RANDOM PIC OF THE WEEK
Thanks to my pal Joey who put together this funny mash-up!
Last Saturday night at movie night we ran the Blu Ray of “Jeff Lynne’s ELO: Live at Hyde Park.” When that was finished we popped in the Blu Ray of “Electric Light Orchestra at Wembley” to check out a few selected scenes. And “Last Train to London” got stuck in my head. The guy sure knows how to write a catchy tune!
Monday the 10th – BIG BAT DAY! – Holy busy schedule! It was going to be a monumental day for many reasons! My pal Dave Baumeister and his daughter Molly met at my house around 11:45 and followed us over to Warner Brothers Studios, where we all would be meeting Michael Reagan for lunch at the Warner Commissary. I had forgotten that Dave and Michael are distantly related through great-grandparents. So he brought an article with him from the newspaper he used to publish in South Dakota all about the familial connection. Michael urged Dave to send a copy of the photograph in the article to the Ronald Reagan Library and Museum. It was a very fun conversation, and my folks always enjoy seeing Michael when they’re in town. But my mom still wasn’t feeling very good. When lunch was over I gave a tour to our group; showing them the Warner Archive Museum, and the recording studio where we recorded many of the “Arkham” games. When I got back home I did a few last-minute auditions, and then laid down to take a short 45 minute nap before the big night. Tonight was the night that Warner Brothers was screening the new animated feature “Batman: Return of the Caped Crusaders” in theatres world-wide; for one day only. Though my folks usually come to L.A. for their annual visit in October, I had them come during this specific week because they had never seen their son’s name on the big screen in a movie theatre before. And I thought that was something they might enjoy. My old pal Dave and I used to have a small group called “The Bat Pack” back in Sioux Falls in the 80’s with our friend Chris Malmin. Our Bat Pack meetings would involve watching Batman episodes on crappy VHS videotapes recorded at super slow speed. We would gather in my little apartment on West Avenue in Sioux Falls and watch them on a borrowed color TV. Now both Chris and Dave would be present to see the first new Batman project in years that starred the original Batman stars Adam West, Burt Ward and Julie Newmar. And it was also cool that their fellow Bat Pack member Wally was doing the voice of The Riddler. I got up and showered and headed to PF Chang’s in the Sherman Oaks Galleria, which was right downstairs from one of the local theatres screening the film. I had my assistant Sara pick up my “adopted grandma” Shirley and take her over, and I drove with my folks. Dave and his daughter Molly followed behind. There were close to 30 people in our group, and it was an absolute blast! Dinner started at 5:30 and almost everyone who is important to me in my life was there. At 7:15 we went upstairs to the theatre to check in and find our seats. The movie was absolutely amazing. With my Bat Pack buddies seated next to me, we fully enjoyed the 70 minute movie in every aspect. It was wonderful seeing the movie with a group who was enthusiastic; laughing, applauding and cheering the whole time. And a few of the other people in our group besides me had also worked on the film. It was an amazing time. I was really glad my folks got to see their son’s name on the big screen for the first time ever, but I hadn’t counted on what happened at the end of the film. As a special treat, Warner also ran the bonus feature about the voices behind the film, including on-camera footage of Adam West, Burt Ward, Julie Newmar…and ME! There I was on the big screen! 5 stories high (for better or worse)! So not only did my folks get to see my name on the big screen, but my goofy face as well! After the movie my mom hugged me and told me that she was proud of me. That made my night. I went to the lobby and said goodbye to the majority of the group, but Dave, Molly, Chris and I were staying for the 10pm show. It was only in theatres for one day, and I was determined to get my fill! It was great seeing it again because I was able to pick up on a few things I hadn’t caught during the first screening. Sometimes the laughs and cheers made me miss a few of the lines. What a day! When I got home my pal Dave came by to enjoy a cigar and a walk through the complex. But it had been about 6 years since he puffed a cigar, so Dave wasn’t feeling too well by the end of it all. I went inside and did my nightly auditions, made a pot pie and watched another episode of “Barnaby Jones.” WHAT A DAY!
Tuesday the 11th – ALONG FOR THE RIDE! – There was a ton of things to get done now that the big Bat Party had come and gone. I got a call from Dave who was at the airport about ready to fly back to South Dakota. I put the folks in my car and we drove to Lancers to get a bite of lunch with Sara. My mom was feeling better and enjoyed a nice lunch, and Lancers certainly offers the type of food they’re used to in the Midwest. When we finished lunch we headed to Plastic Depot to pick up some pieces my pal Kyle Killips had been working on for me. I stopped by the house to drop off the Plastic Depot pieces, and then we all headed to Mr. Stitch to drop off some fabric for my new Bat Bowling shirt project. I stopped by the hardware store to get some bolts, nuts and washers, and then went over to Michaels Crafts to pick up my Midnight Macabre framed piece. If you remember, a few weeks ago, I told you about some artwork that was used in an old TV show I used to watch Friday nights at midnight called “Midnight Macabre.” The framed artwork turned out to be spectacular! When I got back home I took the Plastic Depot custom-made case upstairs to place my Animal replica Muppet inside. In addition to a base, it also has a small bench for him to sit on, and a rod that goes up into his body to keep him vertical. And then there’s a cover that goes over the whole thing. The spring in Animal’s head that works his eye mechanism is configured in such a way that his eyes stay closed when he’s not being operated. So it looks like he’s asleep when there’s no hand inside him. Kyle also configured a big offset clip from metal that I can use for my Scooby-Doo poster in my garage. The small offset clips that I placed on the sides were holding the poster in place pretty well, but the top still sagged when the door was opened. But Kyle took my design for a big offset clip and fabricated something that worked very well. The bolts, washers and nuts that I purchased at the hardware store earlier were for this purpose. I attached it to my garage door and it worked perfectly! While my folks watched TV in the Puppet Room and relaxed, I showered and grabbed a short nap. I got up later and typed out Wally’s Week, did a ton of auditions, and stopped by the grocery store to buy a few items. I made spaghetti and watched another episode of “Barnaby Jones” from the third season DVD set.
Wednesday the 12th – IN ‘N’ OUT! – Totally exhausted, I ended up sleeping until 2! My folks had been asking to go to the world-famous In ‘N’ Out burger, so we hopped in the car and headed over for a late lunch. I bought them both t-shirts as souvenirs that they can wear when they’re working out back home. I got back home to do a little work while the folks watched TV and relaxed. I grabbed a short nap later and then got up to do my auditions, make a pizza, and watch more “Barnaby Jones.”
Thursday the 13th – 3-D OZ AND LBJ! – My folks and I got in the car and sped off to the post office so I could mail some items. I checked my mail at my box and found that some fabric I was expecting had come in. Good timing, because I was heading to my seamstress Karyn’s studio to drop off a bunch of fabric for some projects she’d be working on. We got to her studio and my dad had fun playing with Karyn’s dog Jack while I consulted with Karyn. I laid out the design for our Bat Bowling shirts, as well as the Halloween costume I was having created. I drove us all back to my house and we relaxed for a bit. Later I set up the 3-D TV and Blu Ray player so my folks could see what the 3-D “Wizard of Oz” looked like. We didn’t watch the entire thing, but they were blown away by the selected scenes I showed them. We ordered a pizza and then watched the HBO film “All the Way” on Blu Ray. My dad is a history buff and I thought he’d enjoy Bryan Cranston’s uncanny portrayal of the 36th President. Boy did he! He continued talking about it for days after. My parents had met Bryan’s dad Joe many times at church over the past several years. (Sadly, Joe passed away a few years ago.) Plus, I had two voice-over bits in the film. When they went by my parents didn’t even recognize their own son’s voice! I had to rewind the bits and play them again and I asked them, “Does that voice sound familiar?” We had a lot of fun, but in their defense the processing they had on my voice (to make it sound like a vintage TV broadcast) did disguise my voice somewhat. I still can’t believe Bryan didn’t win the Emmy for his performance. He was amazing, and Bill Corso’s make-up was stellar! I recorded my nightly auditions, did some work on the computer, sent out my movie night invites, fed and walked Roxy, and then made some food and watched “Barnaby Jones.”
Friday the 14th – FOLKS’ FINAL DAY! – By the time I got up at 2 my parents were already awake and puttering around the house. I thought it might be nice to go have lunch with our old friend Rob Richards, another former Aberdeen, South Dakota resident. I’ve known Rob since I was 14 and now he’s the head organist at the El Capitan Theatre in Hollywood. But instead of driving into Hollywood, I wanted to treat my folks to a trip on L.A.’s subway system. I can go from the train station near my house to Hollywood in about four minutes. It takes at least FORTY minutes to drive there. We hopped the train, made it to the Hollywood and Highland shopping center, and met Rob at Dave & Busters for lunch. It was fun chatting with Rob about the old days of Aberdeen, and the folks enjoyed it too. After we finished eating we hopped the train back to our car and headed back to my house so my folks could start packing for their trip home. I grabbed a nap, but got up later to work on paying bills, reconciling my corporate and personal banking statements for the month, and filing my receipts. I drove over to Denny’s to get some food for later, and then did some work on the computer. My folks got up around 5am to make their flight, so I loaded their bags in to my car and headed to the airport. I got back home and enjoyed my Denny’s food while watching the final episode of “Barnaby Jones” from the third season DVD set.
Saturday the 15th – PLANET WALLYWOOD BUSY WORK! – Exhausted, I slept until 4 in the afternoon! I did some grocery shopping for that evening’s movie night gathering, and then came back home to start cleaning up the house for my guests. We watched “Jeff Lynne’s ELO Live at Hyde Park” on Blu Ray. It was stunning to look at, and it brought back a lot of great memories about the concert at the Hollywood Bowl in early September. We also popped in a Blu Ray called “Electric Light Orchestra Live at Wembley” and it was fun to see some selected numbers from that concert as well. The era covered their music from the early 70’s to the early 80’s. It was fun but the quality wasn’t quite as stunning as the Jeff Lynne ELO concert disc. When my guests left I cleaned up the house, worked on putting the Puppet Room back together after my folks spent a week there, and worked on some of my Muppet displays. I decided it was time to clean my old Kermit puppet that I made when I was 18. I took him off his display stand and cleaned his exterior with a damp paper towel. Though he had stuffing in him for the display, I could still get my hand inside him to work him. I hadn’t had that Kermit on in about 20 years. It was fun! While I think my new Kermit replica Muppet is pretty amazing, there’s nothing like the charm of my original Kermit that has helped to make hundreds of kids smile. I did some other work and then made my traditional Saturday Night Super Salad and watched another episode of the old BBC series “The New Avengers” before bed.
Sunday the 16th – SUNDAY SLUMBER! – Almost sleeping the entire day away, I got up around 4 to do a little work before evening church. I started uploading pics for Wally’s Week over to my webmaster Scott Sebring. I knew there’s be a lot so I wanted to get a jump on them. Roxy and I walked over to evening church and had a great time. Then I walked back home. I met my assistant Sara at Miceli’s for dinner, and then came home to grab a nap. I got up later to do a bunch of auditions and continue working on Wally’s Week. I took Roxy on our late-night stroll through the neighborhood around 3am, and it was completely overcast and misting. I enjoyed walking around with the cool drizzle hitting my face. I made some soup and a sandwich and got ready for bed. I kept the window open because it was such a gorgeous, misty morning. The next TV show on my viewing docket is the Lassie 50th Anniversary DVD set. It’s only 24 episodes, but it’ll be fun seeing all of Roxy’s great-grandfathers hard at work in the various TV shows that featured the famous collie character. The first episode I saw featured the original Lassie from the movies of the early 40’s. His name was Pal. The second episode featured Pal Jr., who was Lassie 2. I’m keeping the booklet that came with the DVD handy as I watch the episodes so I can see which dog was used in which episodes. What fun!
And how was YOUR week??!!
PIX FROM THE WEEK
It’s impossible to describe in words how seeing this makes me feel.
Here’s a shot of the first appearance of The Riddler in the new animated feature “Batman: Return of the Caped Crusaders.”
My old pal and fellow Charter Member of the Bat Pack Dave Baumeister and Dirk the Possum! (It’s a very old inside joke)
I gave my friend Val a copy of the Hollywood Icons “Star Trek” magazine that was just published, with her picture in it on page 67!
The Bat Parents are in town and ready for the screening!
30 years and still going strong! The Charter Members of the Bat Pack…Dave Baumeister, me and Chris Malmin!
All of us pretend to be super-heroes, but my pal Natalie Duran from “American Ninja Warriors” actually IS a super-hero!
My pal James is one of the friends Chris, Dave and I made a new member of The Bat Pack!
Officer Mark is moved beyond words at his induction into The Bat Pack!
After the movie the gang gathers in the lobby to do the Batusi!
Proud, new members!
My pal Alex Zsolt was only 17 when I met him back in 1995 at a Batman convention in Chicago!
I bid the lovely ladies Natalie and Valerie farewell, as Dave, Chris and Molly slip back into the theatre for the 10pm show!
My friend and fellow Voice Actor Secunda Wood congratulates me in the best possible way.
These are the amazing custom-made cases made by Kyle Killips at Plastic Depot for my Muppet replicas. The Kermit on the far left is almost 40 years old! I made him with my mom back in 1979 and he’s still in pretty good shape! So is the Grover next to him, who is almost 40 years old too!
It looks like Animal’s meditating!
The framed “Midnight Macabre” piece is finished, and it looks like something out of The Haunted Mansion. Read Wally’s Week from a few weeks ago for the full story behind this amazing piece!
The folks, Rob Richards and I enjoyed talking about the “old days!”
