June 22 – June 28 (2015) – Wally On The Web

RANDOM PIC OF THE WEEK

While digging through some old photos I came across this one. It’s the creator of Woody Woodpecker, Chilly Willy and other great characters…the legendary Walter Lantz! This was taken at Universal Studios around 1992.

Sorry to do this for three weeks in a row, but I’ve had a bit of a rediscovery process of Herman’s Hermits. As I’ve been delving into their music I realized I’ve forgotten about this little gem…”Can’t You Hear My Heartbeat.” Fun song!

Monday the 22nd –WACKY WALLY PREP! – It was another sleepy Monday and I enjoyed sleeping late in the day. I got up to walk Roxy and then slept on the couch a few more hours. I fed Roxy and Spooky and then walked around the neighborhood for a bit. My neighbor Caroline was out and about, so we decided to walk over to the Studio Café and get a bite of dinner with my assistant Sara. When I got home I started putting up all the new signage around Planet Wallywood in anticipation of the filming for our new web series “Wacky Wally’s Vintage Toys.” We’ll start filming after Comic Con is over in mid to late July. I worked on updating a few of the displays, and then I did my nightly auditions in my home studio. After e-mailing them to my agents I made some food and settled in for another episode of “Batman” from the TV series Blu Ray set.

Tuesday the 23rd – TODDLIN’ AROUND TOWN TUESDAY! – The day began with a tour of my pal Jim Ojala’s special effects studio. I picked up my assistant Sara and we checked out his facility. He’s been busy working on several film projects, so it was fun watching his staff make crazy effects stuff. I dropped Sara off at home, and then I went over to Fast Signs to ask them to redo a couple of the signs they printed for me. Two of the signs had nicks and mars in them, and one of the signs had an imprint on it. When the signs come off the printer they’re coated with a thin layer of sticky paper, similar to masking tape. But apparently at the factory somebody used one of my signs as a notepad; writing down a name and phone number on the cover. When I pulled the cover off to mount the sign in the Chaney Room, I could see the imprint of the writing etched into the sign itself. Dumb! I’m sure Fast Signs is generally a good company, but I have had so many problems with the local branch I can’t even begin to tell you. After these signs are printed and finalized, I’m not going back under any conditions. I stopped by the hardware store to buy some L brackets for mounting my signs, and then I stopped by the bank to get a stash of cash. Then I hit Bed Bath and Beyond to pick up a few more supplies for around the house, and then I headed over to Staples to pick up some new toner cartridges for my laser printer. I got home long enough to check e-mails and phone messages, feed the pets, and then head right back out the door to Jerry’s Famous Deli for a dinner meeting. When I got back home I relaxed on the couch and grabbed a few Z’s. I got up to do my auditions and record some new voice tracks for Go 96.3 in Minneapolis. I finished up Wally’s Week, made some spaghetti and watched another episode of “Batman” on Blu Ray!

Wednesday the 24th – THE HEAT IS ON! – Summer is here and boy does it feel like it! It’s going to be very warm out for the next week or so. And by the time I got up the worst heat of the day was done. But yet it was still very warm. Despite the sun and heat, Roxy likes to find the warmest place in the grass and lay in the sun; turning her belly up to the sunshine to sunbathe. I just don’t understand how, with all that hair, she doesn’t get hot! I guess the hair acts as a barrier and her body doesn’t feel heat the same way I do. We went back inside and I did a few last-minute auditions. I got some mail ready to go and then I hopped in the car and hit Taco Bell for some lunch. I got back home and sent out my movie night invites. Then I hopped on my bike in the evening and went to visit my friend Emily, who was housesitting at a home in the neighborhood. It was a great ride, and a very nice evening. Hard to believe it had been so hot earlier in the day. Sara came over to do some work later, and then I did my nightly auditions. Just before bed I phoned Denny’s to get some food to go, and ate it in bed while watching another “Batman” episode on Blu Ray! The second season episodes didn’t start out so well, but by halfway through the season the quality jumped substantially.

Thursday the 25th – E&E! – My animals woke me up around 1. I guess they had slept enough, and figured I had as well. I worked on-line for a bit, did a few last-minute auditions, paid some bills, and then my old pal Edi stopped by to say hi. She recently moved to Palm Springs to take a job in real estate there, and she and her fiancé Elliot just got a temporary place there until they can find a home to buy. Edi and I sped off to lunch at Paty’s, and was joined by Sara. It was great catching up and hearing all about the new job, the new house in Palm Springs, and the impending wedding in December. Unfortunately the day was still too hot to take the doggies to lunch (her Maltese Bunny, and my dog Roxy) so we left them in my air conditioned house while we ate. We came back to my house and were then joined by our pal Brittney Powell who also wanted to say hi to Edi while she was in town. We chatted and hung out until around 6:30, and that’s when Elliot came to pick Edi up for their drive back to Palm Springs. I went inside to relax and grab a nap on the couch for a bit. When I got up later in the evening I did some work around the house and recorded my auditions. In the “industry” this is what’s considered one of the slow times. So not much is happening. Lots of studios are getting ready for the San Diego Comic Con anyway, so not much work is happening. But when you’ve been in the business as long as I’ve been, you learn to just roll with it and expect the peaks and valleys as part of the lifestyle. I did some more work on the web series, walked Roxy on an absolutely gorgeous night, and came inside to make pizza rolls and enjoy another “Batman” episode before bed.

Friday the 26th – MARVELOUS MIYAVI! – There were some last-minute auditions waiting for me in my inbox when I awoke around 1. I recorded them and sent them over to my agents. The maids arrived around 3 to start cleaning, and when they finished I got cleaned up and headed to Studio Café to have dinner with my old pal Gil Christner. He is a very funny actor and comic, and he used to hire me all the time to do radio comedy voice-over in the mid 90’s at a place called The Cutler Comedy Network; an entity who supplied recorded comedy bits to radio stations. It was fun chatting about the old days. While we ate outside with Roxy, I noticed a Japanese guy and his family who sat down next to us. I thought he looked REALLY familiar. His V-neck t-shirt was open enough to show the plentiful collection of tattoos on his chest. Then it hit me. After we watched “Unbroken” on Blu Ray at movie night, we watched the bonus materials. The actor who played the main villain role, “The Bird” Watanabe, is actually a rock star in Japan named Miyavi. On the bonus materials it showed him performing a concert for the cast and crew of “Unbroken” after they wrapped. THAT’S WHERE I HAD SEEN HIM! His daughters loved Roxy and we started chatting. I just had to ask him if he was in “Unbroken” and he said yes. I told him how much I enjoyed his work, and that my dad loved that movie. Luckily it was before their dinner arrived so I didn’t feel like I was imposing. He was kind enough to pose for a photo before Gil and I took off. His little daughters love the animated movie “Alice in Wonderland” so I entertained them with my impression of The Mad Hatter (Ed Wynn) as well as Scooby Doo and some other characters. What a great guy and a wonderful family. Roxy and I walked home and I enjoyed a nice evening nap on the couch. I got up and did some work on-line, tweaked the scripts for the web series, went out to get some groceries, and then came home to make dinner and watch “Batman.”

Saturday the 27th – HOLY HUMIDITY! – Now, not only was it warm, but humid as well. It’s rare in the desert area of Southern California to get humidity like this, but it does happen. I worked on my computer all afternoon, working on the web series scripts, and then prepped for movie night. We watched two “invasion” movies from the 80’s…Tobe Hooper’s “Invaders From Mars” (starring my pal Laraine Newman!), and “Without Warning” (starring my pal Larry Storch). They were fun, drive-in movie type schlock films that are always a hoot at movie night. When the guests left I opened my e-mail and I had gotten several script notes from my producer Kevin Castro regarding our web series. I took his notes to heart and rewrote the scripts, and then made a huge salad (my Saturday night tradition) and settled in to watch another episode of the British series “The Persuaders” with Roger Moore and Tony Curtis. I’m really starting to love this show. It’s just too bad it only lasted 26 episodes.

Sunday the 28th – BLAH! BLECH! – The humidity was still stifling. I used to have to endure humidity like this (and worse) when I lived in South Dakota, but my tolerance for humidity has really waned apparently. I worked mid-afternoon on the computer, and then got ready for evening church. I wasn’t sure it was going to be cool enough to take Roxy with me, but by the time we left for church it had cooled considerably. After church I came home to relax a bit, and then I headed out to Miceli’s Italian Restaurant to get some lasagna with Sara. Then I came home to grab a nap, until it was time to get up and do my auditions. Then it was another “Batman” episode and a sandwich, and then bedtime as dawn broke.

And how was YOUR week??!!

PIX FROM THE WEEK

Here’s the shot I took with Miyavi at Studio Café. What a great guy! Not at all like the villain he portrayed so effectively in “Unbroken.”

This was me back in 1987 in “Return of the Living Dead; Part 2″…playing “Burt the Zombie.” (So nicknamed because of his resemblance to a decaying Burt Reynolds)

Here’s a new pull from the same mold done by make-up maestro Kenny Myers. After getting in contact with him recently he made me up a new version of the mask I wore in the film as a gift. What a swell guy! I can’t wait to add it to my collection in Planet Wallywood! An actual Kenny Myers original!