August 12 – August 18 (2013)

RANDOM PIC OF THE WEEK

Jennifer Aniston. Yeaaaaahhhhh…..Jennifer Aniston. (Need I say more?)

On the soundtrack of 1999’s “Man On The Moon,” REM had this great song about the art of illusion…appropriate for a movie about Andy Kaufman. I love this song and have been humming it off and on all week.

Monday the 12th – MILK DUDS MONDAY! – It’s the first week of a two-week hiatus from “The Tonight Show,” so this is my chance to get a lot of stuff done that’s been looming over my head. I’m not going anywhere for a vacation (I was just in South Dakota for a week over the 4th of July hiatus, and I was in San Diego for the Comic Con in late July, and it’s much too hot in Palm Springs) so it’s all about getting things taken care of here at home. I got up around 1, and left at 2 for a day full of errands. First I went to my local printer to get my vintage Milk Duds box art printed to glossy card stock. That way when I construct the box and put it in the hands of my little “Halloween Boy” figure in the Chaney Room, it will look fairly consistent to the retro look of the piece. The printing turned out great! I hit the hardware store to pick up a few supplies, then drove over to The Plastic Depot in Burbank to submit my plans for a couple of new puppet stands I wanted to have made. Since I got busy and rearranged my home-made Muppets in The Puppet Room the night before, I sketched up some new support stands to compliment the display. Kyle is always really good at reading my chicken scratch, and he always makes a wonderful piece. The piece he did to display my light sabers is still one of my favorites! I drove over to Staples to buy a new CD binder to house the huge number of discs I had in a little spinning rack on my file cabinet. I decided the rack no longer fit in with the new look of my office area, so I’ll stash the discs in a booklet, put it down on the floor by my new cabinets (out of the way) and I’ll retire the little spinner rack for good. I grabbed some quick lunch at Wendy’s Drive-Thru, and headed over to Target and Toys ‘R Us to see if they had any of the new Mattel 1966 Batman figures in. No luck in either venue. They’re very hard to find. The kid behind the counter at Toy’s ‘R Us said as soon as they come off the truck, they’re snapped up. I headed back home and grabbed a quick nap. My pal Nancy dropped by later and we headed over to the Chinese Theater in Hollywood to see a screening of “Jesus Christ Superstar” on the big screen. My pal Barry Dennen invited us, as he and fellow JCS castmember Ted Neeley were both there signing autographs and doing a Q&A before the film. Luckily, when we got there, the line for autographs was pretty short. So we got in line, bought our photos and waited for Barry and Ted. But just as we got up to them we were told to get out of line and head into the theater so the show could start. I had a bad feeling about this, and I told the usher we already had our photos. He said we could get them signed after the film, as the lines should be short since most people already got their stuff signed. Uh huh….suuuuure. The plan was to go get dinner after the movie with Barry, but until then I grabbed a hot dog, red vines, popcorn, and a soda. Seeing the restored print on the big screen was amazing. Seeing Carl Anderson on-screen was a bit emotional. I had met him several times, as we played some of his music on The Wave when I worked there. Nice guy! I had met Carl and Ted backstage after a performance of “JCS” at the Universal Ampitheater back in 1992. What a night that was! But since the movie audience included several people who worked on the film, I could feel the emotional vibe when Carl came on the screen. Clearly he was really loved and missed by his fellow castmates. It’s always great to see that movie, especially on the big screen. But it wasn’t nearly as cool as having Barry and Ted at my house to watch it a few months back! We got out of the movie and got back in line, but the line was LONG and SLOW moving! I shot a knowing glance at the usher who pulled us out of line earlier as if to say “I toldja so.” We waited in line for about an hour and a half, and it was getting to be the time when the valet parking shut down. I had to run down and beg the valet to stay while longer. He said a few other cars were still there from the “JCS” event and he would stay until midnight. Ted Neeley sure loves to chat, and he’s a warm, wonderful person. But Nancy wanted to meet Ted so we stayed the course. Just minutes before midnight we got up to Ted and got some photos. We chatted for a bit and he promised to come to a taping of “The Tonight Show” very soon with his family. We got back down to my car just after midnight and I gave John the valet a nice tip for waiting. But there was another guy in line who also valet parked, and he was several people behind us! It was much too late to enjoy dinner with Barry, and Nancy had to get up early the next morning, so we sped back home. Glad I had that hot dog! Whew! I did my auditions, and then finished up Wally’s Week for the previous week. I worked on my computer for a while, worked around the house, put all of the discs in my new CD booklet, got rid of the spinner rack, dumped the garbage, made my new Milk Duds box (it looks AWESOME!) and settled in with some dinner to watch another episode of “Man From Atlantis” before bed. Wanna know something weird?! TED NEELEY WAS IN THE EPISODE! Of all the weird, strange and odd things! What are the chances of that?!

Tuesday the 13th – PHONE HELL! – I had lunch with my old pal Ken Dennis at 2 at Jerry’s Famous Deli. Ken was the Supervising Producer for the first 3 seasons of “Family Guy,” and he produced my projects “Livin’ On a Prayer” and “Uncle Davver’s Really Scary Movie Show.” It was fun to catch up with him. I got back home and napped for a bit (I can do that during hiatus…hee hee hee) and then got up later in the evening to go to Verizon to get rid of my annoying new smart phone. If you remember, my Casio flip phone was stolen at Denny’s a few weeks back. So I “upgraded” (or downgraded) to a smart phone. Bad idea. But I found another Casio flip phone at a local Verizon store and I had them hold it for me until I could get in there and do the paperwork. But when I got there they told me I had to go back to the Verizon store where I purchased the smart phone, turn it in, and then come back to THEIR Verizon store and sign up for the flip phone. Oh please! So I hauled it over to the store on Coldwater, waited for the associate to get free, turned in the smart phone and cleared my paperwork, then hauled it back to the Studio City store, waited for the associate to get free, then signed up for my flip phone. This was turning into a multi-hour commitment of time! Good thing I had nowhere to be! I asked the associate if I was the only guy who came in within the past month who actually wanted his service REDUCED instead of increased. He said yes. I was. I told him I didn’t need a plan with a large amount of data, because I didn’t use my phone for any internet stuff. Just phone calls and texts. I think that threw them for a loop. They weren’t sure how to handle it. So they put me on the most basic plan they had and I was on my way. The salad I had for lunch with Ken didn’t stick with me very long, as the whole Verizon fiasco made me very hungry. (I hope the knucklehead who stole my phone is happy he caused me so much grief!) I went back to the scene of the crime for dinner…Denny’s. I met up with Sara, and we had a good time. But I kept a sharp eye on my flip phone this time! Fool me once shame on you, fool me twice shame on me! I got home and wanted to take a dip in the Jacuzzi, but it was about 9:50…ten minutes before closing. Normally it’s ok if you stay out a few minutes past, but as soon as I got in, a guard came by and kicked me out. Of all the nights?! I never see the guard at 10, but tonight for some reason he was right on time. Just my luck. I had barely gotten my feet wet! I took Roxy outside for a quick potty break and then grabbed a quick nap. When I got up I did several auditions and e-mailed them into my agents. Then Roxy and I enjoyed our late-night stroll through the neighborhood. I came back inside to do more work around the house, worked on the computer for a while, then made some dinner and watched another “Man From Atlantis” episode. It was a horrible episode about a giant jellyfish. Very campy, but not in a good way. The purple paint they used on the plastic inflated jellyfish prop was coming off on the hands of the actors who handled it during the filming. This episode was a mess. I know there are only 13 episodes on this DVD set, but I’m hoping they’ll be over soon. Not sure how much more of this I can take.

Wednesday the 14th – COLONOSCOPREP! – Around noon I woke up, returned some calls, answered some e-mails, walked Roxy and enjoyed the warm day. I hit the road and headed to Glendale to go to the Colorectal Surgery Institute to get the skinny on my upcoming (and very first) colonoscopy. It’s on the campus of Glendale Memorial Hospital. My buddy James from Warner Brothers had recommended them, as he had his done several months ago. I’ve been promising myself (and my parents) that I would get it done for years, but now’s finally the time. I can’t do it during a regular taping schedule of “TTS,” and normally every hiatus I’m out of town for a bit, but this time I had two weeks all to myself and it was time to get ‘er done! It does run in my family on my paternal grandmother’s side, so it’s imperative that I get mine done soon. My dad had a tumor with a few cancer cells in it that was removed when he was 61. My grandma had rectal cancer at 65 and then colon cancer at 76. (Yes, the grandma that just turned 101!) It’s said that you should go in 10 years before the advent of cancer in a relative, so I’m going in just at the right time. Apparently colon cancer is a VERY slow moving cancer that can take a decade or longer to gestate. Good. Though I’ve been sluffing it off, I really am kind of curious to see what’s going on in there. I filled out my paperwork, met with Nurse Ana, and then met Dr. Vukasin. A pretty nice guy, considering he spends his time hanging out with a bunch of a-holes. (Sorry, bad joke) Dr. V confirmed that I was getting in at just the right time, and he said I may want to get a DNA test to see if I’m predisposed to getting colon cancer. The test is similar to the one Angelina Jolie had which determined that she had the gene in her DNA that predisposed her to breast cancer. But first he suggested my dad take it to see if he had it. If not, then no worries. But if so, then I and my two sisters need to have it to see if he passed it along to us. I got the paperwork and will send it along to my dad so he can go “spit in a cup” in Sioux Falls and have the test done. My appointment for the procedure is at 8am Thursday the 22nd. I have to be there at 6am for prep. I can’t eat anything solid from midnight the day before the procedure. I can only drink clear fluids all day before the procedure, in addition to taking this drink they give me to flush my system. I opted not to get the gallon of muck they give out, but paid a little extra to get the small packets of powdered mix. It’s not nearly as bad as the old fashioned stuff, and Nurse Ana said this stuff is all the rage in Europe. As of midnight before my procedure, I can’t drink ANYTHING! If you have fluids in your stomach you may vomit under sedation and choke to death. I was elated when Nurse Ana told me that clear liquids included Coke and Pepsi. But she said to stay away from drinks that are red or green, as the dyes used in those drinks are problematic for this type of procedure. So I’ll stock up on iced tea, lemonade (with no pulp), Coke, Pepsi, chicken broth, beef broth, etc. – and make a game out of it. It’s going to suck not being able to eat solid foods for 36+ hours, but it’s gotta be done. She said if I had stomach upset I could suck on mints, and that should help considerably. On my way home I stopped at McDonald’s Drive-Thru for a quick lunch, then went to DG Entertainment for an audition. I got back home and grabbed a quick nap. Then a buddy of mine came over for a tour of Planet Wallywood. We finished that up and I took a swim and a quick dip in the Jacuzzi. I came back inside to work on the computer for a bit, did my auditions, and then walked Roxy. I made a Tombstone pizza and hit the hay to watch another “Man From Atlantis” episode. It was the best episode so far…a western. Not half bad. But unfortunately I think this episode was the exception and not the rule.

Thursday the 15th – BRAINSTORMING! – At noon I met my pastor Pastor Bob at Studio Café for lunch. We brainstormed some ideas for the evening service at church. Just as we were finishing up my ol’ pal Chuck McCann came in to eat. He stopped by the table and I introduced him to Pastor Bob. We finished up and I sped off to Regenix for a follow-up appointment. All was good. My follicles are super clean, and my individual hairs have thick shafts and fat, clean bulbs. I stopped by It’s a Wrap to see if they had anything that interested me, and then I went over to my L.A. voice-over agency CESD to meet with my agents. I hadn’t physically been into the agency in years, so it was good to see everybody. I called the meeting to see if they had any strategy ideas about what we should do after “The Tonight Show” ends in early February. While the job has been a true blessing, it has kept me from pursuing other opportunities. For example, cartoon sessions record from 9a-1p, and 2p-6p. Clearly, with the “TS” schedule I have, doing cartoons during the hours of 2-6 is impossible. I also am unable to travel very far to do sessions, because being on call for “TTS” I’m tethered to the Burbank area on a very short rope. Since I’ve been “off the radar” for four years doing the show, I felt it’s important for the agents to start re-introducing me to their casting director clients. So we’re setting up several fun things to do just that, so when the show comes to an end in February, I can hit the ground running with all sorts of new opportunities! It was a great meeting, but the drive back home took about an hour. When I got home I did some work, walked Roxy and then napped until midnight. Long day! I got up and did some auditions, worked around the house, cleaned up for the maids (who were coming Friday afternoon), straightened out the Puppet Room, did laundry, put fresh sheets on my bed, and made some of my world infamous Buffalo Mac! I couldn’t bring myself to watch another “Man From Atlantis” episode, so I watched an episode of “The Saint” from the first season DVD set. Though it’s in black and white, I love the show so much I forget that it’s not in color. So with that mindset, I started thinking about buying the “Twilight Zone” Blu Ray package and watching that. I was never a big fan of “TZ,” but I never really watched it much, and I love Rod Serling’s “Night Gallery.” I think I’ll order the set and put it in my docket of TV shows to watch!

Friday the 16th – R.I.P.E.P.! – This day marks 36 years without Elvis. I remember the day he died like it was yesterday. Around 1 I got up to let the maids in to clean up, while I walked Roxy to the groomer’s for a bath. While they finished up I worked on the computer and got ready for an afternoon of errands. My assistant Sara joined me for lunch on the patio at Paty’s, then I picked up my mail at my mailbox, went to the cleaners to drop off a comforter, stopped by the vet’s to get more wet food for my cat Spooky, picked up some vitamins at Herb Land, and then stopped by the groomer’s to pick up Roxy. I got back home and freshened up to go have dinner with my pals Brittney and Edi at Miceli’s. Great fun! I got home and threw on some old clothes and started working on organizing my garage. Since my contractor Terry had built the underground storage area in my crawlspace, I have been itching to get out there and fill it full of stuff. Since the storage area is considerable in size, I decided to put the stuff I’ll never need access to way in back. The stuff I may need more regular access to will be stored toward the front. I have hundreds of scripts from almost every project I’ve ever done. I don’t want to trash them, but I won’t need access to them anytime soon. So they’re the first to go to the back. But before I did, I clearly labeled the boxes they’re in. I also marked down which scripts were in which box, so I could transpose the information on a document in my computer for safe keeping. Sara suggested I sign the cover page of every script. That way when I’m not around any longer, my heirs can sell them off and possibly make a few bucks. “Invader Zim,” “Family Guy,” “Super Adventure Team,” “The Garfield Show,” “Avengers: Earth’s Mightiest Heroes,” “Throut and Neck,” and hundreds of other scripts all signed and boxed away. Imagine me sitting on my garage floor in the middle of the night, surrounded by scripts, big empty boxes, and a couple of pens. Signing scripts and boxing them up one by one. By the time I got to my 200th script, my signature was starting to look even sloppier than it is normally. So I took a break for a bit. But by the end of the evening I got five banker’s boxes filled and stashed. I still have a long way to go before my garage is clean and organized, but it really made a dent! I came back inside and fed Roxy, then took her outside for our late night stroll. For some reason the stars were super bright. Much brighter than they usually are. I could clearly see Orion’s belt, and a circular pattern of stars that I’ve never seen before! I could instantly tell that the stars were brighter than normal the minute I stepped outside. WOW! It was amazing! I came back inside to work on the computer, make dinner, and watch “Man From Atlantis.” My downstairs toilet was acting funky, so my handyman pal Electric Bob came over at 5:45 to replace it. I’ve had a brand new toilet sitting downstairs in my garage for months, waiting for the bathroom remodel in the Puppet Room. I figured we could use this toilet now, and I’d get another one later when we redid the Puppet Room. I’m a late sleeper, and Electric Bob is an early riser, so really the best time for us to get together is at 6am. He’s just getting up and I’m just going to bed! But when he looked at the toilet he said all I needed was a water intake valve. An easy fix. So we didn’t need to lug the toilet upstairs after all. But since nothing was open at that early hour, he said he’d pick up a valve later in the day and call me to come replace it. GREAT! I made soup and a sandwich and went to bed to watch “Man From Atlantis.”

Saturday the 17th – FIGHTING LIKE CATS AND DOGS! – When I got up at 2 I called Bob and he said he was just a few minutes from my house. He came by with the new valve, replaced it, and I was good to go! Since I had only gotten a few hours of sleep that morning, I went back to bed and slept until 5. This happens every time we go on hiatus. My hours shift back to the late night hours I used to keep as an all-night radio D.J.! They’re the hours I feel naturally inclined to keep. I feel best at night. Around 6 I got some groceries for movie night, and when I returned home my pal Jim Ojala came over to pick up my little boy mannequin so he could paint his hair. If you remember from past entries, I bought a kid mannequin for The Chaney Room to display a vintage Mickey Mouse Halloween costume exactly like the one I had when I was 6. Jim’s an amazing special effects artist, and he’s done all the figures in my house. This one won’t have glass eyes or anything fancy, but I did want his hair to be darker so it looked closer to the accompanying picture of me from 1967 in my Mickey Mouse costume. Sara came over to help put the groceries away and get everything straightened up for movie night. After our Popeye cartoon, and episode of “The Muppet Show,” we watched the newly released Blu Ray version of “The Swamp Thing,” a campy comic book classic from the early 80’s. When everyone left, I got the itch to do more cleaning. So I got a bunch of wet washcloths and cleaned my lifesize Spider-Man figure, my DVD cabinet and the collectibles on top, my action figure cabinet (no easy task!), and a few other areas around the living room. When I finished I had a smug sense of satisfaction and accomplishment. I had the front screen door closed, but the main door open so I could get some fresh evening air into the house. I was upstairs in the office looking something up on the computer when I heard a disturbance down on the marble entry way. I heard Spook howling and hissing, and I heard Roxy barking. Apparently Spook was staring at something he thought he saw outside through the screen door (maybe another cat, maybe a raccoon, maybe just a shadow or his imagination) and Roxy must’ve startled him. When Spook’s on high alert like that he loses his mind and gets very territorial and strange. So when Roxy startled him he went nuts. Hissing and yowling at her, and clawing at her face and neck. Roxy backed off and thought he was playing, so she just faced him down and started barking loudly at him. This wasn’t going to end well. So I yelled for Roxy to come upstairs immediately. I think poor Roxy realized Spook wasn’t playing and she ran up to me. Spook took off after her with his eyes wide and his tail fuzzed. I tried to defuse the situation as best as I could by talking gently to Spook to get him to calm down. He went back downstairs to stare out the screen door again, and I placed the gate at the top of the stairs to keep Roxy up with me and give Spook his space. Weird cat. But I’ve had Roxy well over a year now and this is the first time something like that’s happened. Normally he loves her, even though she does have the tendency of getting in his face a little too much sometimes and he warns her to back off. But generally they get along great. The rest of the night I tried to keep them as separate as possible, as Spook was still acting a little jumpy. I wrote some checks and paid some bills, then made a super salad and settled in for my usual Saturday Night Saint episode.

Sunday the 18th – SLEEPY SUNDAY! – Around 9am I finally settled down to sleep, but when I got up at 4 to take Roxy out I was still very tired. I guess my body still needed a little more rest. So I hit the hay again and slept until 6:30. Sara and I went to grab dinner at DuPar’s, as I was craving a tuna melt. I came back home and worked around the house, and did my auditions. I worked some more on the computer, and while I had fully intended to get back out into the garage to do some more work, I lost track of time and the night got away from me. So after feeding and walking Roxy, I decided to settle in for the night. It was going to be a big week so I wanted to relax as much as possible. But picture this…it’s 5:30am and the sky is just starting to brighten somewhat. And here’s a guy in a white robe outside on his patio firing up the grill to make chili dogs. Yup, that’s me! But the chili dogs were amazing. I wish I could say the same for the episode of “Man From Atlantis” though. He saves Romeo and Juliet from certain death. Oh brother.

And how werest THOUEST weeketh?

PIX FROM THE WEEK

After the “JCS” screening, my pal Nancy and I say hi to Ted Neeley!