Can you dig it?

By Mark Shanahan and Paysha Rhone , Globe Staff  |  October 2, 2008

Pearl Jam's Stone Gossard traded his guitar for a shovel yesterday, helping plant more than 350 trees at an eco-event organized by Timberland. Some 200 volunteers joined Gossard and Hizzoner Tom Menino at the Mass Audubon Boston Nature Center in Mattapan. Gossard capped off his green day with a gig at the Wilbur Theatre. "It's a good fit," he told us. "I get to play some shows and also raise awareness about a project I'm excited about." With the baseball playoffs beginning, we wondered who Gossard was rooting for. (His bandmate Eddie Vedder is a Cubs fans, but his friend Theo Epstein is the BoSox GM.) "I'm a Mariners fan," said Gossard. "But since I'm in Boston and Theo's been so kind, I'm going to go ahead and say I'm hoping the Sox will win it all."

Scottish comedian Craig Ferguson is becoming something of a fixture in Boston. On July Fourth, the host of CBS's "The Late Late Show" emceed the Pops concert on the Esplanade, and this weekend he's returning to town to do three shows at the Wilbur Theatre. Two of the performances will be recorded for a future Comedy Central special and DVD. Yesterday, we called Ferguson to ask about his newfound fascination with Boston.

I gotta say, when I heard you were doing the dramatic reading of the Declaration of Independence on July Fourth, I was outraged.
Why?

Well, you're a foreigner.
What the hell! Shanahan isn't exactly a Comanche name. What are you getting at?

OK, I'm kidding, but why did the Pops pick you?
I exemplify the American experience, you know, coming from the Old World, and I'd recently become an American citizen very publicly. I also have ties to Boston.

Did you study for the citizenship test?
I investigated it a fair bit before I did it because it's not something I intend to do again. It's not like I decided to do it in November and then became a citizen in January. It started when I was 7 years old when I saw Neil Armstrong standing on the moon.

Are the questions on the test difficult?
I think plenty of non-natives would have a hard time.

You became a citizen just in time to bail out Wall Street.
Yes, I'm excited about that.

Why are you taping the special in Boston?
It's called "A Wee Bit of Revolution," so it felt appropriate. People also say the audiences in Boston are surly and half in the bag, so I felt like I'd be among family.

But aren't you nervous about taping in front of a live audience?
I kind of do it every night, don't I? But now that you mention it, yes, I'm terrified.

Rosie's Place has dumped Sandra Bernhard from its annual fund-raiser in the wake of the comedian's caustic comments about vice presidential hopeful Sarah Palin. Last month, Bernhard said during her show in Washington, D.C., that Palin would be "gang-raped by her big black brothers" if she came to Manhattan. The comment caused a furor, but didn't reach event organizers at the Boston women's shelter and social service agency until Tuesday. "I got an e-mail [Tuesday] from a viewer," event emcee and Channel 5 anchor Susan Wornick told us yesterday. "She was appalled that Rosie's Place and I would be associated with Sandra Bernhard after she said these things. I couldn't believe she said it. It was racist and sexist and wrong." Wornick immediately rang up Rosie's Place executive director Sue Marsh, who was already on the case. "We were horrified," Marsh said. "It's not a good match given the comment she made and the work that we do." Bernhard was observing Rosh Hashana yesterday and was unavailable for comment, according to her manager's office. But, on her website, Bernhard wrote: "[T]hat comment is part of a much larger, nuanced, and yes, provocative (that's what I do) piece from my show about racism, freedom, women's rights, and the extreme views of Governor Sarah Palin - a woman who doesn't believe that other women should have the right to choose, even in cases of rape or incest." Marsh said the Oct. 16 luncheon, "Funny Women, Serious Business," at the Hynes Convention Center will go on, featuring local newscasters Lisa Hughes, Kate Merrill, Frances Rivera, Emily Rooney, Maria Stephanos, and Karen Swensen. Wornick said she and Marsh are lining up replacement talent, and local comedian Patty Ross has already signed on. Rooney also expressed relief that Rosie's Place moved quickly to ax Bernhard. "I'm a free-speech advocate," Rooney said. "But for me it was the political angle. I felt uncomfortable with my position in the news world standing side-by-side with someone who's so partisan. And just the vile nature of it. A lot of the women in Rosie's Place are victims of everything she describes."

After 28 years, Liz Walker is leaving WBZ-TV. She declined to comment yesterday, but a Channel 4 spokeswoman confirmed for us that Walker is departing at the end of the year. "We are very grateful to Liz for her work over the years," said Ro Dooley-Webster. "Now she can dedicate herself full-time to her ministry, her community outreach, and her documentary film production company." Walker is the latest big-name broadcaster to leave WBZ-TV in recent months. She follows sportscaster Bob Lobel and entertainment reporter Joyce Kulhawik, whose contracts were bought out in April by the cost-conscious CBS affiliate. A graduate of Olivet College in Michigan, Walker joined WBZ-TV in 1980, anchoring the station's evening newscasts for nearly 20 years before taking over the noon news in 2000 to spend more time with her son. Most recently, Walker has been producing and hosting a weekly program called "Sunday With Liz Walker." She seemed invigorated by the show, telling the Globe last year: "I am not reporting the news. I am trying to effect change in the world. Life is more exciting now than it ever has been." In 2001, Walker enrolled at Harvard Divinity School, graduating four years later. Today, she is an ordained minister at the Bethel African Methodist Episcopal Church in Jamaica Plain. Never one to sit still, or to remain silent, Walker has traveled several times to war-ravaged Sudan, and in 2002 produced a documentary about the country titled "In the Lion's Mouth."

For Boston Ballet's Lorna Feijóo, the bouquets just keep coming. The prima ballerina has a gorgeous photo spread this month in Latina magazine, along with her sister, Lorena, a principal with the San Francisco Ballet. And the two also appear on "Sesame Street" for the second time on Oct. 14, dancing with Zoe and some other furry friends. Next up: Boston Ballet's "Night of Stars" performance Oct. 10, followed by the lead role in "Cinderella" a week later. "The public loves it," Feijóo gushed, of the art deco James Kudelka-choreographed production, which got its US premiere here in 2005. "I come in, sitting in a big, orange pumpkin. It's very fantasy."

Everything must go! That's the word from Ted Williams's third wife, who's auctioning off many of the Splendid Splinter's prized possessions. Dolores Wettach Williams has enlisted Knotty Pine Auction Service in West Swanzey, N.H., to sell antique furniture, accessories, and even a few dead animal heads from the home the couple shared near Putney, Vt. Dolores, who's 73, was married to Williams from 1967-1973. The couple had two children: John Henry, who died in 2004, and Claudia, with whom Dolores now lives in Florida. The auction will be held Nov. 23, and features several interesting items. They include the mounted heads of exotic game bagged by Ted while on safari in Africa. (How'd you like to hang a greater kudu, a sable antelope, or a Cape buffalo on your living room wall?) There are six English Victorian dining-room chairs, which are said to be from the estate of Rudyard Kipling, and original watercolors and oil paintings by noted artist Charles De Feo. "Some of this you can't put a number on," said Knotty Pine owner John Pappas. "Any time you attach celebrity status, it gets difficult to put a value on things." Pappas said a second auction will be held later to sell some of Ted's baseball-related goodies.

Look for Suffolk University's Peter DiMauro (above) on "Wheel of Fortune" Tuesday. The 20-year-old biology major from Saugus flew out to do the show in August, after acing his audition in New York. He said he signed up on the show's website two years ago, and was shocked when the call finally came. "I've always wanted to be on a game show," he said. "I figured, 'What the heck? Might as well try.' " Of course, DiMauro won't say how he did. Only his mother, brother, and two best friends - who were there - know what happened. "I want it to be a surprise," he said. "A lot of people are saying, 'I hope you had good luck.' "

Bryan Adams is heading our way for MixFest Oct. 11. And don't be too shocked, but the veteran rocker is a little fuzzy on the details. "I guess I'm just going to do the usual set with a couple new songs," Adams said, from a hotel room in Rotterdam yesterday. " 'Stairway to Heaven,' 'Freebird.' " He also had no idea he'll be rocking out backstage with Mix contest winners on Guitar Hero. Adams was more excited to talk about his recent peace concert in Georgia. (The country, not the state.) "I don't know how much western music gets over there," he said. "They were very enthusiastic." He also toured a refugee camp and met with the president. In Boston, his concerns will be a little less serious. "Does Regina's pizza still exist?" he asked. "I'll be happy just to have a slice."

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