Monday the 6th – BYE SUNNI! – My friend Sunni from Seattle was leaving to go back home later that afternoon, but we stopped by Long’s Drugs first to get the photos we took over the weekend at the Hollywood Collector’s Show printed and enlarged. After we dropped off the CD of photos, Sunni and I went to Studiopolis in Burbank so I could do some voice tracks for “Blue Dragon.” My pal Jeff Nimoy was directing, and this particular session was all monster growls. It was a lot of fun, but the old throat was starting to feel it. Sunni and I hightailed it back to Long’s to pick up our prints, and then headed to the airport to get her on her plane. On my way home she texted me saying that she had gotten to the airport too soon! Her flight didn’t leave until a half hour later than what she told me! Oh well. I promptly went home and got a nap. I needed it after an exhausting weekend!
Tuesday the 7th – BUSY DAY! – I was up and at ’em early and back at Studiopolis Burbank to do some more voice tracks for “Blue Dragon” for my buddy Jeff Nimoy. Then I went home and grabbed Sassie. I walked her down to the groomer’s and had her bathed. Then I went over to the Studiopolis Annex to audition for a new Avengers TV series. I’ve always loved comics, and the Avengers in particular, so it was a thrill to get to audition for some of the heroes I had grown up loving in the comics. Wish me luck! I drove by the vet to get some more food for Sassie, then I drove over to Cedars-Sinai to visit the Regenix offices. It was time for my check-up. Everything was looking good. I got some more supplies and I was on my way. They said that the program should last about two years, and I’m eight months into it. Gregg in the office said that I’ve been on it eight months, and that’s the earliest anyone’s ever seen results. So I’m hoping that I’ll see some positive results in the next few months! I got Sass from the groomer’s and walked her home. That night I just relaxed and did a few auditions in my home studio to e-mail to my agents.
Wednesday the 8th – WILD WEDNESDAY! – I drove to Sound Deluxe studios in Hollywood to lay down some tracks for a new Marvel videogame. I’ll play Yellowjacket, Multiple Man, and a White Star soldier. Voice director Keythe Farley is a great guy (he directed all the Rugrats shows) and we had lots of laughs. After the session we went over to the Virgin Megastore and I picked up the “Mission Impossible: Season 5” DVD, as well as “Bram Stoker’s Dracula” for only 10 bucks! Since Keythe and I had been talking about “Get Smart” (I’ve been watching season one on DVD for a few weeks now), and how much his daughter loved the new “Get Smart” movie, I figured I would gift him with a copy of season one on DVD to enjoy with his daughter. Keythe is a great guy and he deserves all the joy watching “Get Smart” will being he and his family. I headed home and got ready for an audition at Voicecasters for Mandalay Bay. After the audition I went over to Floyd’s Barber Shop and my stylist Andi fixed me up with a cut and color (I went jet black again for the Halloween season!) She had mentioned that my hair was looking more “dense”, as she put it. She said the Regenix is definitely working, and since she only sees me every two months she notices it more than I do. I went to evening church that night, and then went home to take a nap. When I got up I took a two mile jog! FUN!
Thursday the 9th – SPOOK SEES THE DOC! – My buddy Bob Belenchia came over that afternoon so we could grab some more screenshots of his clients Richard Dreyfuss and Leslie Nielsen for upcoming autograph shows. We got some great shots of Richard from “Mr. Holland’s Opus” and Leslie from “The Poseidon Adventure.” Then it was time to take Spooky my cat to the vet. Uh oh. He had been urinating in several places around the house outside of his box. A lot of my friends said that it was a sign something was wrong with his health. Most specifically, that he might have crystals in his urine. So I took him in for a check. He didn’t like the temperature taking AT ALL! And when the doctor came into examine him he had had enough! He hissed and turned on the doc. Dr. Steve drew his hand back quickly and for a second there I thought Spook bit him. But Dr. Steve said he didn’t. Anyway, they took Spook in for a urinalysis and the next day they told me he had crystals for sure…but NO infection! Whew! So I’m changing his food per the doctor’s orders. That night I did a ton of auditions and sent them via e-mail to my agents. Then I watched ‘Get Smart’ on DVD. What a great show!
Friday the 10th – LAZY FRIDAY! – It’s great because it’s finally starting to turn fall-like. There was a nice cool breeze blowing and it finally smelled like fall. That night I met my friend Chuck McCann for dinner at Jerry’s Famous Deli in Studio City. that night I stayed up late again and watched more “Get Smart” on DVD. I’m addicted!
Saturday the 11th – DAY OF DRIVING! – In the afternoon I drove up to my seamstresses’ new house in Palmdale, which is about 53 miles from my house. My buddy Scott Sebring came along for the ride. When we got there we saw her new fabric she had dyed for the classic ‘Star Trek’ shirts and I was in heaven! They looked amazing, and I put my order in for two shirts on the spot! I also sat for the creation of a pattern for a new “Scarecrow of Romney Marsh” mask. Between Kathy, Scott and all the photos I had printed, I think the new Scarecrow mask is going to be the most accurate yet! We drove back to Studio City and stopped at the Bank of America so I could put my checks in. But I was absolutely horrified to see that my branch had changed to those new machines that no longer accept a bundle of checks in an envelope! Instead, they want you to submit them ONE AT A TIME so they can be scanned! This is ridiculous. You see, in a town full of actors who have residual checks, sometimes we put 15 or 20 checks in at a time! That means we have to stand there ALL DAY and submit these checks ONE AT A TIME! I was pissed! I put one check in, and when I realized that it was going to take about a half hour to complete my transaction, I cancelled the whole thing and got the check back. Well, when I got home, I got a call from the automated Bank of America fraud department saying there was suspicious activity on my account and my card has been temporarily suspended! WHAT!? I couldn’t believe my ears! I was ready to take every last cent of my bank account out of their stupid bank in cash and stick it under my mattress! I finally got somebody on the phone and told them what happened, and they reactivated my card. Monday’s a holiday, but come Tuesday I’m going into my B of A branch and telling them what a stupid idea their new system is, particularly in a town full of actors who have lots of residual checks to deposit! UGH! Why is the world getting more difficult, when they’re pretending it’s all for convenience sake? WHOSE CONVENIENCE? Not mine, that’s for sure! I got home and changed shirts, and went to pick up my friend Sara. She’s only 20, but has the spirit of a more mature being. She loves Mel Brooks movies and seems to know a lot about ‘Star Trek’, ‘Star Wars’ and ‘Lord of the Rings.’ Once we started chatting I knew we were going to be friends for a long time! We drove down to Culver City to my favorite steak place…Petrelli’s Famous Steaks. But first, I needed to get my deposit in. Maybe the branch in Culver City won’t have one of those stupid ATM machines. And even if they did, I could just put the envelope in the Depository and it would be found on Tuesday. But when I got there, the Depository was LOCKED SHUT! Does B of A really want my business???? Hard to believe! So I had no other choice but to leave Sara in the car for 20 minutes while I put one check at a time in the stupid ATM! Embarrassing! Plus, the amount of paper that came out as a receipt I’m sure would level a small forest! So this is B of A’s idea of “going green?” HA! Anyway, we met Scott at Petrelli’s and proceeded to have a meal fit for a king! Sara said she had never tasted anything so delicious, and she’s from farm country! After the meal, we went to see my friend Shawn and Gina’s new house in Westchester. They’re collectors like we are, so Scott, Sara and I all enjoyed seeing their new digs! But it was getting late, so Sara and I headed back to the valley. What a fun night! I got to bed and watched some more “Get Smart” episodes.
Sunday the 12th – SAD SAD SUNDAY! – I slept virtually all day (as I do on most Sundays) but got up in time for evening church. However, I was running late. Church starts at 5:30 but I didn’t get out the door until 5:35! As I got to my car I got a call from Chuck McCann. I said “Hi Chuckie! I was just thinking of you!” He didn’t sound his usual jovial self. “Bad news!” he said. “A friend of mine just told me that Neal Hefti died of a heart attack today.” I was crushed. Neal and I had become friends about a year and a half ago, and he went to my church from time to time. Neal was one of the greatest film and TV composers of all time. He composed the “Odd Couple” theme, many soundtracks for films, and he’s best known for composing the “Batman” theme for the 1966 TV series. It was my pleasure to become his friend in recent years. The happiest I had seen him was at the Larry Storch birthday party we threw last February. I was looking to confirm the news before I went into church, but nobody seemed to know anything. So once I got to church I offered up prayers for he and his family. I sat in church and felt like an airhead…I couldn’t concentrate. I felt like I had been kicked in the head. Several times I got misty, hoping that I would hear later that the news about Neal was wrong. But after church I went home and looked on-line and noticed that Wikipedia had Neal’s date of death as 10/11/08. That would have been Saturday. I couldn’t find any other news about it. I eldered at the 7;30 service so I went back to church again and told everyone it looked as if the news was true. After church I met with Chuck McCann at Jerry’s Famous Deli and we raised a glass to Neal. Chuck had became good friends with him as well, since I put them together figuring they had a lot in common. Chuck said he had just seen him a week ago at Vitello’s restaurant at a concert. He said when he gave him a hug he didn’t know he’d be hugging him goodbye. After dinner I stopped by Long’s to pick up some items, then I headed home to record some auditions. Then I went for a two mile run. Just as I was finishing up the jog, the song “Bond 77” from “The Spy Who Loved Me” soundtrack came on. Every once in awhile those songs come on the i-Pod that makes me want to turn on the gas and go for it. I was in the home stretch, a brisk wind was blowing across my face, the nearly full moon was shining in the sky, and I started into a full-blown sprint! WHAT FUN! I went inside, typed this weekly account and then, you guessed it, watched “Get Smart.”
And how was YOUR week??!!
