RANDOM PIC OF THE WEEK
While talking to a friend about the old days of baseball (before steroids!) I remembered some autographs I had acquired at a Minnesota Twins game in 1971. In addition to Brooks Robinson of the Orioles, I got Tony Oliva, Rod Carew and Harmon Killibrew of the Twins! Here’s the autograph taken from my childhood autograph book, along with a shot of Killibrew from the Twins’ player’s guide you could buy at the game! Ahhhh those were the days!
Since I’ve spent the last week re-discovering the musical creations of William Orbit, I hearkened back to a song we used to play on 94.7 KTWV “The Wave” in Los Angeles. It’s called ‘Via Caliente’ and it’s the very first exposure I had to this amazing and prolific artist. Enjoy!
Tuesday the 18th – FOUR OH! FIVE! – Before I went to bed at 6 in the morning, I had heard on the radio that the 405 freeway was still closed for construction and wouldn’t open until 6pm. So I texted my contractor Terry, who was coming over to do work at 1:00, asking him to come Wednesday instead. The overflow traffic on the other freeways would have made his drive to my place miserable. I woke up on my own at 1:30 and went downstairs to check messages. I had several panicked messages from my assistant Sara telling me to wake up, that Terry was waiting for me. Apparently he didn’t get my text because he had taken his cell phone into the Jacuzzi accidentally the night before. Luckily he and his wife Michelle had only been waiting outside for about a half hour. So, I guess we’re working after all. He said the freeway traffic was a breeze! When I checked my e-mail I saw that I had about 5 “same day” auditions from my agents. That means that they’re due the same day they’re issued. Mostly, auditions are sent the day before they’re due, and I work on them overnight. But many had come in that were due by the end of day. I guess not everybody takes President’s Day off. Maybe my voice-over agency shouldn’t take President’s Day off after all? It would seem that a lot of ad agencies don’t take it off. Lots of producers are still working that day and auditioning copy. While Terry worked on stuff around the house I worked on my computer…finishing up Wally’s Week, answering e-mails and organizing stuff. At the end of the afternoon I took a dip in the Jacuzzi, and because people were in the pool, the ducks came by for a swim but were shooed away by the swimmers. They flew up and sat on my roof looking down at me with puzzled looks on their faces. Poor little things. My neighbors are getting sick of the ducks’ presence because they dirty up the pool horribly. They’re cute for sure, but VERY dirty. As Terry finished up his work, Sara brought over the new proof for my tumbler artwork. As I mentioned last week, I’m doing a huge mailing to producers, casting directors, directors and writers. I want to remind them that, while I’ve been very tied up with “The Tonight Show” the past four years, I’m now completely available for voice-over work. Inside the tumbler I’m including a cool fridge magnet, a color postcard of my animated characters, a light-up pen, and all of my new demos on a custom-printed flash drive. The tumbler artwork is designed on a template that will fit inside the plastic outer shell of the tumbler. It’s printed on a new metallic paper that really makes the colors pop. I called the printer and ordered 100 copies for my mailers. I finished up my work, as did Terry, and we took off to DuPar’s to grab dinner. Then I came home to grab a nap for a few hours. When I got up I attacked my auditions with fervor, and then went into the garage to do some more work on filing my “TS” scripts. I finished up all the scripts through the end of the show. Seven 3-ring binders full! I put them all in a sealed plastic bin and put them in the underground storage. Now I have to find all of “The Jay Leno Show” scripts and get those stashed and stored. I crawled into the other underground storage space and dug out the original tapes from “Uncle Davver’s Really Scary Movie Show” so my pal Kevin can start editing the new sizzle reel. Since I’ve become obsessed with Madonna’s “Little Star,” written by William Orbit, I spent some time on the internet looking for the instrumental. I found it, and it’s beautiful! William Orbit is a genius! I really need to set about finding some of his other music I may enjoy. He does a lot of great electronic “chill” music that I enjoy while watching stars in Palm Springs. Who needs drugs when you can alter your mind with good music, candles, and an amazingly clear, starry sky! I sent out my movie night invites and made a Tombstone pizza to watch another “Mannix” episode. It was a great one! Mannix was forcefully addicted to heroin and he was hurting! Great acting! I have to congratulate Mike Connors next time I see him for a job well done!
Wednesday the19th – OUT AND ABOUT! – When I got up around 2 I had planned on going to my auxiliary garage and seeing if my Torino would start. I haven’t been able to have the Torino in my main garage because I’ve been doing so much work down there rearranging stuff. But I decided to try it another day. It was a beautiful, warm day so I put the top down on my Mustang and hit the road. After hitting Taco Bell for some lunch-to-go, I went to Leet TV to get my repaired camcorder. Then I hit the mailbox to get my mail. I stopped by Fast Frame to check on my framed “Tonight Show” piece I’m having done (but it wasn’t finished yet), and then went home. I talked to my folks on the phone and let Roxy wander around outside for a bit. I went upstairs to do more dubbing of my old VHS home movie videotapes to DVD. I want to retire all of the VHS tapes I have, but first I want to archive them on DVD. I dug out more videos I shot of Sassie, my first collie who died in 2011. It was great seeing her again and she was a wonderful companion! I really miss her, but I certainly have my hands full with crazy Roxy, whom I love enormously! I grabbed a quick nap, then got up to do a ton of auditions. I did some work around the house, made some Spaghetti-O’s and started watching “The Twilight Zone” season 2 on Blu Ray before bed!
Thursday the 20th– MAKE A WISH! – Promptly at 11:11 I sprang awake. I made a wish and got up to walk Roxy. I sped off to Elaine Craig Casting in Hollywood to do a Chevy audition. It was good to be out and about again auditioning! I had really missed this! I grabbed lunch-to-go at Arby’s drive-thru. As I drove westbound on Sunset, the traffic was backed up because of road traffic which had a lane closed down. My goal was to turn left at Cherokee to go to the post office to drop off some mail. The traffic was totally stopped, but allowed me to cut in for a left turn. Right in the middle of my left turn a bicyclist heading eastbound shot out toward me on my far left. I wasn’t going very fast, but I slammed on my brakes to avoid hitting him. He yelled and screamed and flipped me the bird. This nutjob kept yelling as he followed me on his bike to the post office. Not one to avoid a conflict, I pulled over and rolled down my window. He screamed at me, “What are you doing? You almost hit me!” I said, “I couldn’t have possibly seen you! You shot out from behind that car. The traffic waved me in for a left turn and there you were! I couldn’t have POSSIBLY seen you!” Which was true. He said, “You should be more careful!” Careful? How? Develop X-ray vision to see through cars? HE’S the one that shot into a blind intersection 70 miles an hour! He should slow down at those blind intersections and be cautious. I’m a bicyclist too! I know that when I approach stopped traffic at a blind intersection there’s probably a good reason. I always slow down and proceed with caution. As the skinny crazy bicyclist drove away he continued to yell and flip me off. Whatever. I drove over to the West Hollywood Sheriff’s station to pick up some paperwork I need to fill out for a permit I’m trying to obtain. I chatted for a long time with a Deputy there and we had some good laughs. I hopped in the car and headed over to Regenix for a follow-up visit. I’m really liking having my freedom back again. Lots of time to get stuff done, no reason to keep checking my phone or clock, having to rush off. After the appointment I drove home and fed Spook and walked Roxy. I did some organizing around the house, took a dip in the Jacuzzi, and then Jim Ojala came over to show me the work he had done on my Scarecrow of Oz bust. I’m doing a set of four “Oz” busts based on the foam-filled latex heads that were struck from molds created for the Movieland Wax Museum in Niagara Falls. Since the Scarecrow has always been my favorite character, we started with him first. The bust looks great, but we still need to tweak the color a little bit. My seamstress will create a “skirt” that will go around his neck under the rope. She’ll also make his tunic in olive green fleece. Then I’ll go to a professional hat maker in Burbank to get a custom hat made just like the one in the film. Jim and I sat down with the DVD on my computer and got some great screenshots to use for color reference. We’ll wait until the skirt is finished before Jim repaints it, to make sure all the colors match perfectly. Since we’re starting on Tin Man next, I gave the head to Jim so he can get started. My contractor Terry is going to build up the armor and funnel cap out of copper sheeting. Then we’ll spray it silver. The costume in the movie was made out of material similar to book bindings, but Terry wanted to make it out of actual metal. I have an early session on Friday, so I won’t nap. I stayed busy doing stuff around the house, scanning checks, prepping a deposit, doing a bunch of auditions…before I knew it, it was time for bed! First I fed and walked Roxy, then made some chili and hit the hay to watch a “Twilight Zone” episode. It was one of the best I’ve seen. It was called “The Nervous Man in a Four Dollar Room.” It involved an actor talking to his own reflection in a mirror, confronting his more aggressive self. Basically the actor had to act with a projection of previously shot footage of himself! It was amazing!
Friday the 21st – THE LAST FAREWELL! – At 8:30 in the morning I awoke to the sounds of somebody walking on my roof over my head. Since I had to get up at 8:45 anyway for my session, it was alright. But still a little nerve wracking! Roxy and I had a nice, fun walk on a warm Friday morning. As we walked by the tennis court, a player asked if Roxy wanted a tennis ball. I said, “Sure! Thanks!” He threw the ball over the fence and she loved chasing it all the way home. I cleaned up and headed to a studio called Elm Silverlake to work on two commercials for The Underwear Affair. I’ve been doing the spots for this worthwhile Canadian charity for about 6 years. It’s a 5k walk and 10k run done in your underwear to help fight below-the-waist cancers. But as I drove to the studio I noticed that there were ROAD CLOSED signs preventing me from coming down any further. Luckily, I just ignored them and drove right on through. I wasn’t aware of any other way to get to the studio. Good thing I did too, because I made it on time. The gal I worked with on the spots was a singer/actress named Chantelle. Nice gal. On the way out we were talking about dogs and she said she and her boyfriend always wanted to adopt an Italian Greyhound. Like magic, a woman with a dog walked by and we stopped to pet it. It was AN ITALIAN GREYHOUND! Of all the weird things! I told Chantelle it was a sign! After the session I drove over to the Burbank Studios to pick up my final check for “TTS.” It would be the last time I would set foot on that stage in that capacity. I signed the paperwork, got my final check from the NBC/Universal HR person, and I went to the backstage area to say hi to many of the crew who were wrapping up their loadout efforts. Since most of the work had been done, this was most likely their last day. I looked in on the stage and it was almost completely empty. Just a shell of what it once was with no hint of the glory of its past four years. I drove to Prints Charm’n to pick up the 100 prints for my tumbler artwork. I went to Office Depot to exchange a printer that was problematic. I went to Michael’s Crafts to get some supplies for the Scarecrow of Oz bust project; straw, wheat, burlap, etc., and then headed to my Vet’s office to pick up more canned food for Spook. I slid by the bank to make a quick deposit, and went to the grocery store to pick up some supplies. But I couldn’t find a decent parking space so I went home. I decided to go later at night when nobody’s there. I got home and my assistant Sara was there with my maids, who were just finishing up. Sara went to get us lunch at Which Wich while I continued working away on my computer. I did five auditions, and started cutting out the tumbler artwork. Each of the 100 sheets had to be hand cut so they would fit in the tumblers. So I just turned on the radio and started cutting. I just “got into the zen of it” and continued until they were all cut and ready. I brought up one case of tumblers (24 to a case) and started inserting them. They look good, but I still have another 3 cases to go! I grabbed a nice, long nap…7pm to midnight! I must’ve really needed the downtime. I woke up and did more tumblers while I dubbed more home movie VHS tapes on to DVD. Killing two birds with one stone, as they say. I worked on my database, and then headed out to the grocery store to pick up supplies. I got a parking space right in front of the store and had my pick of supplies in the store. I called Denny’s to get some food to go, picked it up and then headed home to watch 3 “Twilight Zone” episodes.
Saturday the 22nd – BUNNY SURPRISE! – At 1:00 I heard the floor creaking outside my bedroom door. That normally means that Roxy has come upstairs and is trying to get in my room for some cuddle time on the bed. But when I opened the door I saw my assistant Sara standing there with my friend Edi’s dog Bunny. She said that while Edi was on family business in Oklahoma, the dogsitter who was watching Bunny was having trouble with her dog not getting along with Bunny. So Edi wanted Sara to go get her and bring her to my house. Bunny’s always welcome at my house, so I said SURE! So Bunny will join our little menagerie until Tuesday afternoon when Edi returns. I got everybody settled but I was still tired, having only gone to bed at 9am that morning. I pulled my cap over my eyes, laid down on the most comfortable couch in the universe, and napped until 5:30. I got up to feed Spook and walk Bunny and Roxy. Then it was back inside to get ready for movie night. Tonight, my all-time favorite animated film on Blu Ray… “The Jungle Book!” It was the very first movie I had ever seen in a movie theater (not including the times my folks would take me to the drive-in and put me to sleep in the backseat as a baby.) I remember going with my dad like it was yesterday. We went out and bought the soundtrack album after the movie and I still have it to this day! In fact, I’ve put it in an album frame and hung it in “The Puppet Room!” I changed out the movie posters in the frames in the home theatre, cleaned up the house and took a dip in the Jacuzzi. Movie night was a blast, and when everyone left I worked around the house. I worked on my music library, dubbed more home movies to DVD, and completed the task of stuffing the artwork into the rest of my tumblers. All 100 are complete. Now they just need the pens, the fridge magnets, and my demos on flash drive. I fed the animals, walked Bunny and Roxy, and made a huge salad for “Saturday Night Saint and Salad Night.” But when the episode of “The Saint” was over I wasn’t very tired, so I watched a few more “Twilight Zone” episodes.
Sunday the 23rd – BRIGHT BRIGHT ELVIS! – I got up at 2 to walk the dogs then headed back to bed until 5. I got up for evening church and had considered taking Bunny along. But Roxy is enough of a handful, let alone another dog, so it was just Roxy and me as usual. On the walk home I was struck by the stars in the sky. They were beautiful and clear! I could see many more stars than normally viewable in L.A. because of all the light pollution. But conditions were just right. The Elvis star system (aka Orion) was so bright and clear I could see extra little stars in the pattern that aren’t normally detectable. It was a stunning sight! I went inside to work on my music library and then grab a short nap. I got up around 11 to reinstall my new replacement printer and do my auditions. I did some more work around the house, putting away chairs and blankets from movie night. Then I made some Buffalo Mac with the left over buffalo chicken strips from my Denny’s visit a few nights earlier. I hit the hay and watched another couple of “Twilight Zone” episodes on Blu Ray before bed. I’m annoyed, however, by the few episodes that seem to be shot on videotape. They look cheesy. I hope there aren’t many more of them on this set.
And how was YOUR week??!!
