members of the 12th & Oxford street gang will be at the Scribe Video Center (4212 Chestnut) Friday for a screening of "The Jungle." Charlie "Brown" Davis, Jimmy "Country" Robinson and David "Bat" Williams directed the groundbreaking 1967 documentary in which they appeared with fellow African-American teenagers, all members of the 12th & Oxford gang.
It was included last year in the Library of Congress' National Film Registry and designated as "culturally, historically and aesthetically significant." The film is at 7 p.m. and Haskins and the guys will answer questions afterward. Tickets are $5.
'U.S. Male' takes cannoli crown
Congratulations to Dave "U.S. Male" Goldstein, who won the cannoli-eating contest during the San Gennaro Festival in New York's Little Italy Thursday. The South Jersey postman ate 13 cannolis in 6 minutes. Goldstein, ranked by the International Federation of Competitive Eating as the world's 20th-best eater, bested Downingtown's Sean "Flash" Gordon, who is IFOCE ranked as the 14th-best eater.
Visit PhillyGossip.com for Dan's latest updates or follow PhillyGossip on Twitter. Have a tip? Call 215-854-5963, or e-mail grossd@phillynews.com. For recent columns, visit go.philly.com/dangross.
