September 08 – September 14 (2025)

RANDOM PIC OF THE WEEK

I happened to find this gem on-line this week. It’s Stan Laurel’s ID card as a “motion picture employee.” I guess they couldn’t fit “comedy legend” on the card too.

I’ve always been intrigued by this song, and I’ve been humming it all week (when my voice would let me). “Timothy” by the Buoys was always fairly controversial. But man do I love a good story song. And since it was written by Rupert Holmes (the writer and singer of the famous “Pina Colada Song,”) it’s got a good pedigree. Have a listen, and pay attention to the lyrics.

Monday the 8th – MRI MONDAY! – After hitting McDonald’s for a quick lunch, I headed to the imaging place down the street to get a CT scan to see what’s going on with my clogged salivary gland. My ENT wasn’t sure if the blockage was due to stones, or something else. But she wanted to get an image to make sure. In order to get something they called “contrast” in the image, they put some iodine in my veins and put me in the machine. It only took about 10 minutes, and I was out the door. I had never had that before. I picked up a package at my box and then went home to clean up and do auditions. When I finished I relaxed a little. Later I took my nightly WOG (walk/jog) and spent some time in the anti-gravity chair outside, admiring the night sky. I typed out Wally’s Week and then took a few shots of my mini Mahna Mahna. This is a puppet that I bought on eBay from a builder in Chile. The puppet is perfect and beautiful, except for one thing – it’s just too darn small. Though gorgeous in its construction, it was simply too small to be useful in a performance-type situation. That, and the fact that it was much smaller in scale than my other Muppet replicas. I always had it on display in my Puppet Room, but through a series of Instagram posts from the original builder, somebody in the UK contacted me about possibly buying it. Since I really have no use for it, other than displaying it, I told him I’d be glad to sell it. I’d rather see it have a good home, and get a lot of good use. This builder does such great work, that I contacted him about enlarging his pattern and making a slightly bigger one. He did, and it’s wonderful! I feel it nailed the original look of Mahna Mahna much better than the replica I made a few years ago. So I have them both on display in the Tranquility Zone, and love them both. But the small one is going to live across the pond.

Tuesday the 9th – I GOT INTO ROB RIGGLE’S PANTS! – My friend (and soon – business partner) George is well connected with the Magic Castle in Hollywood. When we had dinner recently, he told me that someday he would take me. Well, this is the week! However, the dress code at the castle calls for “no denim.” I have black denim pants, but those aren’t good enough. They have to be dress pants. I have plenty of nice sport jackets, dress shirts and ascots (I don’t do neckties, and ascots are accepted at the Castle), but I had no dress pants at all. I tried on a few pair of black tuxedo pants that I had in my closet, but no go. I was shocked that, after all these years, they still fit around the waist quite nicely. Those WOGs are really paying off! However, I was unable to sit down while wearing the tuxedo pants. They were too snug in the backside. The WOGs have increased the muscle mass in my ‘gluteal region.’ Knowing full well that I wasn’t going to be standing all night at the Magic Castle, I decided to take off for a store called It’s A Wrap in Burbank to find some dress pants that would fit. It’s a Wrap has been around for a long time, and it’s a great store that sells movie and TV wardrobe that’s no longer needed by production companies. You can find some really great deals there! I found about 6 pairs of suitable options and went to the dressing room. I honed it down to two pairs I really liked and put the others back. They were having an “end-of-summer” sale on everything, so both pairs only cost me 15 bucks! The dry cleaning alone was going to cost more! But I was happy with my purchase. When I got to my car and looked the pants over more closely, I saw the name ROB RIGGLE written inside the waistband. Apparently, he wore them in some show he was on, but I’m not sure which one. Fabulous! I guess we wear the same size pants! I went off to Wienerschnitzel to get some lunch, as I hadn’t been there in a while. I ate in my car, and then dropped the pants off at the dry cleaners for next-day service. I’d be going to the Magic Castle on Wednesday night, so I’d have these in plenty of time. I’m glad I had the second pair as a back-up in case anything happened. I went home and did some work around the house and relaxed. Later I had a ton of auditions to do, including one REALLY amazing one that I would LOVE to get. However, in this business, you can’t get too precious or attached to any project you audition for. That’s the first rule I had to learn when I first got into acting. I took my nightly WOG and saw a raccoon the size of a bear cub climbing a tree. He was adorable, and big and fluffy! It must’ve been a good night for the raccoons to be out, because as I sat in my anti-grav chair enjoying the night, I heard a chittering coming from the movie studio across the way. It sounded like a couple of raccoons getting into a fight. It was breezy and cloudy out, so I didn’t stay out long. I came back inside to work on my computer files.

Wednesday the 10th – MAGICAL CASTLE! – To begin the day I hit the Taco Bell drive-thru to get some food to go. Then I stopped at the cleaners to pick up my freshly laundered $15 dress pants! I got back home, relaxed a bit, and got ready to experience the Magic Castle for the first time! I can’t believe I’ve lived in L.A. for 37 years and have never been. I guess I never had an “in” to go there (as you have to know somebody to get in as a guest), but now that I do I wanted to see what it was all about. I got cleaned up, dressed up and headed out. It has been a while since I’ve been in “big boy” clothes, so it was a bit of an adjustment. I didn’t like the socks I was wearing, so I changed to something different. But then I didn’t like the boots I was wearing, so I switched out to something different. But Rob Riggle’s pants fit great! I honestly think the last time I was in “big boy” clothes was when I did Tony Clifton at Monsterpalooza back in 2023! WOW! I drove to the Magic Castle, pulled up to the valet, and George was waiting for me there. I got out of the Gray Ghost, tied my ascot and threw on my sport coat, and I was whisked in through the main door. Fantastic! No photos are allowed inside, which stokes the mystery of the place, but I can tell you it’s utterly amazing inside. The architecture alone is a stunning feat of mankind! First, you have to talk to the “owl” in the bookcase and say “open sesame.” Then the wall and bookcase slides open and you may enter. Fantastic! Once inside I met a friend of George’s who works there named Scott. Apparently, George’s boss is one of the VIPS at the club. Though not a magician herself, Rani and her late husband Bob were active in the magic community producing shows and events with magicians. I was taken into a theatre that seats about 100 people and we got ready for the mainstage show, which would feature 2 magicians and a mentalist. I met Rani, our host, who also had a few other guests with her. A really fun magician we saw goes by the name of The Great Kaplan. He was hysterical. Then we saw a wonderful mentalist show done by the duo Mind 2 Mind. They consist of a dapper British gentleman and his thin, blond, very attractive partner – who does all the “mind reading” in the room. Once I saw how she could read minds and objects using just her “telepathy,” I leaned over to George and said sarcastically, “Great. A sexy blonde who can read my mind. Just what I need.” We got a good laugh out of that. But their show was amazing. I was smitten. I just HAD to figure out how to get a membership here, even though I’m not a magician. The next show we attended was by a close-up magician who did amazing things with cards. This round theatre only sat about 20 people, but was ornate and gorgeous. George made sure I sat in the very first row so I could witness all the amazing tricks. We headed over to an area that had a roped-off piano and some décor. This was “Irma’s” domain. Irma is the “ghost pianist” who sits and plays piano for background music, and even takes requests! There’s a bird cage by the piano, and for 5 bucks you can request a song. Even though you can’t see her, Irma is there! So you just put the fiver in the birdcage and state your request. If she likes your request, you hear the sound of a bird tweeting. Our first request was “Don’t Stop Believin’” by Journey, which elicited a tweet from Irma’s bird. Then I asked for “Rainbow Connection,” which got another deserved tweet from Irma. I was 2 for 2 with the ghost pianist! George and I had dinner and then moved on through the castle. There are all sorts of theatres and cubbies in this castle where there’s always something going on. You’ll be standing there chatting, and all of a sudden a wall will slide open to reveal a really lush, gorgeous theatre. Amazing! We went downstairs to line up for another show, and while we waited a close-up magician did some amazing tricks with a Rubik’s Cube behind the bar. Astounding! But I checked the time and it was getting late…I had to feed Spook and do some more auditions. So I thanked my host Rani once again, and George walked me out to the valet (probably so I wouldn’t get lost on my way!). After a quick stop at the gift shop to get some swag for the grandkids, I was on my way home. What a night! Definitely worth dressing up for! I’ve heard that the Magic Castle is packed every single night! I believe it. Between the members, their guests, and “buyouts” that companies do for their employees…this place is always hoppin’! I did a little work, did my nightly WOG, and spent some time in the anti-grav chair. But it was getting chilly out! So I went back inside to do some auditions.

Thursday the 11th – A MAGICAL AFTERGLOW! – Given that I had such an overwhelmingly rockin’ night at the legendary Magic Castle in Hollywood, I was fairly beat the next day. I just rested and relaxed, and eventually made my way to Bob’s Big Boy to meet my pal Amanda for dinner. She likes to go there every time she’s in town because she loves their crushed ice. When I got back home I had a ton of auditions to do. After finishing them up, I relaxed for a bit. Later I took my nightly WOG and spent some time in the anti-grav chair watching the sky and meditating, thinking and praying. It was beautiful. I watched lazy, fluffy white clouds lumber their way across the dark night sky. Very picturesque. I went back inside to do some more work, and prep for the maids’ arrival on Friday, and the big weekend ahead!

Friday the 12th – VOICE AND VADER! – When I awoke I realized I was having “creaky” voice problems again. It all started a few weeks ago when I was in Houston for a convention and talked for about 14 hours a day, for four days straight. The voice came back for a while, but after the night at the Magic Castle, I could feel that it was strained again. I discovered that my voice gets fatigued mostly when I have to constantly project over a din of background noise – like at a convention, or at a place like the Magic Castle. So I need to rest my voice as much as possible, but for me that’s very difficult. The maids arrived at 2:30, and my pal Kelly Delcambre came by around 4 with his pal Heath from Blok4 productions. They are the team who assembled my Roger M00re figure for last May’s Monsterpalooza. Heath wanted to take a tour of Planet Wallywood, and Kelly needed to come by to pick up a few things he needed to prepare for the creation of my new life-size Darth Vader figure. After they left I took my tall ladder and got up to the ceiling in my living room to do some cleaning. I also mounted a replica Psycho Blue prop axe that was given to me at a convention recently by a fan. It’s really nice, and I wanted to display it behind my replica Psycho Blue helmet. The Psycho Rangers were short-lived villains on a few seasons of “The Power Rangers.” Even though they weren’t on very long, the fan base for these characters is considerable! So much so that they all have their own action figures! I sign a few of them here and there at conventions, so I know how popular they are. I got the axe mounted and it looked amazing. I did some cleaning while I was up there too. Then I moved the ladder over a bit and cleaned off the “TV DETECTIVES” section of my living room – which includes original costumes from the original “Hawaii Five-O,” “Mannix,” and the 2004 “Starsky & Hutch” movie. It was good to have everything clean again! But I needed supplies, so I headed out to the grocery store before it closed and got some much-needed items. I happened to phone my friend Joe Pendleton to see when he would be in my area next so we could begin working on some upgrades to my living room. He said, strangely enough, that he and his family were on their way to my area to pick up their granddaughter Audrey from college for the weekend. So we agreed to meet at Little Toni’s for a late dinner, and then he’d come by Planet Wallywood afterwards to take some measurements. What fun! After they left I got ready to hit the hay, as I had an early hair appointment scheduled for the next morning.

Saturday the 13th – SPOOKTACULAR! – In a rare act of early arousal, I actually woke up at 8am for a 9am hair appointment. A time this early isn’t my first choice, but when I acquired tickets to the Bob Baker Marionette Theatre’s Spooktacular show a few weeks ago (this show always sells out!) I had to do a last minute time change with my stylist Andie. My original appointment time would have conflicted with the show time at Bob Baker. She was fully booked for the day, so she agreed to come in before her day started and do my cut and color first thing. I walked to the salon, half asleep, but it was a nice time. Nobody was at the salon but us, so we could chat and talk freely. When I got back home I had a few hours before I had to be ready for the show, so I napped for a few hours. My gal Angi arrived shortly after 2, and we were on our way. She had never seen a Bob Baker show before, so this would be a treat. Their Spooktacular show is known as their best show of the year. As is our tradition, whenever going to a Bob Baker show, we stop at Galco’s Old World Market (which is about 8 blocks away) for “sammiches and sodies.” Galco’s is a famous store in L.A. that sells just about every kind of soda and beer you can imagine – even very rare ones! They have a deli in the back that makes fresh sandwiches, so we like to get a bite to eat, pick a cold soda out of their refrigerated case, and go outside to “tailgate.” The weather was absolutely gorgeous, and we were joined by my pals Boz, and Scott and Vickie Sebring. Boz had never been to Galco’s OR a Bob Baker show, so he was in for a ride. The selection at Galco’s is constantly changing, based on what sodas are available from which companies and distributors. Unfortunately I didn’t find two of the brands I was looking for; A&W root beer in the bottle, and Dublin grape. But I got some grape Crush and some Dublin root beer, which is pretty darn good – even though it’s no A&W. Parking around the Bob Baker theatre is always a tough one, but we found some spaces in the surrounding neighborhood and walked over. Once there we met up with our friends Mark and Connie Fullerton, and our good friend Aliza, whom we hadn’t seen in a while. The show was fantastic with just the right mix of old, classic bits – and a few new ones! I’m so privileged to be the voice of this theatre, as I record announcements for them to play every so often. We took a ton of photos, and I got a bunch of souvenirs for the grandkids! I had hoped that they would be able to come out this time of year to see the Spooktacular, but it doesn’t look possible – given their school schedule, etc. Angi and I drove back to Planet Wallywood and got caught up on all the news. She’s been working out of town for about a month and a half, so we had a lot of news to exchange. Later I took my nightly WOG and spent some time in the anti-grav chair under a cloudy, mostly overcast sky. I came back inside and made my traditional Saturday Night Super Salad and watched an episode of “Boris Karloff’s Thriller.”

Sunday the 14th – TY TYING TIES! – Most of the afternoon was spent snoozing, but I got up later to meet up with my friend Tyler St. Mark. He knows how to tie vintage bow ties and neckties, so when I bought some new, more accurate ties for my life-size Laurel & Hardy figures he agreed to tie them. He was impressed by the quality of the ties and how vintage they looked. Stan now wears a maroon batwing bow tie with white polka dots (Tyler said that maroon and dark green were Stan’s favorite colors for ties), and Ollie has a Navy blue necktie with white polka dots. Then we headed to Ernie’s for dinner and had a nice chat. But it was getting late, so Tyler dropped me back home so I could do a little work around the house. I relaxed some more, and then took my nightly WOG with subsequent time in the anti-grav chair outside. I’m trying to enjoy every warm night I can, given that the change to cooler temperatures are imminent. I worked on the computer a bit, and then tackled the aggravating problem of aligning the “eye” on my Blu-ray player with the receptor that feeds my remote system in the Tranquility Zone. Because all of my A/V equipment in my bedroom sits in the closet, I can’t control it with a usual “line-of-sight” remote. So my A/V guy had to put in a relay system that’s mounted on the TV, but relays the signal into the closet through a main line and a receiver inside the closet. This receiver sends out the signal to all of my components via several little receptors. But these receptors have to be mounted EXACTLY on the little “eyes” of the components. Otherwise they can’t communicate, and you can’t control them effectively with the remote. Through a painstaking process, I finally figured out where to place the receptor on the face of the Blu-ray machine for optimum controllability. But it wasn’t easy.

And how was YOUR week??!!

PIX FROM THE WEEK

Here we go! Ready for another Bob Baker Marionette Theatre show!

It’s always nice to catch up with theatre organist Edward Torres.

Aliza, Angi and I all agree…thumbs up!

Of all the characters in the show, Angi loved Cat Noir the most.

It’s all smiles, all the time at a Bob Baker Marionette Theatre show!

Of course, the blacklight portion of the show is always my favorite!

I don’t display much stuff around my house that highlights my own personal work, but I do have one shelf in my living room with a few personal mementos. I was given this replica Blue Psycho Ranger helmet by a fan a while back, and just recently I was given this prop axe by a fan at a convention. So I figured they deserved to be on display together!