Amesbury actor worthy of 'Notice'

By Mark Shanahan & Meredith Goldstein  |  June 24, 2009

Amesbury’s own Jeffrey Donovan graces the cover of TV Guide’s “Hot Bodies’’ issue, which is out tomorrow. Inside, the “Burn Notice’’ star is photographed frolicking in Miami with his costar Gabrielle Anwar. Donovan tells the mag: “Basically, all I do is work out and eat.’’ Others featured in the issue include Kathy Griffin, Kim Kardashian, “Biggest Loser’’ Bob Harper, and Edyta Sliwinska of “Dancing With the Stars.’’

Paul McCartney will, in fact, perform two shows at Fenway Park Aug. 5 and 6, according to an announcement last night from concert promoter LiveNation. Mayor Tom Menino’s Office of Consumer Affairs and Licensing held a public hearing Monday night, and director Patricia Malone is expected to have something to say on the matter today. The former Beatle previously announced plans to gig at Citi Field in New York July 17-19, and FedEx Field in D.C. Aug 1.

Word from the local set of the Adam Sandler movie “Grown Ups’’ is that Woodman’s of Essex will play itself in the film. Woodman’s will indeed be called Woodman’s on the big screen. Sadly, the filmmakers will pretend the restaurant is in Connecticut. Oh well. “That could change,’’ said Woodman’s spokeswoman Terri Lafferty. “Things change every day.’’ Not only will Woodman’s keep its name, its employees will make cameos as servers in the film. Doug, Laurie, and Christine Woodman, and Cindy DiZio are appearing in scenes shot at the restaurant this week, according to Lafferty, who joked that with the exception of the film crew and the A-list actors, it looks like business as usual. Everyone is in uniform ready to serve. “Everyone is in their appropriate positions,’’ she said. Woodman’s is closed for filming until Friday. The “Grown Ups’’ cast - which includes everyone from Maya Rudolph to Chris Rock - continues to be spotted around the North Shore. Rock, for instance, was recently seen at Stop & Shop in Gloucester buying green tea.

About 400 people crammed into Fenway Park’s Jordan’s Third Base Deck yesterday to hear Vice President Joe Biden speak at a fund-raiser for the Democratic National Committee. Governor Deval Patrick was on hand to give Biden his own Red Sox jersey that says “VPOTUS 2’’ on the back. Biden thanked Patrick and said, “I’ll wear this proudly - as long as my wife’s not around.’’ Jill Biden is a loyal Phillies fan.

Jon Lester’s jersey from Game 4 of the 2007 World Series and the third base used in Game 2 of the 2004 World Series are now property of the Smithsonian. Yesterday, the two Red Sox items were added to the National Museum of American History collection, which also houses Archie Bunker’s armchair and Dizzy Gillespie’s B-flat trumpet. Sox co-owner Larry Lucchino and team mascot Wally were on hand to celebrate the addition of the Red Sox paraphernalia. “It’s a gigantic honor for us, the Red Sox, and everybody who supports the Red Sox,’’ Lucchino told us, after the ceremony. “This is a hallowed place.’’ Lucchino noted that the Sox items help balance out the more than 50 Yankees mementos in the museum, which include Thurman Munson’s catcher mask, Whitey Ford’s travel bag, and Allie Reynolds’s uniform. “It’s interesting,’’ Lucchino quipped, “that the Yankees stuff is from so long ago.’’

Charlie Brown can overcome a kite stuck in a tree, or a football snatched away at the last second, but when actor Steven Gagliastro, star of Gloucester Stage Company’s production of “You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown,’’ was stricken with kidney stones Saturday, he was sidelined. Good grief. With no understudy, who would play the lovable loser in the matinee performance? Heidi Dallin, the Stage Company’s publicist, knew that Rockport High School had done “You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown’’ as its spring musical, so she called principal Charles Symonds to track down the kid who played the lead. Two hours before show time, Dallin finally reached senior Brian Audano and asked him to don the familiar yellow shirt with the zigzag stripe and hurry over to Gloucester Stage Company. When word got out that Audano would be starring that afternoon, all of his former castmates bought tickets to support him. (He drove to the theater with his friend Dan DeMarco, who played Snoopy in the high school production.) The show was a huge success. Audano did clutch a script, but barely looked at it, and was rewarded with a standing ovation. “It was very nerve-racking, but I was lucky to be working with professionals,’’ Audano told us. “The other actors sort of showed me what to do, and that was a great help.’’ At last, Charlie Brown was a winner.

New Hampshire-bred skier Bode Miller was among the VIPs who hit the links at Pinehills Golf Club yesterday as part of a celebrity tourney benefiting the Doug Flutie Jr. Foundation for Autism.

Mark Wahlberg spent the past few days at Foxwoods for “Big Shots Titans at the Tee,’’ a celebrity long drive competition that will air on Fox in September. Joining Wahlberg on the green were Joe Theismann, Lawrence Taylor, Marcus Allen, Jim McMahon, and Bruce Jenner. We wouldn’t be surprised if Wahlberg left his golf buddies to come straight to Boston. Our boy Mark is set to start filming the boxing movie “The Fighter,’’ based on pride-of-Lowell Micky Ward, on July 6. The film will be shot locally through the fall. Just a few days after the Lowell Spinners had Hall of Famer Wade Boggs (inset) pouring Miller High Life for fans to celebrate opening weekend, the team released word yesterday that it would give away 1,000 bags of “plastic poop’’ to kids at last night’s game as part of its annual Politically Incorrect Night. (Last year, the Spinners handed out pink potholders to women.) The team said it would also force anyone wearing Yankees paraphernalia yesterday to enter LeLacheur Park through the back door. Stay classy, Lowell Spinners.

Pride of Pawtucket Michael Corrente, who was at a Coolidge Corner Theatre screening of his movie “American Buffalo’’ Monday night, tells us he’ll start filming “The Prince of Providence’’ within the next few months. The movie, which will star Oliver Platt as former Providence mayor Buddy Cianci, has been stalled for various reasons, including costar Robin Williams’s heart problems, but Corrente claims everyone is finally on board for the project. “Except for Buddy,’’ Corrente said. Apparently, Cianci wants no part of the movie because it’s based on the book by Mike Stanton. “That puzzles me,’’ Corrente said, “because he’s never read the book. He claims he’s never read it.’’ Of course, Cianci could be opposed to Corrente’s biopic because the ex-con politician signed on to help with a competing project, “The True Story of Buddy Cianci, America’s Most Notorious Mayor,’’ which is being made by Robert De Niro. Monday’s screening of “American Buffalo,’’ the 1996 movie starring Dustin Hoffman and Dennis Franz, was part of the American Repertory Theatre series “Sex, Satire, Romance, and Ducks: A David Mamet Celebration.’’ Mamet wrote “American Buffalo.’’ He also wrote the screenplay for “The Prince of Providence.’’ Corrente said he was delighted by Monday’s Q&A. “I’m not used to answering so many intelligent questions. Usually, I get ‘What are Dustin Hoffman’s kids like?’ ’’

Andrew Ryan and Michael Levenson of the Globe staff contributed. Read the Names Blog at www.boston.com/namesblog. Names can be reached at names@globe.com or at 617-929-8253.