Here's the Terrific Trio making an entrance
into the convention.

While Don went photo shopping, Kristy subs as
Julie's assistant.

Ken poses with Julie

Julie signs Ken's Catwoman belt

Kristy and Malachi turn heads at the
convention

Adam acts surprised by Batgirl's kiss

Adam poses with Kristy and the painting she did of the Batman animated opening.

Phil from CBS TV New York dons his Batman
costume to pose with Ken and I.

Ken models my Robin costume

All dressed up and headed to Broadway!

Our limo takes us through Manhattan

Look out! Snowball fight!

Not my name in lights, but snow!

Getaway to Gotham
March 03

After being the voice of the Pax TV Network for close to 3 years, and having to severely limit my travel because of it, I decided when the gig had ended in November '02 that I would make a serious effort to travel more in the coming year. You might remember the article I posted about the great time we had at The Super Mega Show in Boston in November, well this article details all the fun we had at the Super Mega Show in Newark, New Jersey on March 6 through the 9th!

Thursday the 6th, my friend Kristy and I packed up my car and headed to LAX at 9:30 am. We were going to lose the entire day traveling since LA and New Jersey have a 3-hour time difference, and it's a 6-hour flight coast to coast. Plus, we were booked on separate airlines, and Kristy's flight had a slight stopover in Chicago, which would put her in Newark even later than I. Before we headed to LAX, I stopped by my 4-i's Productions address to see if my friend Andy sent the Batgirl walkie-talkie he was making for her. It indeed had arrived just in time to make for a great prop for Kristy once she was in the Batgirl costume. I also stopped by FedEx to overnight some Batman posters to myself, in care of the Newark Sheraton where we'd be staying. I already had 2 bags to be checked, and 2 carry-ons, so I had no additional room for a large mailing tube. I also obtained a self-addressed FedEx mailing label for its return trip to LA. Everything was going according to plan. We made our flights on time. I was on United (a SPLENDID airline in my opinion) and Kristy was on ATA, a smaller airline I'd never heard of. But the ticket was cheap. I relaxed, drank a lot of Diet Pepsis (thankfully, United is a Pepsi airline) and slept the majority of the way. But I awoke just in time to see the lights of New York and New Jersey welcoming me to the East Coast. I got a ride to the hotel and unloaded my bags in my room. Since Newark had just been blanketed with a fresh coating of snow, I figured I'd don my coat and gloves and relive some childhood memories playing in the snowy, bitingly cold evening.
On either side of the hotel driveway, there were small, pristine fields of smooth, dusty snow. So...I decided to write my name in it. Not the old-fashioned way, mind you! That could get me arrested by Newark's finest! No, this time I would spell it out in BIG letters by stomping it out in footprints. I trudged out onto the lawn and began my work. First, I stomped out "KRISTY" on the left side, and then I stomped out "WALLY" on the right. I felt my face growing numb from the cold and went to my room to thaw out. Just then, Kristy called to say that, not only had she been delayed in Chicago because of bad weather, but also ATA had lost her luggage! This was made even more horrifying given the fact that the missing luggage contained her Batgirl suit and about a thousand dollars worth of clothes she had checked out from the Warner Brothers Costuming Department where she works! She borrowed the outfit to attend the Broadway show we'd be seeing on Saturday starring Frank Gorshin! So, by the time she checked into her room, she had been undergoing a 12-hour ordeal, and didn't even have the luxury of a change of clothes!!

Friday the 7th, we had spent all morning on the phone with ATA trying to determine where Kristy's luggage had disappeared. All we were getting was an answering machine, but no answers! We were getting VERY nervous! ATA was ruining our trip! The morning was made worse when I received my mailing tube of Batman posters from FedEx. It wasn't my Batman posters at all! I had packed the wrong posters!!! Apparently I grabbed a roll of posters I thought were them, and FedExed the wrong ones! So, between calls to ATA, I called my faithful friend Terry who would be at Planet Wallywood later that day doing some work. I gave him instructions to send the right ones FEdEx, and he came through like a champ! Meanwhile, we found out that Kristy's luggage would be in on the 10:11pm flight, and would then be delivered to the hotel. That meant that our March tour of NYC would have to be made in her LA clothes...she hadn't dressed for the cold weather! I put in a call to Ken Davis. He's a New York-based costume designer who did the Batgirl costume for the "Return to the Batcave" movie, and also made the majority of Kristy's Batgirl costume. I was trying to cover my bases and asked him to bring a spare costume in case hers didn't arrive.

My buddy Leon runs CLS Limousine in NYC and offered a complimentary car during our stay. We started by having lunch with our driver Cadet in the hotel restaurant. To my surprise, character actor Malachi Throne was also dining there with his lovely wife! He was appearing that weekend at the show and had come in early. I introduced myself and said I was looking forward to seeing him at the convention. He and his wife are very nice people. Then we were on our way to the city! But first I took Cadet and Kristy up in the glass elevator to the 11th floor so we could see my snowy artwork. We took a picture of our names in the snow, but noticed that there had been additions made to my snowy masterpiece. Other names and symbols appeared around mine. Just then, the elevator opened and 3 young girls asked, "Is that y'all's work?" (They were from Houston.) And when I said yes, they explained that they too had seen the names from the high floors and wanted to inscribe their names as well! That was the first good laugh we had all day!

Our driver Cadet was terrific! He took us through Central Park, Times Square, by the Statue of Liberty, and to Ground Zero. At first, I was hesitant to go, fearing that our presence there would lower the dignity of the experience to a dishonorable sightseeing trip. But once there, I realized it was a good opportunity to pay respects to those who were lost on 9-11. But the already cold day was becoming even more frigid, (and Kristy wasn't dressed for the weather!) so we went back to Newark for dinner. Just as I was coming out of the hotel gift shop with some provisions, Adam, Fred, Julie & Don all arrived simultaneously! We all said our hellos and agreed to meet for dinner in the restaurant. I also saw my pal Wild Bill and his family. Wild is a vendor at conventions who specializes in bobblehead figures. He had me ship a few cases of Wobblin' Wallys to him last week so he could carry them at the show in his booth, and also on his website.

We started at the hotel bar where Adam was having a drink. We were soon joined by Julie and Don, Fred, Wild Bill and eventually Malachi Throne. I guess that was the place to gather before dinner! Malachi and Adam got caught up and we all had some laughs. (Malachi REALLY hated that False Face mask!) Unfortunately, no table in the restaurant seated more than 4 people! So Wild and his family sat at one table. Kristy, Fred, Adam and I sat at a nearby table. And Julie sat at with Tanya Roberts at another. Can you imagine what a party it would have been had the restaurant's seating been more accommodating? But we had a nice discussion with Adam about life in general, his family, his recent PR junket to promote "Return to the Batcave," the things we liked about the film, our disappointments in it, and general hilarity. But it was getting to be time for Kristy's luggage to be delivered to the hotel. So she went to call ATA to make sure delivery was all set. But they told her their delivery service was done for the night, and they'd deliver it the next morning! I was starting to realize that ATA stood for A TERRIBLE AIRLINE! They actually expected her to live in the same clothes for 48 hours! She said she'd take the hotel shuttle over and get the luggage herself! My advice? Never ever even CONSIDER using ATA...you'll no doubt be sorry like we were.

Saturday the 8th it was up and at 'em at 9 sharp, and ready for the Super Mega Show Day 1. My first purchase was a beautiful framed Barnabas Collins lithograph signed by Jonathan Frid. I had been in the market for a Frid autograph for quite a while, and this was the perfect piece. I also got a signed pic from Malachi & Robert Vaughn. It was great finally meeting a lot of the "easterners" I have come to know through e-mail and the message boards. It was also great meeting all new friends. I met up with John; a photo dealer, Lenny; who I've been in touch with for many years, Carlos and his lovely cat-eared wife, and others! As I was walking around, a guy asked if I was Wally. He introduced himself as Danny - bandleader of The Characters, a retro dance band that was playing at the convention. He does an Austin Powers segment in their show, and said he ran across my site while doing some research for the bit. I finally met up with Ken and his friend Todd, so we headed for the batpoles to get into costume. You see, Ken was going to wear the Robin costume so we could be a complete Terrific Trio. So we all got suited up, and headed back downstairs to the convention. We posed for hundreds of pics with some great people. What fun! Even Lenny and his adorable nieces got a picture with us.

I ran down to the front desk (still in costume) to see if my FedEx had arrived. They said they hadn't seen it, and I started to panic. As I returned to the con, there was a wedding party in the lobby who wanted some pics with Batman and the groom. So now, I'll be part of some happy couple's wedding album! THAT'S a new one for me!

When I got back to the room, I changed out of my costume and called FedEx to track my package. I obtained the name of the Sheraton employee who signed for it, and called the front desk to try and find him. They asked, "Is this Batman?" The finally found the package, and all was right with the world.

We got cleaned up and dressed in our fancy duds, and got ready to go to the city to see Frank Gorshin in "Say Goodnight Gracie," a one-man show about George Burns auditioning for God to gain entrance into Heaven! Don and Julie were going too, and a contact of mine was nice enough to obtain house seats for us. It was also set up that we'd be visiting Frank backstage after the show. Cadet arrived at 6:30 to drive us into NYC. Fred and Adam had wanted to go too, but were unable at the last minute because they were both too exhausted from their busy weeklong Batcave promotional junket.

As we drove into New York, Julie took great delight in being back in the Big Apple. She pointed out the places she used to frequent, theatres in which she had performed, and some of her favorite eateries. We got to the Helen Hayes theatre at 7:40, took our seats in the 7th row, and saw on of the most amazing theatrical experiences ever! I'm no critic, but if Frank doesn't win a Tony award for his portrayal of George Burns, I'd be utterly shocked and dismayed! When he first enters, a strange feeling overtook me. My mind knew that George was dead, and that was Frank on stage portraying him, but my heart refused to believe the information my head was feeding it! Frank's physicality and attention to detail, along with Rupert Holmes' clever and concise writing, made this hour and a half show seem like a mere 20 minutes! Julie's observation was that, though the show was a sentimental journey, Frank didn't over-sentimentalize it in his portrayal.

Afterwards, we were all escorted downstairs where Frank and Julie posed for photos, and Frank signed our Playbills. Then we went next door to Psardi's Restaurant (one of Julie's favorites) for dinner, and Frank soon joined us. It was a fantastic evening, the likes of which I'll never forget!

Sunday the 9th I packed everything up early and went down to the convention for some last minute purchases. Plus, I STILL hadn't had Adam sign the posters I had FedExed. After all that hassle, I didn't want to forget THAT! Plus, I had another quest. I few months back, I purchased a George Reeves autograph at an auction. The inscription reads, "To Wally, thanks for watching. George "Superman" Reeves." What a strange coincidence that was! Well, I immediately thought a companion autograph from TV's Batman would be a logical choice for my concept. So I asked Adam if he'd write the same inscription with HIS signature, and I'd frame them together with their respective TV Guide covers. The line was long, but I waited. When it was my turn I had about 10 things for him to sign for me. But good old Adam wanted to chat. I felt I was taking too much of his time, and that I was holding up his rather considerable line. So I got him through it was quickly as possible without being rude, and moved aside so others could have their turn.

I had a lot of fun at Dr. Mego's table mixing and matching super hero heads, bodies and costumes! Plus the Batgirl we met in Boston in November had shown up, (but not in costume) so it was great to see her again too! Wild Bill and I exchanged autographed bobbleheads, (he has HIS own bobblehead too!) and I bought a few more photos from John Braun. (Which I think I left at the convention somewhere, because they never made it home!) I also had the delightful opportunity to chat with Barbara Feldon from "Get Smart." Then Todd, Ken, Kristy and I had lunch before they took the long drive back to Rochester. But the find of the day was Don Kyle's! When Adam has a rare lull in his line, he doodles on the cloth covering his table. He's come up with all sorts of funny sketches. But Don grabbed this one hastily. It's Adam's Artist's Rendering of Fred entitled "Agent Fred." It's absolutely hysterical and do NOT expect to find it on ebay soon!

The day ended with Don, Julie, Kristy and I taking the hotel shuttle to the Newark Airport. I started talking with a few nice ladies in the terminal who would be on my flight. Come to find out, one of them was the sister of cartoon voice legend June Foray! What a small world! Former Beverly Hills 90210-er Ian Ziering was also on my flight, and the young female United Air employees enjoyed getting his autograph. When I got off the plane in LA, Rob Schneider was waiting for his girlfriend (who was on my flight) with a sign professing his love for her. That was a pretty sweet thing to see and I wish them the best of luck in their relationship. But I got home in good shape and it was good to see Sassie again! It was another great trip for the books!

A beautiful New York sunset