Fired WRKO host wants job back
Sounding suddenly contrite, former talk show host John DePetro asked Entercom yesterday to rehire him, and pledged to undergo sensitivity training if he's reinstated. DePetro, who was fired from his WRKO morning show last week for calling gubernatorial candidate Grace Ross a "fat lesbian," said he's sorry for the comment, and even offered Ross air time on his show -- one hour a week called "Amazing Grace" -- to debate issues affecting her constituency. DePetro spoke yesterday at a hastily convened press conference at the office of his attorney Peter Bellotti. In pleading for his job, DePetro pointed out that other Entercom employees -- namely WEEI's John Dennis and Gerry Callahan -- have made even more outrageous statements and still managed to keep their jobs. (Dennis and Callahan likened a METCO student to a gorilla, an offense for which they were briefly suspended and ordered to take sensitivity training.) DePetro's attorney said he has requested a meeting with Entercom GM Julie Kahn, but received no response. Asked yesterday if the company would reconsider DePetro's dismissal, spokesman George Regan was atypically brief. "No," Regan said. Entercom's VP of programming , Jason Wolfe , was slightly more expansive. "Mr. DePetro no longer works for Entercom," Wolfe said in a statement. "His discharge was appropriate and justified. We do not intend to reinstate him. We have moved on and wish him well." The next step? "We want to avoid litigation because it could be lengthy and costly," said Bellotti. "But it is an option."
They’re serious about comedy
For all of their silliness, the folks who brought you "Waiting for Guffman " and "Best in Show" aren't all that silly. In Boston yesterday to promote their latest, the movie industry-mocking "For Your Consideration," Christopher Guest and Eugene Levy contend their comedies are actually quite restrained. ("For Your Consideration," starring Catherine O'Hara, Harry Shearer, Parker Posey, and Norwell native Jennifer Coolidge, opens Nov. 17.) "It's considerably toned down from reality, and I think there are people who might find that hard to believe," said Guest, who bristles when terms such as "zany" and "spoof" are applied to this picture. "If we had actually shown what happens in this business . . . people would be appalled. And not find it funny." Levy said they "lowered the bar, so to speak, on the intelligence factor" in depicting people in the movie biz, but otherwise it's real. " 'Hold all my calls!' I can't tell you how many times I've heard someone say that as I've gone into their office," Levy said.
Yeah . . . Chuck D and Flav are buds
Mick is to Keith as Chuck is to Flav. That's the word from Public Enemy's Chuck D , who was in town yesterday to speak at the National Black Programming Consortium. The politically-minded hip-hopper admitted to us that he and Flavor Flav -- his flamboyant bandmate who has become something of a reality-TV clown -- don't always see eye-to-eye, but they're still buds. "I don't know why people ask me if I'm cool with Flav," chided Chuck. "That's like asking if Mick Jagger's cool with Keith Richards. Yeah, I've been critical of Flav, but Mick's been critical of Keith, too." Others taking part in yesterday's black power panel included: PBS prez Paula Kerger; ABC and NPR journo Michel Martin; and MacArthur Genius Award recipient Louis Massiah.
Yes, that was Jan Brady -- the Jan Brady -- eating lunch at Sonsie yesterday, and no, she didn't get the pork chops and apple sauce. (That's Christopher Knight's line, anyway.) Eve Plumb, the actress best know as the Brady's middle girl, is in town to promote her paintings, which are displayed by Chatham's Wynne/Falconer Gallery as part of the Boston International Fine Art Show. She attended last night's gala preview at the Cyclorama, and plans to return today. (Yes, her still lifes are for sale.) Plumb is no stranger to the area: She returns here annually for a family reunion on -- of all places -- Plum Island. . . . Wondering what Grace Ross and Christy Mihos make of Deval Patrick and the week's other big newsmaker Britney Spears? They're Jim Braude's guests tonight on NECN.
Christopher Muther of the Globe staff contributed. Names can be reached at names@globe.com or at 617-929-8253. 
