RANDOM PIC OF THE WEEK
Several years ago my friend Don Frid, nephew of the late, great Jonathan Frid (Barnabas Collins from “Dark Shadows”) gifted me with several personal photographs from Jonathan’s collection after he passed away. He gave me permission to occasionally post the photos so other Jonathan Frid fans could enjoy these candid shots of Jonathan at rest and play with family and friends.
Here’s an old snapshot of Jonathan at a family gathering around what looks like Christmas (evidenced by the hanging mistletoe in the doorway in the background).
For the next few weeks, the WWH song-of-the-week will no doubt be songs by Electric Light Orchestra. I’m seeing them in concert at the Hollywood Bowl on 9/11 and I’ve been cramming with my ELO CDs all week. LOTS of great music! But the one I’ve been humming consistently is “Tightrope” from “A New World Record.” Every song on that album is gold! I’m praying they play “Tightrope” at their concert. If looking at their past concert setlists is any indication, it looks like they sometimes use it to open the show. No doubt because of the dramatic, electronic introduction to the song. Perfect for starting a show! Jeff Lynne…are you listening?
Monday the 22nd – WAKING AND DREAMING! – After getting to bed at 10am (which seems to have become a habit of late), I didn’t wake up until 3pm. My agent had been trying to reach me about a possible session on Wednesday, but I had forgotten to turn the ringer on my bedroom hotline back on. I’m starting to get so many telemarketers calling that “private” number that I don’t leave the ringer on all the time. Otherwise I’d be getting woken up every hour by some numbskull who can’t read that my number is on the national Do Not Call list. (Leave it to the government to enact a law they don’t ever enforce) I think I’m going to have to change the number soon. In fact, I may need to change the number every year just to stay ahead of the telemarketers. I did some work on the computer, answered my e-mails, and started to wonder if summer was coming to a close already. The weather was very mild. My assistant Sara came over and we drove to Miceli’s to get some lasagna. Normally I really enjoy the piano player they have who provides nice dinner music, but the player they had on that night must’ve been on crack. He played everything 100 times faster than it should have been, and 100 times louder than it should have been. There were no quiet, slow passages. Everything was fast and loud, and it seemed to be rattling the nerves of the patrons. When the other piano player plays, he’ll get light applause after some numbers. But when this guy finished…nothing. In fact, everybody seemed to really enjoy when he took his break and the taped music started. Remember in the movie “Amadeus” when the king listened to Mozart’s music and his simple review was, “Hmmm….too many notes.” That would have been my simple review in this case. He must not have been schooled in how to play dinner music to create a mood. It was more like he thought he was on stage playing a concerto. Strange. Maybe it’s Miceli’s way of getting people to eat their food and get out. Well, it worked. I’ve got to go on Yelp to see if anyone commented about it. I went home to grab a nap, and while I napped I had a great dream about my best friend and contractor Terry Crisp, who passed away about a year ago. He was talking about hanging a door in my house that I had acquired from an historic house of some kind. He was giving me a list of all the tools he needed, but he was speaking in contractor code that I couldn’t understand. The door was larger than my doorway, so he was measuring and telling me how he was going to enlarge the doorway to accommodate the new door. It was very funny. I think I know where that dream came from. Earlier in the evening, when I was walking Roxy, I was talking to my neighbor gal about a shipment of a bathroom door that had been delivered to her and left on her patio. She asked me if I thought it would be OK left there overnight. I like dreaming about friends and relatives that have passed on. I once heard that if you dream of them, that’s an indication that they’ve crossed over successfully into eternal peace. I’ve dreamt of my grandparents, other relatives and friends, and even my dog Sassie. Strangely enough, a friend of mine that committed suicide has yet to enter my dream state. I wonder what that means. When I woke up I had a bunch of auditions to do, and I finished writing Wally’s Week. I walked Roxy on our late-night stroll through the neighborhood and then I made some hot dogs on the grill and watched another “Barnaby Jones” episode.
Tuesday the 23rd – WHAT IF YOUR LANDLINE STOPPED WORKING AND NOBODY NOTICED? – When I got up at 2pm I walked Roxy, checked e-mail and got a call from my agent about a booking for a Farmer’s TV spot on Wednesday. I did a last-minute audition for a UK TV commercial, and then I got prepped for a phone interview at 7pm. But when I picked up my land-line to call the interviewer (my cell phone doesn’t get consistent signal in my house) the line was dead; no dial tone. It had probably been out for a day or so and nobody noticed! I hardly ever use it, but when I need it, I need it. I e-mailed the interviewer to tell him, but he said he was running behind anyway so we had to reschedule until Thursday. I figured my landline would be fixed by then. My Facebook friend Patty Hawkins brought over actress Erika Ervin for a tour of Planet Wallywood. When I first met Erika I was wondering if she was going to fit in my house…she’s nearly 7 feet tall! It was fun showing them around. Erika had been on “American Horror Story” and continues to act in various projects. After they left I realized that I should have had her sign my wall of fame! D’oh! After they left I grabbed a nap on the couch and then got up for a ton of auditions. I fed and walked Roxy and then did some work on the computer. I made a Tombstone pizza and watched another “Barnaby Jones” episode. I REALLY love this show! It’s very consistent!
Wednesday the 24th – AT&T, NOT WORKIN’ FOR ME! – Right around 1 I got up and got ready to drive to Santa Monica for my Farmers TV spot session. I wanted to stop at my favorite Mexican restaurant before I went to Lime studios for the session, so I got an early start. Luckily the traffic was great and I had a half hour to enjoy my lunch before the session. It’s a very cute commercial and I play the voice of a traffic reporter. More details on it as it begins to air. But it’s really funny! By the time I hit the freeway on the way home the afternoon traffic had begun, and it took me a good hour to get home. But I just chatted on the phone with my friend Scott Maguire in Sioux Falls, and I called my folks too. I got home and did a little work, and then crashed on the couch for FIVE hours! That traffic must’ve worn me out! My pal Jasmine came over for a quick visit, and then I set about doing my nightly auditions. Part of the group of auditions included singing an old traditional cockney song. It was a lot of fun! One thing about this Voice Over business; you just never know what is going to be asked of you from day to day! I checked my home phone and still no dial tone. It was supposed to be fixed by Wednesday afternoon. I’m starting to realize why AT&T is losing business like crazy. I made some Kraft jalapeno shells and cheese, but it was WAY too hot for me! I could have put one quarter of the dried jalapenos in the pot and it would have been fine. WHEW! So I made some of my famous Buffalo Mac and watched the final episode of the second season of “Barnaby Jones.”
Thursday the 25th – SKIN TAG…YOU’RE IT! – The first thing I did when I woke up was to check my landline. Still no dial tone. I called AT& T and asked what the deal was. They said they had a technician check it, and they were getting dial tone just fine at their office. I told them I didn’t need to make calls from THEIR office, but from MINE! What kind of idiotic service is this? I asked them why they didn’t just call my number and see if the answering machine picked up. If it did, it’s working. If it didn’t, it’s not. Or a simple call to confirm with me would be great. Idiots. I’d dump my home phone service all together if my cell signal was reliable and consistent in my house. At the very least I may change carriers, but keep my home phone. I did a quick last-minute audition before my doctor appointment. I had about 3 skin tags under my arms that were driving me nuts, and I really wanted to get them removed. So I went to my doctor to get them removed. He ended up taking 9 of them off. He said he wanted me to get my money’s worth. Afterwards I met with Sara for lunch at Paty’s, and then we got ice cream at Baskin-Robbins. I picked up a prescription at CVS, got some groceries, and then headed home. Even though my home phone STILL wasn’t working, I did the interview with Jonathan Johnson on my cell phone. It was a fun interview and I stayed in one place in my house so I didn’t lose signal. I grabbed a short nap after the interview, and then got up to do my auditions for the night. I went to Denny’s to get some food to go and then headed home to start in on the next item on my TV/DVD viewing schedule. Though I’ve finished watching all the “Kojak” TV episodes on DVD, I haven’t seen the many TV movies that were produced after the show’s cancellation. I think there were about 4 of them, not including the pilot in 1973. I started in on the pilot and enjoyed it quite a bit, but even though it was supposed to have taken place in 1963 when Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. gave his famous “I Have a Dream” speech, the cars and mode of dress in the film were very 1973. I was confused by that. They didn’t shoot it as a period piece. Even more confusing, the plot didn’t necessarily hinge upon the story taking place at that particular time in history. So why couldn’t they just have made it a 1973 modern-day piece? It was kind of a mess, but it was fun watching Telly Savalas mold and shape his Kojak character that rule the television airwaves for five seasons. I didn’t get to bed until 8:30am, but got up Friday at noon!
Friday the 26th – FANTASTIC, FUNNY FRIDAY! – I had to be up at high noon to let my maids in to clean Planet Wallywood. As they arrived, my contractor Electric Bob showed up too. He needed to fix a broken light switch before my Saturday night movie night. When they all left, I was still a bit tired. I had only gotten about 3 hours of sleep, since I hadn’t gotten to bed until 8:30 that morning. I went back to bed for a bit and then got up later to feed Roxy and Spook. I hit the shower and got ready to meet my friend Brittney Powell for dinner at Barone’s Italian Restaurant. They had live music that night, and I was blown away by the keyboard player named Karen Hernandez. She was all over that keyboard, and was playing it very well. I told Brittney that I was willing to bet that she has been playing since she was about 4. Sure enough, I found out later I was right. Unlike the music on Monday night, she knew when to shine, and when to lay back. She varied up her volume and rhythm nicely. A true artist. Here’s her website… https://www.caljas.org/news/karen-hernandez-trio-this-sunday-june-26/ Tommy, the manager at Barone’s, said Karen used to play for Anita O’Day! I was also blown away by a clarinet player who just happened to be in the audience, and just happened to have his clarinet with him. It was amazing to watch. Total old school! Then an old Vaudeville guy named Tony Russell came up and told some jokes that were hilarious! Check out Tony’s page at https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0751001/ What a great night full of terrific entertainment! I got home and relaxed a bit, and then got up later to do some work around the house to prepare for movie night on Saturday night. I enjoyed some leftover Barone’s pizza and another “Kojak” TV movie called “The Belarus File” with Max Von Sydow.
Saturday the 27th – DO NOT ATTEMPT TO ADJUST YOUR TELEVISION! – Mid-afternoon I picked up my “adopted grandma” Shirley so we could get her some grocery items she needed. But first I stopped by my mailbox to get some mail and have lunch with my friend Scott Sebring, who was in the area. I received in the mail my DVD set of “The Outer Limits.” In last week’s Wally’s Week I spoke of an old pal of mine from fifth and sixth grade named Kent Stolz. I reached out to him via e-mail and we’ve been corresponding all week; reliving all of the great old stories about the crazy things we used to do, and the teachers we used to tease. At the time I used to draw up little magazine containing cartoons of characterizations of our school life experiences. So we wouldn’t get into trouble, we gave each of our teachers a code name, so they wouldn’t catch on to us. There was Longhorn, Snuffy, Moose, Elk, Clown, Snowflake, Southern Nose, Shaved Runkey, Lamb, Ram, Horse and Chrome Dome. Luckily, Kent had saved all of those “Yes Magazines” over the years, and several years back he scanned every one of them for me. We had fun revisiting those magazine and laughing about stuff we had almost forgotten about; save for the reminders provided in “Yes Magazine.” One of the things Kent and I used to enjoy was staying up late, ordering a Lu’s Pizza to be delivered, and watching “The Outer Limits” on Friday nights. So I got to thinking that “The Outer Limits” might be a fun DVD to get for my late-night viewing pleasure. I dropped Shirley off at home, and then Scott and I headed to my house to do some work on some projects. Then movie night started a few hours later and we watched “The Mark of Zorro” from 1940. What a fun movie. I don’t think I had ever seen the entire movie before. When my guests left I grabbed a short nap, and then got up to edit some music and input some information into my database. I made my traditional Saturday Night Super Salad and watched the second episode of “The New Avengers” from the U.K. back in 1976. I know it stars Patrick Macnee as John Steed, but in this show he doesn’t really seem like John Steed for some reason.
Sunday the 28th – ANGELS UNAWARE! – Though it took a whole year, better late than never. At the 2015 San Diego Comic Con I did an informational panel for Voice-Actor hopefuls who wanted to get pointers about the business. It was videotaped and now it’s up on-line for everyone to see. If you’re interested check it out at… https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VRL3Q3-hWHc Late in the day I woke up and got ready for evening church. It’s still a little warm out, but I took Roxy along with me anyway. She hadn’t gone in several weeks and she really loves going. But between the warm evening, and the warm church building, I was wishing I had left her home. She was so excited to see everyone, and all the activity and excitement made her sick on the way home. So I took her back after church and put her in the cool air conditioned house while I went to dinner with friends. The scripture which was the subject of the message hit me very personally. It’s Hebrews chapter 13, verses 1 and 2. You can look it up, but it basically says to always be sure to practice the act of brotherly and sisterly love, and when you provide hospitality to strangers, you may be entertaining angels unaware. Wow! I’ve had Planet Wallywood now for 16 years exactly, and I’ve had hundreds of people come in through my door for movie nights, Thanksgiving open house events, tours, etc. I got to wondering if any of those hundreds of people who have visited have been angels? Hmmm…
And how was YOUR week??!!
Here’s the video for the 2015 SDCC panel I was talking about.
