Red Sox owner files for divorce

There's apparently trouble on the homefront for Red Sox owner John Henry. The Palm Beach Post reported yesterday that the millionaire businessman has quietly filed for divorce from his second wife, Peggy, calling the couple's 14-year marriage "irretrievably broken." The paper says Henry, 57, filed the papers in a Delray Beach, Fla. courthouse in May. In the filing, Henry asks for shared custody of the couple's 10-year-old daughter, Sara, and also makes mention of a prenuptial agreement. The divorce document notwithstanding, Henry and his wife, 45, have been out together socially in Boston and Martha's Vineyard this summer. At last month's family-friendly "Picnic in the Park" event at Fenway, they were strolling the outfield grass with each other . Neither Red Sox spokesman Charles Steinberg nor Henry responded to e-mails yesterday, and Peggy Henry's attorney is on vacation, his office said. In addition to being principal owner of the Olde Towne Team, Henry runs John W. Henry & Co., a Boca Raton-based investment firm, which manages more than $2.5 billion. He's worth an estimated $800 million.

They couldn't pass on wishing him a happy birthday

Patriots fans wished No. 12 well yesterday on the occasion of the star QB's 30th birthday. Since Tom Brady isn't due back at Gillette Stadium until tomorrow evening, it's hard to imagine that he wouldn't beat it back to New York to celebrate with girlfriend Gisele Bundchen.

From boy band to ‘Manband’

It wasn't too long ago that a Rich Cronin comeback looked unlikely. The former lead singer of the boy band LFO was too busy fighting for his life. While he should've been cashing in on the success of LFO's hit song "Summer Girls," the kid from Kingston was being treated for leukemia at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center. Thankfully, he's doing much better now, as you'll see on VH1's "Mission: Manband." The show, which premieres Monday, follows four once-famous boy banders -- Cronin, Jeff Timmons of 98 Degrees, Color Me Badd's Bryan Abrams, and 'N Sync's Chris Kirkpatrick -- as they get together in Orlando, Fla., to chase stardom for a second time. "These are really talented people, but nobody gave them credit because they were in boy bands," says Jeff Kennedy, the Andover native who is the show's executive producer. "The goal of the 'Manband' is to see if lightning can strike twice." So can it? Cronin, at least, thinks so. "We're really excited about this," he told us this week. "The name of the show is stupid and we all hate it, but we're making music and that's what we want to do."

Walking to D.C.

Brookline comedian Chantal Carrere didn't break a sweat when she signed up for "Fat March," the new ABC reality show following a dozen doughy types who trudge from Boston to Washington, D.C. "I went from zero exercise to trying to walk 570 miles," said Carrere, 35, who tips the scales at 250 pounds on Monday's premiere. "My idea of camping was renting a condo and doing some barbecue." Everett's own Sam Amado is also among those vying for a piece of the $1.2 million prize money. The 22-year-old pro wrestler -- and former Everett High class president -- starts the march at 383 pounds. "Really, I got involved with the show because I was in bad shape," admits Amado. "If I could have made the change on my own, I would have."

His son’s Beastie-ness doesn’t bother Horovitz

It never fails: Famous playwright Israel Horovitz stages a new work to considerable acclaim, and still he's overshadowed by his son. "Happens all the time," says Horovitz, founding director of the Gloucester Stage Co. "I've gotten used to it by now." His son, of course, is Adam Horovitz, a.k.a. Adrock, whose band the Beastie Boys play Boston tomorrow and Monday. Horovitz is going to both shows, and even bringing the cast of "The Widow's Blind Date" with him. (The play opens at the Gloucester Stage Co. later this month.) "I've seen the band dozens of times," he says. "This all started when Adam was 14, so I've grown up with their music." The playwright, who's also going to the Beasties’ three shows in the Big Apple, said his son is more famous by far. Once, in Paris, Horovitz was gratified to find a play of his being staged on a tiny barge. "That was a measure of success," he says. But a moment later, Horovitz walked past Paris's OmniSports Bercy, a Madison Square Garden-style arena where an enormous flashing sign advertised an upcoming concert by the Beastie Boys. "How many barges on the Seine would it take to equal that?’’ said Horovitz, laughing. "Tells you something about pop music versus the theatre."

A funny start

Organizers of the New York Comedy Festival should send the city of Boston a big ol’ thank you. Why? The festival’s just announced their hilarious headliners — Sarah Silverman, Louis C.K., Denis Leary, and Janeane Garofalo — and all of them cut their teeth in Boston clubs way back when. Silverman, who grew up in Bedford, N.H., and did stand-up for the first time at Stitches on Comm. Ave., is playing the laugh fest’s biggest stage — Carnegie Hall. The weeklong New York Comedy Festival starts Nov. 6.

Pols swarm Sox game

No fewer than five former house speakers were at Fenway the other day to attend the final game of the Sox home stand. The crowd included Bob Quinn, Tom McGee, David Bartley, Charlie Flaherty, and Tom Finneran. Hosted by Quinn and his law partner pal Jim Morris, the klatch also included former senate presidents Kevin Harrington, Billy Bulger, and Bob Travaglini, as well as former state treasurer, Bob Crane.

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