Boldface May 5: A.D. Amorosi rounds up the local gossip

Now that plans for Comcast’s $45-billion merger with Time Warner Cable have been scrapped, what’s next? Insider dirt has Philly’s cable giant starting an short-form video service to compete with YouTube and a subscription fee-based multichannel video programming distributor (MVPD) by September. Knowing that Comcast’s Brian Roberts loves acquisitions, rumor has the CEO — who already owns NBCUniversal — looking into buying MGM or Paramount studios.

Closer to home, Comcast’s Executive VP David L. Cohen will be honored during Philadelphia Theater Company‘s 40th anniversary gala, May 8 at the Hyatt at the Bellevue.

Chef Marcie Turney and Valerie Safran‘s next restaurant, Bud & Marilyn’s retro comfort food eatery at 13th and Locust, is almost ready to go in terms of interior design and menu. What’s the hold up? Turney’s brother Evan (chef/owner of Varga) gets married in Mexico in June and the family is heading there for the celebration. With that, Turney hinted Bud & Marilyn’s would open early August. That’s one long wedding after-party.

Hotel Palomar’s restaurant, Square 1682 launches patio seating May 6 with new cuisine and cocktail menus for spring.

With over 55,000 people in attendance, the South Street Spring Festival on Saturday was the largest single event on that block in two decades.

Seen on the scene

The hotly anticipated arrival of New York City’s Big Gay Ice Cream in Philadelphia came one day earlier than planned, with the sweet shop opening April 30 on South Broad. Big Gay owners Bryan Petroff and Douglas Quint were welcomed by their neighbor, Chef Kevin Sbraga at his Juniper Commons, with a happy hour party and a book-signing event for “Big Gay Ice Cream: Saucy Stories & Frozen Treats.”

Raw co-owner Tony Rim was all smiles at Saturday’s Rittenhouse Square Spring Festival despite a lawsuit from Benihana claiming Raw is infringing upon Benihana’s trademarks.

Porn actress Teagan Presley was spied eating a cheesesteak at Geno’s in the Italian Market on Thursday. There she donated several of her DVDs for May 17’s charity raffle at Flyers Skate Zone (10990 Decatur Road) where members of Philly’s police and fire departments face off in a hockey game. Proceeds go to the families of police officer Rob Wilson and firefighter Joyce Craig.