Since the
Christmas break, I've been busy dubbing to DVD an
enormous amount of old VHS tapes that I shot on my
camcorder all throughout the 90's. One of the tapes
I dubbed was of one of my many Disneyland visits
where I saw the "Fantasmic" show. So obviously the
music stuck in my head for days after! Here's a
fabulous You Tube video with that memorable music!
Monday the 23rd - RAINY DAY REST! -
The first day of "Tonight Show" hiatus and I
was loving it. It was a rainy Monday so I took
advantage by sleeping all day. When I got up I
started doing things around the house...cleaned my
living room, did some data entry into my database,
took out the trash from last Saturday's movie party,
etc. Then I met my assistant Sara and my pal Edi for
dinner at Panera. Then I picked up my prescription
nose spray at the pharmacy, got a few grocery items,
and then headed home to work on pulling clips from
"Starsky & Hutch" episodes for the upcoming dinner
and reception The Hollywood Collector Show is having
for Paul Michael Glaser, David Soul and Antonio
Fargas on February 12th. I'm lucky enough to be able
to emcee the event, and I also offered to provide
the 5 minute montage of great moments in the show.
As I breezed through the DVDs looking for delicious
moments, I started to remember why, as a 14 year old
boy, I loved this show so much. It was PURE
testosterone! The acting is great! I had intended to
only do a few clips tonight and then finish it up
the next night, but I got so into it I couldn't
stop. And I completed the whole thing! Then I
recorded my auditions in my home studio and e-mailed
them to my agent. Sara came over later to watch more
episodes of "The Avengers" with me. Speaking of
great shows...!!
Tuesday the 24th -
TORINO TROUBLES! - Just a few days before the
Grand National Roadster Show in Pomona, CA, I
decided to take my Gran Torino into my pal Bodie's
to have a few things looked at. My "Starsky-ized"
Gran Torino would be on display at the show for
three days, along with Paul Michael Glaser (who
played Starsky) who would be signing and selling his
new book "Chrystallia and the Source of Light." For
some reason when I got the car back from the painter
the previous week, the alarm wasn't chirping any
longer. It was active, as the light would blink when
I would activate it on the key fob, but it wouldn't
chirp. An alarm that doesn't squeal when it goes off
isn't worth much. The good news is Bodie's pal
Mitchell was able to reset the alarm so it would
chirp, but when I left I noticed that my Sirius
satellite radio was no longer working. I also got to
link up with my friend Alex who would be my "car
wrangler" for the weekend in Pomona. I drove over to
Voice Trax West to do my US Airways session, then I
drove over to Carl's Jr. to get some food in the
drive-thru. (Have I mentioned how much I LOVE
driving my Gran Torino through town?) I got home and
as I was pulling my car into the garage I saw a few
of my squirrel friends in the tree behind my house.
I got some peanuts and took them out for them. In
the meantime, my neighbor's dogs (a Boston Terrier
and 2 Chihuahuas) saw the squirrels. But unlike most
dogs who go nuts and stand at the base of the tree
and bark at them, these dogs were more interested in
eating the nuts! I didn't know dogs liked peanuts!
The two Chihuahuas were curious about the squirrels,
but acted more like they wanted to meet them, as
opposed to eat them. Considering the squirrels were
about the same size as the Chihuahuas, maybe they
just thought they were other dogs. It was hilarious!
I went inside to do some work and then took a brief
nap. My pal Brittney met me later for dinner, then I
went home to do my auditions and e-mail them to my
agent.
Wednesday
the 25th - DIZZY
DAY! - I took the Torino over to Jerry's
Famous Deli in Studio City to meet up with my pal
Ken Dennis for lunch. Then I drove to Bodie's to
have them diagnose the Sirius problem. Come to find
out there's a separate fusebox that feeds some of
the gear in the car, and a plug had come undone.
When you have the amount of equipment that car has,
apparently you need several electrical platforms to
serve it all. Alex was there again helping to get
the car in great shape for the show. We glued down a
little piece of the trim on the front bumper so it
wouldn't get caught on something and tear off. I
would be leaving the car at Bodie's so they could
put it on a trailer and haul it to the Roadster show
the next day. Alex gave me a ride home and I got on
the phone with a promo director to do a "phone
patch" session. That's where they listen in on what
I'm recording in my home studio via telephone and
direct me. When we're done I send the audio files to
them via e-mail. But earlier in the afternoon I was
starting to feel a little dizzy, like my equilibrium
was slightly off. I've had that before and it's due
to congestion in my ears. So I texted my doctor, Dr.
Patt: the Rock and Roll Doc, and he said to take
Sudafed and it would clear up. It was awfully warm
and windy today so I'm not surprised my allergies
were acting up! So I took some Sudafed and took a
nap. Later that night I woke up and went to see my
pal Fred Westbrook at a restaurant called Robano's
in Toluca Lake. Chuck McCann and his wife were
there, and Fred's friends from New York were there
visiting as well. But by the time Sara and I got
there, Robano's had stopped serving dinner. So we
went to Little Toni's and got some late supper. Then
I went home to record some auditions, and "bumpers"
for my pal Bodie Stroud's new radio show on CRN,
cable radio network. His first show (talking
about...you guessed it...CARS!) would be debuting
this Saturday morning at 9am, and would broadcast
from the floor of the Roadster show in Pomona! I was
definitely feeling better as the Sudafed was taking
effect. Sara came over for more episodes of
"Avengers: Earth's Mightiest Heroes."
Thursday the 26th
- .357 TAURUS! - I slept in because I didn't
get to bed until about 7am this morning. But when I
got up I hit Taco Bell for lunch, got my Mustang
washed, and went to Gun World in Burbank to fix the
grip on my stainless steel .357 Magnum. The gun came
with a rubber grip, but I don't much care for it. I
bought a pearl grip from an on-line supplier to
replace the rubber grip. But when I tried to put it
on the gun, the screw that went through the two
pieces of the grip got stuck and wouldn't let me
back it out. So I took it to my friend Jorge at Gun
World to see if he could fix it. Apparently the
screw was supposed to go in the OTHER piece. George
took the grip back to the office to try and find the
right tool, but he accidentally dropped the grip and
it shattered. EEK! Jorge, being the swell guy he is,
offered to pay me for it since he broke it. I told
him he wouldn't have had the chance to break it if I
hadn't messed up the screw in the first place. But
he insisted on paying for it. So I'll order another
one, but take it in to have him attach it. While I
was at Gun World I spotted a used .357 Taurus
revolver that looked like the closest thing I could
find to a vintage .357 Colt Python, like Hutch used
to carry in "Starsky & Hutch." It has a 6" barrel
with vented ribs on the top. Beautiful! So I bought
it. After the 10 day waiting period I get to pick it
up on February 6th! I went to It's a Wrap to look
around for a bit. Then the flight carrying my
parents landed just after 7pm, so I picked them up.
My dad's 77th birthday is Monday the 30th, so I
wanted them to come spend his birthday with me. And
the weather was amazing! We went to Coral Cafe to
have dinner with Edi and my old pal Chris Malmin,
who knew my parents when he was growing up in Sioux
Falls, South Dakota. After dinner I took them home
to get ready to take off for Pomona the next day. I
did my auditions, then packed up my stuff for Pomona
and the Grand National Roadster Show!
Friday the 27th - AMAZING METAL! -
We got up early and headed down to Hollywood for a
quick session for a promo before we took off for
Pomona. Edi was driving her SUV so we wouldn't all
be crammed in my tiny Mustang. While I did the
session, Edi and my folks ate breakfast and gassed
up the car. I finished up the session around 11,
texted Edi that I was done, she dropped by and
picked me up and we were on our way to Pomona. We
made great time and got to the hotel around noon.
Paul Michael Glaser's appearance manager Bob
Belenchia met us at the front desk and said that
Paul was upstairs in his room napping. Once Paul
came downstairs we all drove over to the
fairgrounds. At first it was a bit chaotic getting
in, since our parking passes and show badges weren't
ready yet. But we stood around joking with the
security staff until Bob came back with the packets.
One of the parking guards named Mario, said he
learned English by watching "Starsky & Hutch" as he
was growing up in Central America! Once we got into
the show it was fantastic. Unlike anything I had
ever seen. Acres and acres of beautiful cars! I love
this car culture thing! My pal Alex had gotten there
before me and had the Torino all shined up and ready
to go! Paul got his table set up next to the Gran
Torino and posted the banner promoting his book. Edi
loved all the glam merchandise, as the women in the
car culture seem to love vintage fashions and glam
stuff. As I was standing by the Torino I saw a young
man approach wearing desert camouflage fatigues.
Joey had been involved in a situation in Afghanistan
in 2007 and was discharged due to injuries. I
thanked him for his service to our country, and
invited he and his girlfriend Sara to walk around
and check out the cars with us. My mom gave him a
hug and thanked him as well. He enjoyed meeting
Paul, Bodie, and looking at the swell autos. He had
a car there that was a customized Camaro painted all
in camouflage by West Coast Customs. The car was
auctioned for over $333,000 with the proceeds going
to the charity that does all of the reconstructive
surgeries on vets. Fantastic! Paul was already doing
brisk business with his books, and that was great
considering that Friday was usually the "slow" day
at the show. We continued walking around, saw my
friend Kristy, talked with Bodie for awhile, and
grabbed lunch. It was an amazing day but by 6pm we
were getting tired. Alex helped Paul pack up for the
day and they took off. Edi, my folks and I went back
to the hotel to rest up before dinner. We ate at the
steakhouse next to the hotel later that night. We
couldn't get ahold of Bob, so we figured he crashed
out early. But soon he came down to the restaurant
and said he ordered Chinese food. But even with the
nap I was still exhausted, and I slept VERY well
until early the next morning!
Saturday the 28th - TWO HEROES IN ONE DAY!
- We got up really early and headed over to
the Roadster show again. We had to be there extra
early because Bodie was starting his radio show that
day at 9am. We had a quick breakfast at the hotel,
then got to the fairgrounds. Luckily we already had
our parking passes, so we just pulled in, parked and
went in! I got to Bodie's booth just 2 minutes
before he signed on. It was exciting, and reminded
me of my first time in radio! I was nervous and
excited for him. He opened the show, and in the
second segment he had me sit in for a little bit. We
chatted about stuff he was working on, my Gran
Torino and all the help he provided for me, and all
of Jay Leno's cars. Then Bodie's next guest arrived
so I took off with Alex to find Paul and get him
over to Bodie's booth for his interview segment.
Paul did a great interview, and when he was finished
we got him back to his booth by the Torino to set up
his displays. I knew there would be a LOT of people
on Saturday, but it was already getting packed! I
met LOTS of great people! Joey had something else
going on today so I wouldn't see him, though I had
given him my card and invited him to a taping of
"TTS." I met Lou, another Torino owner, who had been
trying to meet Paul for a long time! Another Torino
owner, originally from Australia, talked with me for
a long time about making cars right-hand drivers,
his specialty. I looked over and saw a guy with a
white cane feeling my car with his hands. I went
over to see if I could assist, and his friend asked
if it would be alright if he touched the car. I told
him it would be perfectly fine, and I helped him
over to the rear of the car where he felt the tail
lights, and the exhaust pipes. (He particularly
wanted to feel the exhaust pipes!) I told him I wish
I could turn it on for him and fire it up so he
could hear the engine, but starting the cars inside
with a crowd wasn't allowed. My folks, Edi and I
continued to look around at the acres and acres of
cars, and around 1pm we took off for home. We
stopped at a Denny's on the way home for lunch. We
made it back about 3pm and we were bushed! I went to
my room to take a quick nap, and around 6 I got up
and showered to get ready for the "Evening With Adam
West" at the Jon Lovitz Comedy Club on the Universal
Citywalk. Since Adam is (finally!) getting his star
on the Hollywood Walk of Fame this year, KROQ's
entertainment reporter Ralph Garman put together
this function to raise funds for the upkeep of the
star. What a night this would be hearing about
Adam's career (in his own words) for almost two
hours! We got to the club and met up with Ruben
Procopio, and my friends Joe and Zandra Pendleton! I
was with my folks, Sara, and Scott Sebring. We all
got our seats and ordered our drinks. Before the
show I went upstairs to the green room and looked in
to say hi to Adam and his family. Fred Westbrook was
there as well. Adam's son-in-law James is making a
documentary about Adam, and he's interviewed me
several times for the film. Tonight he had me sit
next to Adam and do some improv. It was very fun.
The evening was fantastic and everyone was pleased
beyond belief! One of the fun things I liked to do
during the evening was watch the reactions on the
faces of Adam's wife and kids. That was great! When
the show was over we all met at DuPar's to get some
pie, then it was home to put my folks to bed. Then
Sara dropped by so we could watch a few more
"Avengers" episodes! I commented to her that I was
one lucky guy! How many kids get to hang out with
not one but TWO of their childhood heroes (Starsky &
Batman) in one day!
Sunday the 29th
- AWWW SHOOT! - I slept really late. It felt
good to finally stop for a bit and rest after being
on the go almost non-stop since Thursday night. I
took my folks to DuPar's for a late lunch, then we
met up with Edi and her kids Josh and Emily at
church. Toward the end of church my friend Amanda
walked in. We all decided to go to the shooting
range and have some fun. Emily is only 11 and had
never shot before, so I had Amanda, a seasoned
shooter, help her. I had Josh and Edi on my lane,
and my folks were in the lane next to me. Being in
the middle lane I could look in on Emily and
Amanda's progress, as well as my parents.' I showed
my dad how the model 1911 worked and he in turn
showed my mom. They had fun shooting the 1911. I
even had dad shoot the .357 Magnum a few times. My
dad's interested in buying a 1911 for home
protection, so I wanted him to get used to mine. In
fact, when he gets back to Sioux Falls he's going to
pick one out at the local gun store and I'm going to
buy it for him for his birthday present. Josh shot
VERY well, and even Emily shot pretty well! We all
had a lot of fun. Then we went to Coral Cafe for
dinner and to unwind. After dinner I headed home,
put the folks to bed and got ready for a new week.
And we'd be back at "TTS" again, which is always a
pleasure!
And how was YOUR week??!!!
PICS FROM THE WEEK
On
the floor of the show, Alex polishes and readies the
Torino for inspection!
Paul
Michael Glaser approves!
Edi
is caught sabotaging the car, and Paul must frisk
her for the infraction!
Paul
poses with my folks!
Can
you spot the Starsky shoes in the back window of the
Torino?
Bodie
Stroud stops by to pose with the folks!
Bodie
and I on his debut radio show "In the Garage with
Bodie Stroud."
Paul
plugs his book on Bodie's show
Paul
and I in front of the "striped tomato."
Another
shot of my Gran Torino, just in case you're not sick
of seeing it yet.
Before
the show opens to the public, and the masses
converge on Paul's table, my mom gets an opportunity
to get a book signed.
The
man who sees the cars with his hands. Though I've
sat inside the car many times and enjoyed the smell,
heard the engine roar and enjoyed the sound, and
certainly I've enjoyed the sight, I've never taken
time to enjoy the "feel" of the Torino! I learned
something that day!
Once
the show opens, the line forms around Paul's table
so fans can get their signed copy of "Chrystallia
and the Source of Light!"
Ruben and Scott get ready for their "Evening With Adam
West" at the Jon Lovitz Comedy Club.
Ralph
Garman interview Adam about his extensive career in
film and TV.
The
amazing hand of Ruben Procopio produces this
wonderful sketch of Adam on stage!
