A SCATTERED LIFE

The $200-million payday for a Led Zeppelin tour wasn’t enough to lure Robert Plant back (wow, he must really hate singing “Stairway”) but their reunion gig in London last December did give us one insight: Plant is a fan of the Blind Boys of Alabama. The singer name-checked the Grammy-winning gospel group before playing their version of “No Fault but My Own.” The 69-year-old outfit performs at the Knitting Factory on Friday (7021 Hollywood Blvd., [323] 463-0204, see Don’t Miss in the Music section). . . . This just sounds like fun: “All the Help You Need: The Adventures of a Hollywood Handyman” is the autobiographical one-man play by TV veteran (and fix-it man) Tim Ryan. It’ll be at the Met Theatre (1089 N. Oxford Ave., [323] 960-7740) through March 30. Don’t mention “Tool Time” and Tim Allen; he might not think it’s funny. . . . The series finale of HBO’s critically acclaimed “The Wire” airs this Sunday. We know where we’ll be. . . . Our date in local history this week: The late Alan Hale Jr. was born 87 years ago Saturday in Los Angeles. Hale enlisted in the Coast Guard during World War II, and later sailed more famously as the Skipper in the 1960s sitcom “Gilligan’s Island.” To celebrate, hug your little buddy.

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-- Geoff.Boucher@latimes.com