RANDOM PIC OF THE WEEK
Seeing these old catalog pages makes me happy. Great times. Great toys!
I’m not sure why I got on a Styx kick this past week, but hearing “Blue Collar Man” sure sounded good to me! Great times. Great music!
Monday the 12th – M.I.A.! – For the most part today was considered a day off, somewhat. I was looking around for some photos on my computer that I couldn’t locate. Then I started to realize that maybe they didn’t get transferred during the recent computer meltdown. RATS! Luckily I have back-ups, and back-ups of back-ups. So I located the missing items on my back-up drive and transferred them over. Frustrating! I called my pal Sara Raftery to join me for dinner at Ernie’s Taco House. Then I came home and wrote Wally’s Week and did my daily auditions. It’s cooled down somewhat, compared to the previous three days. I took my nightly WOG (walk/jog) around the neighborhood, and then spent some time outside relaxing in my anti-gravity chair – just staring up at the sky and relaxing.
Tuesday the 13th – BACKDROP, BITS, & BOB’S! – After months in the planning, I met with George – the CEO of a book publisher that is interested in the Christoween franchise. He and I initially met at WonderCon and now we’re finally having a chance to sit down and chat one-on-one. We met for three hours, so it’s safe to say that it went very well. He’s busy with a lot of projects right now, but he had some great ideas for a launch right around this Halloween. Fingers crossed! I drove to the Sign Studio in Burbank to pick up my backdrop for our upcoming Monsterpalooza museum exhibit. As you might be aware, we’re in the process of recreating the James Bond/Roger M00re target effigy that was in Scaramanga’s Fun House in the movie “The Man With The Golden Gun.” We started the project very early, and it’s a good thing. We’ve had plenty of time to get our ducks in a row! The backdrop will go behind the life-size figure, and features the image of Christopher Lee (who played Scaramanga) surrounded by purple swirls. This image was lifted from the film itself and brilliantly restored and reconfigured for a large format by my pal and graphics genius Scott Sebring. When I arrived to pick up the backdrop I asked if the fabric it was printed on was opaque. They didn’t seem to think so. I had the idea to backlight it to emphasize the visage of Christopher Lee for the show. The lady held it up to the big picture window and there was definitely light coming through. This would look amazing! On the way home I stopped at my box and picked up two packages. My pal Edi Lurie and I got on the topic of vocal groups who did smooth, relaxing music in the 60s and 70s. I told her about Liz Damon’s Orient Express, and I found that two of their albums were on one CD! So I bought it. She told me about the Ray Conniff Singers, who did a cover of her husband Elliot’s hit song “Brandy (You’re a Fine Girl!)” I found it on-line as well…and bought it. So now I have some relaxing vocal music to enjoy. Perhaps I’ll slick my hair back, put on a smoking jacket and an ascot, and enjoy a martini and a cigar. Well, everything sounds good except the martini, anyway. When I got home I set up the frame for the backdrop, which was no easy task for somebody to do without help. My pal Chris Malmin stopped by and offered to help. I told him thanks, but I needed to learn how to do this myself just in case. Once I got it set up I got a lamp and put it behind the backdrop and turned it on. WOW! It looked like a transparency, it was so vibrant. The backlighting is a great idea. I just hope we’re able to pull it off with the limited space at the Monsterpalooza museum! Scott, the owner of PPI make-up effects, always has a huge booth at Monsterpalooza. It was he who suggested that Tony Clifton appear at the after party a few years back. That was a lot of fun to do, and Scott and I have been friends ever since. Oddly enough, he also knows my pal Chris Malmin. I had recorded some voice bits for the PPI booth a few days ago, and now Chris is going to record some newscaster bits that will play during the days of the convention. I recorded him on my home studio set-up and sent everything to Scott. My assistant Emily soon joined us, and we took off for dinner at Bob’s Big Boy. I came home to relax for a bit, and then got up to do my nightly WOG. When I came back inside I reconciled my monthly corporate bank statement, and worked on the computer.
Wednesday the 14th – BANKS, BODIES, AND BARN DOORS! – As I was going through my corporate bank statement the night before I noticed that they had added a small fee of $3.15. The amount didn’t bother me, but the fact that it existed at all did! I shouldn’t have any fees on this account, as I always keep more than the minimum amount in the account. I called the bank and talked to a nice guy named Jonathan in Arizona. He couldn’t tell me why the fee was added, and kept me on hold for a long time trying to ascertain the answer. He said it could have been an “excessive transaction” fee, but my statement indicated that I didn’t go over the monthly transaction limit. I was unaware that even such a thing existed, but he was nice enough to have the fee removed. Then he put me on the line with a Business Account rep who signed me up for some sort of program that had no possibility of any fees…ever. It blew my mind, as I thought I was a part of that program all along. Weird! Kelly Delcambre came over with the finished mannequin body for the Roger M00re figure and it looked terrific. Alex from Alex In Wonderland came by with the black suit and white dress shirt that the mannequin will be wearing. She had to do a few alterations on the pants. She let down all the fabric on the pant legs so we could see where the cuffs would fall on the shoes. Oddly enough the pants fit almost perfectly, and we’re going to end up using almost the entire length of the fabric! The mannequin is tall and leggy…just like Roger M00re! The suit I bought was made in 1974 (the year “The Man With The Golden Gun” was released) so it was definitely a period suit! It came complete with the wide lapels on the jacket, and the flared pant legs! She just needed to take in the waist a bit, hem the bottom of the pant legs, and tailor in the jacket at the waist for that gorgeous “007” look! As I backlit the backdrop to show Kelly and Alex, I realized that the lamp I was using had a fair amount of light leakage around the backdrop. I would need to either buy some of that special black photographic foil, or buy a light with barn doors on it to focus the light more exactly. Emily dropped over again and brought some light stands that she had which could help our situation. Alex had to go to her next meeting, but Emily, Kelly and I went to Paty’s for lunch. I picked up a few packages at my box, and then went home to do some work. After relaxing for a bit I did some work around the house and recorded my daily auditions. I took my nightly WOG, and then worked on the computer. I made a Paladin Saladin and watched the final 3 episodes of the first season of “Have Gun – Will Travel.” I can’t tell you how much I’ve fallen in love with this show from the 50’s, and particularly the character of Paladin!
Thursday the 15th – WHEW! – After the busy days I’ve just had, I needed a day off again. I relaxed all day, and in the evening I headed to the Smoke House to have dinner with my pals Bob and Mike. We had a great time. I don’t think I’ve ever had a meal at the Smoke House that lasted less than 3 hours! Amazing place! Later I recorded my daily auditions, took my nightly WOG, and edited some videos on the computer.
Friday the 16th – “FOILED” AGAIN! – As I prepared to go out to search for black photographer’s foil, it dawned on me that my pal Drewy at Harry’s Camera might have some. I’d rather patronize his business than Amazon, or another photo store. So I made that my first stop of the day. He said he didn’t have any foil on hand, but as we chatted I spotted a light on a stand that was EXACTLY what I was looking for! It was a photographer’s light with barn doors on a stand, and it had a readout on the back where you could set the light level – from 100% down to 1%! PERFECT! I picked up the light, which was just over a hundred bucks. What a deal! Then he sold me a stand for 19 bucks! Wonderful! My search was over! I headed to CVS to pick up some supplies, and then I got some grocers. I headed home to put everything away, and I couldn’t wait to set up the light behind the backdrop to see how it looked! It looks FANTASTIC! I tried setting it at different light levels, but the final setting will all depend on the overall lighting scheme at the convention. Things were really coming together! Alex In Wonderland was busy working on the raven and Golden Gun prop at her shop, and he was expected to deliver that at the beginning of next week. I just needed to cut the shapes for the flats out of ½” foam board, and get those decorated and ready. I relaxed again for a bit, and recorded my nightly auditions. It pains me to see how slow the industry is right now. Nobody…and I mean NOBODY I know in the business is saying that work is good these days. It’s slow for EVERYONE, and I’m not sure why! I hope we get through this period fairly quickly. I took my nightly WOG and took my blood pressure. Looking good! Exercise and a better diet have changed everything! I did some work on the computer before turning in for the night. The weekend was here!
Saturday the 17th – COMPUTER CRAZINESS AND AWESOME AWARD! – After signing on the computer in the early afternoon I ordered all the components for my new computer system. My computer guy Thor sent me a list a while back of all the things I’d need, but it took me forever to actually sit down and get everything ordered. You snooze, you lose, I guess. As expected, a few of the components had become unavailable, or the price had risen. I sent a note to Thor about those items and he sent me alternate choices. When everything arrives I’m going to have him assemble a brand new system and it will be terrific! After all the computer issues I’ve had in the past year, I think it’s about time for an upgrade! While I was on my email I noticed a note that caught my eye. A while back a friend told me about a limited edition “Phantom of the Opera” sculpture that a collector was selling. It looked cool, but the original asking price was a bit steep for what it was. But the email I got notified me of a price drop. It was getting into the general area of price that had piqued my interest. I reached out to the seller and found out he was a 25 minute drive away from my house. We chatted on the phone and I drove over to pick up the piece. This art piece was sculpted by a famous artist named Paul D. Wegner, and was limited to only 950. This was #56 of 950, and it would look great at the base of my life-size Michael Crawford Phantom figure! It was a bit tarnished, but any good jeweler should be able to clean it up nicely. It’s constructed of brass and bronze, with a silver Phantom mask on the top. Gorgeous! These were released in 1989 and I’d be curious to know how many of these are still in existence! On the way home I picked up some lunch at KFC and drove back home. I did some work around the house, recorded my auditions that were due Monday, and then relaxed. Later I took my nightly WOG, and began the process of planning out the Scaramanga Funhouse set pieces that would adorn our James Bond exhibit in the Monsterpalooza museum. At first I sketched them out on paper, and then laid out the two black 4’ by 3’ pieces of foam board, and drew the cut lines out in a white grease pencil. I don’t have the ability to make precision cuts on such large pieces of board here at the house, so I’m going to have to take them back to Foam Mart and pay the guy there to make the cuts. Then once I get the pieces cut I’ll bring them home and decorate them accordingly. The black pieces will be trimmed with 1” white tape, and a few of the other pieces will be covered in orange velvet. I made my usual Saturday Night Super Salad, but instead of watching the next episode of “Boris Karloff’s Thriller,” I decided to treat myself. This past week one of my favorite films was released on Blu-Ray! Back in the early 80s when VHS rentals had just started to become popular, my buddy Maguire and I would rent the film “Tunnel Vision” on a weekly basis. In fact, he and I still quote it to this day! We had rented it so much that I cut a deal with the video store owner to just buy it outright. But back in those days VHS tapes were only meant for rental, and not for purchase. So the VHS was about 40 bucks; BIG money in the early 80s for a VHS tape. But I had to have it. But over the past few decades I’ve run into so many people who were actually IN the film, that I’ve had them autograph it. The VHS box is COVERED with many autographs from the cast. It came out on DVD back in the early 2000s, but it still looked a little grainy to me. So obviously I couldn’t wait to see the new Blu-Ray upgrade, which was scanned from the original negative! The film was made in 1974 (pre-Saturday Night Live) and featured a comedic, satiric view of what broadcast television would be like in the year 1985. Needless to say, the content was hilariously raunchy. But the amazing thing about this film is that it featured many actors who would go on to fame and fortune! Chevy Chase, Laraine Newman, John Candy, William Schallert, David L. Lander, Lynne Marie Stewart, Gerrit Graham, Joe Flaherty, Betty Thomas, Phil Proctor, Howard Hesseman, and more! Many of these aforementioned artists were just minutes away from starring on HUGE TV shows! It was the brainchild of Neal Israel, who went on to write and produce the “Police Academy” films, “Modern Problems,” “Bachelor Party,” and more classic comedy hits! The disc also came with a brand new interview with Neal in the special features. I couldn’t wait to finally hear all the behind-the-scenes stories about the creation of this film. So I made the executive decision to suspend my usual Saturday night viewing of “Boris Karloff’s Thriller” in favor of “Tunnel Vision.” And I’m glad I did. It looked amazing, and the interview was terrific! I had heard a lot of the stories from people I spoke with who were in the cast, but it was nice to hear the stories from the writer/producer as well. Neal Israel is a genius!
Sunday the 18th – WARMIN’ UP! – At the end of a nice, relaxing day I recorded a few auditions, and did some more voice bits for the PPI booth at Monsterpalooza. The weather report is saying it’s going to be a nice, warm week! Summer is comin’! Later I did my WOG and finished up editing some video projects.
And how was YOUR week??!!
PIX FROM THE WEEK
Here’s how the backdrop looks when it’s backlit. Magical!
Kelly and Alex dress the Roger M00re figure so Alex can take alteration notes.
A few tweaks here and there and we’re coming right along!
Though it’s tarnished and could use a good cleaning, this “Phantom of the Opera” sculpture will be an amazing addition to the Planet Wallywood collection!
