JUST THE FAX

Rocker Glenn Frey didn't have a peaceful easy feeling about CBS even before the network canceled his new fall series, South of Sunset, after one episode. Just prior to the show's Oct. 27 debut, the ex-Eagle faxed off a one-page letter to a half dozen executives (including CBS entertainment president Jeff Sagansky and Paramount Television chairman Kerry McCluggage) in which he called the network's decision to air the pilot -which he perceived as weak-'' the most tasteless, gutless, chickens -- - move I've ever seen.'' Frey considered the series' first episode a better introduction to the detective yarn. Frey, who won't comment on his mad faxing, later sent a more apologetic letter, but that didn't keep CBS from pulling the plug in record time. Producer Stan Rogow insists the letters had nothing to do with the cancellation. ''We could have aired Gone With the Wind and no one would have watched,'' says Rogow about Sunset's time slot, opposite Home Improvement and Melrose Place. As another source close to the show put it, ''Because he's not a seasoned TV actor, Glenn isn't aware of what it takes for a show to get on the air and stay there.'' Although you can bet the singer probably won't be on a CBS series anytime soon, he did manage to ease the pain of Sunset's sudden demise by picking up most of the tab for the wrap party, at which he and another former Eagle, Joe Walsh, performed. The theme of the bash: ''You can't cancel rock & roll.'' -Pat H. Broeske