Monday the 22nd – DAY OF REST! – After a fun, fantastic and full day the day before (see the previous week’s Wally’s Week HERE) I was ready for a day of rest. I slept late and did virtually nothing all day but work on my “monster wall.” It’s a 52″ X 25″ flat that will go up behind my 1/4 scale monster figures above my entertainment center. It’s going to be a replica castle wall, and it’s turning out quite nicely. My friend Joe (who visited the day before) brought over the piece of plywood, cut to my requested dimensions. So today, I spent the day cutting and gluing on the faux stone facing. I had to do it in sections so it was tedious. Glue a little, let it dry, glue a little more, let it dry, etc. But it’s turning out very nicely.
Tuesday the 23rd – GREAT GARFIELD GANG! – Once again, it was time to another full day of episodes for “The Garfield Show” at Buzzy’s in Hollywood. I was joined, as usual, by the great Frank Welker, Gregg Berger, and Julie Payne. Later on we were joined by Tress Macnielle and Jason Marsden. But the treat of the day was working with David L. Lander! Now, I used to watch him all the time on TV as Squiggy on “Laverne & Shirley” and now here I was working right next to him on a cartoon! I LOVE Hollywood! He plays the brother of my character. We had a great time at the session, and he’s just as funny in person as you might imagine. In one instance, it was his turn to say a line, but we waited for him but heard nothing. We all looked at him and he realized it was his line. He said, “This is highly irregular!” We all bust up laughing! And the best thing is, David doesn’t seem to let a thing like MS keep him down! He’s chipper and cheerful and wonderful! But once again I forgot to bring my ‘Tunnelvision’ DVD to have him sign! Rats! Next time for sure! We worked most of the day and it was an absolute blast. In one episode with just Frank, Gregg and I, we motored through the episode at a great pace! I started to realize that we’re really starting to develop a nice energy together, as well as a nice chemistry. Director Mark Evanier hardly asked for any re-takes! When I got home I took a short nap, then got up to record some auditions in my home studio and send them to my agent.
Wednesday the 24th – DAY 1 OF DRAGON AGE! – After visiting the post office to send off the (VERY LATE!) birthday gift for my godson Sean in South Dakota, I went over to Technicolor studios in Burbank to do my first day on the new videogame “Dragon Age.” Though the release of this game has been released on-line, I can’t tell you any more about it than that. Other than the stuff that I saw before we started the session looked FABULOUS! My pal Ginny McSwain was directing the session and we had a great time dissecting each line and trying to figure out how to pronounce some of the names and words. When I finished up, I stopped by It’s A Wrap to see if they had any new costume things in. Between now and Halloween , I’m going to try to stop in at least once or twice a week. I got home in time to feed the cat, pet the dog, and go to evening church. After that I took a brief nap and then jogged two miles.
Thursday the 25th – HOT! – The weather has turned hot again in L.A.! Just when it had cooled off nicely, it turned beastly hot again. Over 100 degrees in some areas. I drove over to Voice Trax West to do another spot for Money Smart. Then I headed home to record some auditions for my agent and send them via e-mail. I also drove over to Goodwill to check out what they might have in stock for Halloween ideas, and I stopped by Burger King and got a salad for lunch.
Friday the 26th – MEANINGFUL MEALS! – I drove down to West Hollywood to meet up with my promo and trailer agents Sam and Vinnie for lunch at Barney’s Beanery. We had a great time discussing the business, and our past experiences. But time was getting away, so I headed back over the hill to my house. Earlier in the day, my air conditioning was blowing “cool” air, but not “cold” air. I called my home warranty company and they said they’d send somebody over between 3 and 5. Which was good because it was very hot, and I had to head out for a dinner meeting at 6. Well, of course he showed up after 5 and started working on my system. My friend Fred was going to pick me up at 6, and time was ticking away! Fred got there just as I was finishing up with the technician, so it all worked out. The traffic to Brentwood was really great and we made great time. We took my friend Nancy Wolfson out for her birthday to one of her favorite restaurants. Then we sat on the roof of her condo complex and watched the stars, told stories, and had a nice talk. When I got home I was pretty tired, but I just HAD to get out for a jog. Which I did. And I’m glad I did. When I got home I felt great. And the funny thing was, while I was jogging (I listen to my iPod while I jog) I happened to hear something between songs. I heard my house keys jingling in my pocket. It took me back to being a kid. When I was young, my grandpa Joe and I used to race each other around the house for fun. I’d say, “C’mon grandpa, let’s race!” So we’d race around the house, and I’m sure he’d always let me win. But the thing is, grandpa was a janitor at a local college. So he always had a huge key ring on his belt full of hundreds of keys. So running and hearing keys jingling really took me back to those happy days of racing gramps around the house in Mitchell, South Dakota! That made me smile!
Saturday the 27th – HAPPY BIRTHDAY PEGGY! – My sister’s birthday was today, but I called both her phones and only got her voice-mail. Guess she was out partying! When I got up in the afternoon, I went to Gun World in Burbank to pick up my first handgun. That’s right. I bought a Walther PPK (the James Bond gun) for personal protection. I’ve always wanted one, and a few weeks ago my buddy and I went down to buy them. I’m going to join a local range, take personal instruction on the care and fireing of my Walther PPK, and be responsible with this weighty responsibility. But, it IS our second amendment right as Americans to keep and bear arms, so I won’t take that privilege lightly. I met up with Scott and his wife Vickie at It’s a Wrap, and my friend Cher stopped by as well. I found some great denim shirts for only 10 bucks! I also found two snazzy blazers from “Singing Bee” for only 35 bucks each! One is black satin with purple lame collar and cuffs, and the other is a teal blue with black and blue collar and cuffs. Then we went over to my friend Fred’s house and met up with my friends GloZell, Kara, Randy, and of course Fred, Scott and Vickie. We had a great time chatting and sitting around. Later, Scott and Vickie came by to hang out, but I was getting tired. So they went to get Indian food and I took a nap. When I got up I spent the entire night working on my monster wall (which is turning out VERY nicely) and studying up on my new handgun purchase. I took a shower, watched some “Get Smart” on DVD, and went to sleep around 6am.
Sunday the 28th – CHURCH & GOOD FRIENDS – I slept pretty late, but luckily my white, furry alarm clock woke me up in time for evening church. Spooky my cat jumped up on the bed and reminded me it was time for his dinner. He got me up in time to go to church. Afterwards, some friends and I went out for dinner with my pal Chuck McCann at DuPar’s. Then I went to get some groceries, came home, did a quick audition, went for a two mile jog, and hit the hay!
And how was YOUR week??!!
