RANDOM PIC OF THE WEEK

Love comes in all forms! Amazing shot!

As we start to wind out our study of “story songs,” this is one of my favorites. The lyrics are fairly ambiguous and it’s tough to ascertain exactly what happened and what caused Billy Joe McAlister to jump off the Tallahatche Bridge. After doing some reading I learned that the original version of this song was about 7 minutes, but the record company demanded it be cut down to a “radio friendly” 3 minutes. I’m suspecting that a lot of the backstory that was necessary to fill in some expositional gaps got left on the editing room floor in the process. But there are lots of website dedicated to speculating what those missing elements might be. Here’s Bobbie Gentry with “Ode to Billy Joe.”

Monday the 24th – LOTSA SCOTTS! – In the early afternoon I drove over to Tarzana to the Braemar Country Club to meet up with a guy named Scott, who chairs the P.A.L.S. program (Police Activities League Supporters). I’ve been wanting to get involved in this organization for a while, but because of my ongoing sinus troubles during the beginning of the year I always had to miss the meetings. But this was a big charity golf tournament and I wanted to look in on the fun, meet Scott and talk more about the organization. I also met Ross, the incoming President. Scott will be moving to Kansas in a few months to be closer to family. After Ross and I talked for a bit, he suggested I might be a good choice for emcee at their big appreciation dinner coming up in November. I told him I had been doing that sort of thing since I was 16 in radio, and I would be honored to do the job! On the way back to my house I talked to another Scott on the phone. The second Scott used to be the Casting Director at “The Tonight Show.” I hadn’t talked to him in a while and he had left a message earlier in the day. It was great to chat and catch up. I got some lunch at Jack In the Box and went home to do some work. It was a fairly cool day with considerable cloud cover, so I’m guessing it was probably a pretty nice day for the golf tournament. I’m not a golfer, but I can assume that if the day involves the absence of the sun beating down on your head, it’s probably a good thing for your game. After doing a little work around the house I grabbed a short nap on the couch. Then later in the evening I got up to do my nightly auditions. I wrote Wally’s Week, and then set about scanning some photos that didn’t make it in the original batch of scannable photos. Since late last year, I had my assistant Sara and my friend Emily scanning my photo collection like mad in an impromptu scanning station I had set up in the kitchen. It was my goal to get every snapshot photo in my collection (both personal and collectible) committed to a digital format in a special computer I had designated just for the job. Just before the 4th of July I was convinced that we had done it. That is, until I was doing some cleaning of my bedroom closet and discovered two large binders full of photos of my kids from their childhoods. I had put them far away in the closet for safe keeping so nothing would happen to them. They were tucked away SO securely, that I completely missed putting them in the initial scan batch. Instead of setting up the scanning station again, I just decided to scan them from my personal computer and then transfer the files over to the scan computer when it was completed. I sure was having a great time looking through all of those old photos of when my kids were newborns, starting school, coming to visit me in Los Angeles, etc. It’ll take me several nights to complete the project, but I’m taking it nice and slowly because I’m enjoying looking at the old pictures so much. I made a pot pie later and settled in to watch another episode of “The Outer Limits” before bed.

Tuesday the 25th – SID AT SONS! – Shortly after noon I met my friends Edi and Elliot for lunch at the Studio Café. I got to show them the finished Elliot Lurie; Looking Glass baseball tees I had printed and they loved them. But a few days earlier I decided to embellish them even more with a print on the back. It’ll say BRANDY 72 (like it would on the back of a team jersey) to commemorate Elliot’s hit song “Brandy” from the year 1972. I drove the shirts over to Wizard printing and handed them off to Debbie to get the design printed on the back. They’ll be ready in a few weeks. I drove over to see my pal Kyle at Plastic Depot, because the little drawer he created for me was all finished. It was gorgeous and perfect as always. There is some open space on a shelving unit in The Tranquility Zone, so I had him create a black shelf that could hold some supplies; like pens, paper, batteries, a flashlight, matches, etc. I had him make one before and it fit perfectly. Best of all, the black “mirror-finish” plastic he used just disappears visually. And it looks great! I headed over to my mailbox to get some packages, and then headed home to do some work. I fed Roxy and Spooky, and then sped over to my “adopted grandma” Shirley’s place to pick her up for another “Sons of the Desert” meeting. The “Sons of the Desert” is the Laurel and Hardy fan club meetings I attend about every other month. Because of my sinus issues of late, I hadn’t been able to attend as much as I would have liked over the past several months. This was a great meeting! Comic and Stan Laurel impersonator Jim MacGeorge was there telling jokes, and Sid Kibrick was there to tell stories about his days working on the old “Little Rascals” films of the late 30’s! He was a sidekick called “The Woim” to the tough kid named “Butch.” He had some great stories and took questions from the audience. Shirley loved it too! After a few movies I took her back home, and then I went to my house to grab a short nap on the couch. Later I got up for several auditions, scanned some more pics from my kids’ photo albums, made a Tombstone pizza, and watched another “Outer Limits” before calling it a day.

Wednesday the 26th – MISSING JUNE…IN JULY! – Sleeping late sure felt good. We’re in the time of year when it’s very, very slow in the industry. It happens every year around this time, which is why a lot of my industry pals take their vacations right about now. I sat down and started tackling my scanning project again. Sara finished her work so we decided to meet at Paty’s for some dinner on the patio. I randomly selected a baseball cap (as I always do) and headed out. We had a fun time at Paty’s dining on the patio in the cool summer breezes, but when I got home I read the sad news; June Foray (voice of hundreds of characters including Rocky the Flying Squirrel) had passed away at the age of 99. She passed away three months shy of her 100th birthday! I was flabbergasted. The “randomly selected” cap I chose before heading out the door to dinner…was my Rocky the Flying Squirrel cap! Weird! I was truly blessed to have worked with her on many occasions on “The Garfield Show.” She played Mrs. Cauldron, a lady who “may or may not be a witch,” as well as a few other characters. It was fun watching her work. Even at that time she was about 95 years old. I was amazed that she sat down to read her script and didn’t need any sort of reading glasses! Amazing! One particular day is etched into my memory for all time. In the scene we were recording Jon Arbuckle was walking the streets looking for a lost Garfield and Odie. He came upon an old couple sitting on a porch and asked them if they had seen his pets. The old couple was voiced by the legendary Stan Freberg and Miss Foray. We recorded the scene once, and our director/writer/producer Mark Evanier wanted to do it once more. He came on the “talkback” (the little intercom the directors use to talk to the actors in the voice booth) and said, “OK…Wally, June, Stan. Go back…” and that’s all I remember him saying. Hearing my name grouped in with those two legends made my heart skip a beat. It made me have to catch my breath. It made my head swim! I apologized to Mark and asked him to repeat the direction as I didn’t hear anything he said after, “Wally, June and Stan!” I’ll never forget that as long as I live! I took a nap for a bit, and then got up for a bunch of auditions. I fed and walked Roxy, and then made some of my infamous Buffalo Mac. I watched another episode of “The Outer Limits,” and it was the famous one called “The Mutant.” It’s the one you’ve seen pictures of I’m sure. It features a bald guy with enormous, buggy eyes. My first exposure to a publicity photo of that character was in a magazine I bought as a kid. I can’t remember the name of it, but it featured pictures of creatures and monsters from famous movies, but they had cartoon balloons over them with funny quips. I remember seeing the shot of the buggy-eyed guy with the caption “That’s the last dirty movie I’ll ever see!” I never forgot that. Well, as a bonus, come to find out…the buggy-eyed guy in the show was played by the great Warren Oates; Sergeant Hulka! It was a great episode!! I’m really loving this show!

Thursday the 27th – DUPED AT DuPARS! – Mid-afternoon I met a friend of Sara’s named Aaron who was interested in finding out more about the Voice Over industry. We met at DuPar’s, a place I normally like to visit. But the food was really bad. I mean AWFUL! The mac and cheese I ordered tasted like the cheese had gone bad. I took a few bites and exchanged it for some chicken strips. But the chicken strips tasted very “fishy.” It was as if they had battered them with the same batter that they’d use for their fish n chips. I took a few bites and called it a day. I don’t think I’ll be going back there any more, sad to say. I went next door to GNC and picked up some supplements, mailed some letters, and then went home to corral my cat Spooky into his carrying case. He was getting snagged on all sorts of things around my house, so I figured it was time to get him a mani/pedi. As I’m waiting for his claws to be trimmed, once again I ran into the great Jon “Bowzer” Bauman at the sushi restaurant next to my groomer’s. Oddly enough, just above the bench where I was seated, was a sign advertising Jon’s Towing. Of all the weird things! When I got home I read on-line that an actor from the original “Little Rascals” films had died. I was overcome with fear that it was Sid Kibrick, the gentleman whom I had just seen a few nights ago! Thankfully it wasn’t him, but Mr. Kibrick is now in a very small group of surviving members of the “Little Rascals.” I did some work, recorded a few auditions, and then walked over to Floyd’s to get a touch-up on my color. It’s always fun chatting with my stylist Andie. I walked home, grabbed a nap, and then got up later to do some work around the house. I drove over to Denny’s to get some food to go, and then anxiously took it home to get ready for bed and watch another “Outer Limits.” Unfortunately, the episode was a rare “clunker” called “The Guests.” It wasn’t good at all. But luckily this is a rare occurrence, as most of them are terrific!

Friday the 28th – SINUS PART DEUX! – My contractor Electric Bob came by at noon to do some painting and patching. This will finish up the recent project we undertook to fix a leak in my Puppet Room shower. He fixed a few other things around the house while I did some work. The past few weeks had been great with my sinuses and I really felt I was turning a corner. I wasn’t experiencing any more pain or ringing in the ears and I was on the mend. But the past few days I had noticed some minor pain in my back sinuses, and the ringing had returned. I had been going to bed with cold packs every night, but a few weeks ago I stopped because I was feeling so much better. It might have been a bad idea to stop. I dropped an e-mail to my surgeon to ask her advice. She wants me to come in so she can have a look. I’m going to keep cold packs on all weekend and see how I feel on Monday. While Bob finished working I laid on the couch with a cold pack on my face. My maids soon arrived afterwards and while they worked upstairs, I continued to keep my face coated in cold; hopefully to shrink up any inflamed sinus tissues that’s causing the fullness and discomfort. But make no mistake – it’s nowhere NEAR what I was experiencing before the surgery! I had gotten four tickets to my friend Misty Lee’s magic show called “Bold Magic” at the El Portal theatre in North Hollywood. A few days ago Sara got work on a TV movie, so I called my friend Teri to see if she wanted to go in her place. Then, just a few hours before show time, my friend Brittney Powell called and said she was sick. Luckily my friend Amy was able to go in her place. So it was Shirley, Teri, Amy and I sitting in the fourth row. We had a great time and we all enjoyed the show. Afterwards, we met a bunch of other folks from the audience for dinner at Little Toni’s, just down the street from the theatre. My old pals Mark Evanier and Gregg Berger were there, as was Misty’s hubby Paul Dini. The food was yummy, but I had to get home to walk Roxy. I did manage to get a short nap with a cold pack, and when I got up later I felt pretty good. I did a little work and then settled in with some leftover Little Toni’s pizza and an episode of “The Outer Limits” in The Tranquility Zone.

Saturday the 29th – THERE IS NOTHING WRONG WITH YOUR TELEVISION! REALLY?! – I slept until 4 in the afternoon and it sure felt great! My pal Mark Evanier called and we chatted for about an hour; talking about the magic show and a few other issues. Then I got ready and headed out to get some grocery items I’d need for movie night. We’d be doing a tribute to the late Martin Landau, and I was going to show a few episodes of his work in television. I got home with the groceries and Sara was already busy getting things set up. But when it was time to crank on the TV and start the evening’s program, my TV was acting weird. It kept turning off and on in a continual cycle. I couldn’t get it to stay on, and I was worried that I’d have to cancel movie night. It finally came on and stayed on (whew!) and we started the first event of our Martin Landau tribute; an “Outer Limits” episode called “The Man Who Was Never Born.” If you recall, the standard opening of “The Outer Limits” starts with a white dot on a black screen. An ominous voice comes on to inform you that he’s taken control of your TV. He says, “Do not attempt to adjust your TV. There is nothing wrong with your television set.” When he said this I replied, “Bulls#!+!” We all laughed at the irony of the situation, given the technical problems I was having with my TV moments earlier. After the first “Outer Limits” episode, we watched “The Frame” from the first season of “Mission Impossible.” In it, Mr. Landau plays a hearing-impaired butler serving dinner to the mafia. Then we finished up the night with one of his finest performances ever in an “Outer Limits” episode called “The Bellero Shield.” Amazing! When my guests left I napped on the couch with a cold pack, and then got up to walk and feed Roxy. I changed my sheets to my “summer sheets” (cool, smooth cotton) and made my traditional Saturday night Super Salad. I settled in to watch another episode of “Hee Haw” and sadly took note of the fact that I only have about four more “Hee Haw” episodes to watch before my DVD set is exhausted. Bummer. “Gloom, despair and agony on me” indeed.

Sunday the 30th – CH-CH-CH-CHANGES! – After getting up in the late afternoon, I cleaned up and walked over to evening church with Roxy. The regular evening service is on a temporary hiatus while we make some formatic and logistic changes to the service. Over the next several weeks those concerned can show up and offer their opinions how the service could be improved. I had been begging them for years to put our amazing band up on the stage (which wasn’t being used in the service at all) and they’re finally doing it. It looks SO much better, presentationally. Instead of being crammed off into the corner, like they were, they are now free to spread out. It looks better, and it makes a better psychological connection with the audience. And somehow, it sounds better too. After church I took Shirley and Sara to dinner at Jerry’s Famous Deli, and then went home to nap with a cold pack on my face. I’m really hoping I can get back on the train to recovery, and I’m not sure why I suffered a setback. The pain is one thing, but the periodic ringing in my ears is very annoying. Apparently that happens when the sinuses swell and crowd the ear drum. I wish everything in that general vicinity would shrink back to the way it was a while back when I was normal. Luckily my breathing isn’t affected at all! I got up later for an audition (only one! It really IS the slow period right now!) and also did some more scanning of photos. I made some beef stew and watched another “Outer Limits” episode. Sadly, I only have four more left in the first season after tonight.

And how was YOUR week??!!

PIX FROM THE WEEK

What a coincidence…wearing my Rocky cap to dinner and then finding out that Rocky’s voice passed away that day. Strange!

My pal Misty Dini did a terrific show called “Bold Magic.” Here I’m posing with her banner in the lobby.

A nice, cool, breezy summer night…and a nice cigar while walking Roxy. Awesome!

Jon Arbuckle pointing out Jon’s Towing, after just meeting Jon “Bowzer” Bauman. Is somebody out there WRITING this stuff? It’s too coincidental!

Another fun night at the Sons of the Desert meeting!

July 21st marked the second anniversary of my friend Terry Crisp’s passing. I miss him dearly.