At COCA (I'm using it as it allows detection of the period), out of 143 sentences starting with
"Except the"
only 2 are ACAD (academic), the rest are FICT (fiction) to a large majority.
Thus I consider it as something frowned at in formal writing, and in fact I'd use "Except for the" for the sentence at the top of your posting.
But "Except the" is certainly out there with the meaning of "Except for the." E.g., try this search at the BNC
Searching for
. Except the
[no quotes req'd]
http://bnc.bl.uk/saraWeb.php?qy=.+except+the&mysubmit=Go
and look for
ATE 2637 As the final chords swelled to the close, the ‘star’ revealed all of her eleven years by running from centre stage to her mother's arms while the audience stood on their feet and cheered. Except the O'Neil family in the first row of the circle, who sat in stupefied amazement, hardly believing what they had witnessed.
which is clearly the equivalent of "Except for the."