July 13 – July 20 (2026) – Wally On The Web

RANDOM PIC OF THE WEEK

IN THE WORLD OF “WHAT-IF!” – When I found this art on-line I just HAD to grab it! If “Dark Shadows” would have continued as a Hanna-Barbera cartoon, it may have looked just like this!

While enjoying pizza with my agency rep last Friday night in Glastonbury, Connecticut – the music system overhead was playing a TON of great music I hadn’t heard in a while. I had forgotten how much I loved Fleetwood Mac’s “Tango In The Night” album, and how much it meant to me as it was released the same year I moved to Los Angeles. When they played “Seven Wonders” I flipped out. LOVE this song!

Monday the 13th – I HAD THIS!!! – It had been a while since I saw my pal Chris Malmin, so we met at “the office” (aka the patio at Paty’s) and got caught up. I went to my box to pick up some packages which included a MINT condition copy of the 1975 Mighty Marvel calendar. I had it as a kid and loved the artwork. This is going on the wall in my Aisle Of Art asap! Good memories! I typed out Wally’s Week, and then went outside to do my nightly WOG (walk/jog) and spent some time afterwards outside in the anti-gravity chair admiring the beautiful sky and enjoying a nice cigar. The night sky was nice and clear, and gorgeous. When I got back inside I made a few updates to my travel list for my upcoming journey to Hartford, Connecticut. I started doing a little packing, made out my convention schedule, made a salad, and watched an episode of “The High Chaparral.”

Tuesday the 14th – COMING SOON! – When I finished picking up a package at my box, I came back home to do some more packing for Hartford. I also worked on a new contract I just received for a convention appearance in August (details coming soon!). This could be a BIG one!! Stay tuned! It’s very exciting. Later I did my auditions and took my nightly WOG. I spent about a half hour outside in the anti-grav chair enjoying the summer night. I came back inside and packed some more, but my old computer was giving me problems. It wouldn’t reboot. Uh oh. I finally got it going, but I think it’s about time to let the ol’ gal go. Luckily I have a new one ready to go, but it still needs a few refinements before “prime time.”

Wednesday the 15th – THE JOURNEY BEGINS! – Since I’ll be out of town for several days, and I won’t be able to do any auditions while on the road, I recorded them now and sent them to my agents. I checked in for my flight to Hartford and printed the boarding pass. Very exciting! I’ve never been to that area of the country before (though I was in Philadelphia in the winter in 1980) so I’m excited to see the Connecticut countryside! I did some last-minute packing, rested for a bit, and then headed to my box to pick up some gold metallic paint pens that just arrived (just in time!). Then I hopped on the freeway and headed to the LAX area. In the rare instances when I have an early-morning flight out of LAX, I like to cash in some points and stay at an area Hyatt hotel the night before, so the ride to the airport is quick and easy. And stress-free, considering I don’t have to risk getting stuck in L.A. morning traffic and missing my flight! The traffic was pretty good but it slowed toward the end of my journey. I grabbed dinner at one of my favorite steak places, Petrelli’s Famous Steaks in Culver City. I used to eat there a lot when I lived in that area about 25 years ago. I was sad to learn that Mrs. P passed away last year, but the steak was still just as yummy! After dinner I headed to the Hyatt, got checked in, and got a GREAT room! The shower head was AMAZING! Though I would only end up getting a few hours of sleep (and I don’t sleep well the night before a flight anyway) it was very relaxing!

Thursday the 16th – HARTFORD HERE I COME! – As usual, I awoke without the aid of an alarm clock just before 5am. My flight is at 8am, and I need to be there about 6:30am. This gives me time to get a few things done before I catch the shuttle to the airport. I had an overnight bag of stuff I needed for my stay at the Hyatt, so I took that out to my car to stash it, and I grabbed my rolling case of photos for the convention. Now that the bag switch was complete, I was ready to roll! I met the shuttle at 5:40am, but he wouldn’t be pulling out until 6am. Perfect. I spent some time chatting with the driver, as it was just he and I. But 6:00 rolled around and it was still just the driver and me, so we headed to the airport. I honestly don’t know how these drivers do it. LAX is completely chaotic! It was a quick 5 minute drive to my gate and I was doing great on time. The price of the room at the Hyatt is well worth having a stress-free morning of a flight! As is usual with early morning flights, my flight to Philadelphia was on-time. The magic words! The flight was nice and I watched “Jim Henson Idea Man” on my tablet on the way. What a great documentary! But my connection to Hartford would be on a MUCH smaller plane, and it was delayed. Apparently the smoke from the Canadian fires was affecting air travel in the northern part of the U.S., so it could be a while. In fact, once we DID get on the plane, we had to sit on the tarmac for a while as the pilot awaited instructions on an alternate route. The plane was very small and very hot and stuffy. At first I didn’t think we were going to make it in, but our flight was given a suitable route around the smoke and we were on our way. We arrived at the Hartford airport a few hours late because of the multiple delays, but we were greeted by the smiling, happy Connecticon staff. We hopped on the bus and headed to the hotel. I enjoyed seeing the scenery along the way, even at night. The Connecticut River is beautiful! Because of the delays we encountered, we arrived too late to get anything to eat. Most of the area places close around 8pm, so it was either a nice restaurant, McDonald’s, or an area gas station/convenience store called Cumberland Farms. Luckily the on-site agency rep Ali drove down from Boston, so she had wheels. I asked if she would drive me over to get some supplies and food. She agreed, thankfully. The gas station had all sorts of options for supplies, but we waited in the McDonald’s drive-thru for about 45 minutes. The line was long and NOT moving at all. We got up to the area by the drive-thru window and noticed that people were fed up and driving out of the line. We were second in line, but the guy in front of me had been sitting there for 10 minutes. It would be another 20 minutes before we would get up there, so we just split. It was getting late. I don’t know what was going on, but when I looked in I could only see one person working! Weird! I guess it would be the Cumberland Farms turkey and cheddar sandwich for dinner tonight! I went into the Computer Room at the hotel to check email, but there were no computers there! I know the hotel is undergoing upgrades, but this was odd. No food except for the gas station, and no computers in the Computer Room. Was I in the Twilight Zone???

Friday the 17th – THE AMAZING CONNECTICON; DAY 1! – After enjoying a delicious breakfast at the hotel, I got cleaned up and headed to the shuttle to head to the convention. My assistant for the weekend was the Amazing Molly, and we had so much fun interacting with all the fans and friends. It was very busy. There was lots to see – great costumes, great vendors, and PUPPIES! A puppy rescue had a pen set up, and you could pay a dollar a minute (a donation to the rescue) to go into the pen and spend time with the adorable puppies! I gave 10 bucks and spent 10 minutes taking great pics and video of the little rascals. SO CUTE! I got the idea that we should do this at next year’s Voices Against Cancer 605 Pop Culture Con! We have Cosmic Cats adoption there each year (my daughter Lacey’s family even adopted their cat Kumo there last year!) but I think we also need to add puppies next year! When I go to conventions I mostly love seeing the hand-crafted art items that the vendors create. I fell in love with a wooden plaque with Kermit the Frog on it, along with the words to “Rainbow Connection” engraved into the wood. I talked to the artist about commissioning a customized one, using certain colors that were more to my liking. She gave me her card and hopefully I’ll get that added to the Planet Wallywood collection soon! I did a panel on “Bleach” with my co-star Johnny Yong Bosch, and it was a great time. VERY funny! Around 7pm we headed back to the hotel on the shuttle and I enjoyed the gorgeous city! I loved all the New England architecture, the river, the wooded areas, the open spaces – all gorgeous! Luckily we were back early enough to go grab some real food at a restaurant. I treated my rep Ali to pizza at a local place to thank her for wasting her time at the “Twilight Zone” McDonald’s the night before. I picked up a few more supplies at the local Cumberland Farms and walked back to the hotel and enjoyed the nice New England summer evening in Glastonbury.

Saturday the 18th – FELLOW SONS! – It was back to the con for another full day of fun, frolic…and PUPPIES!!! Later in the afternoon my new friends Dave and Paula came to the convention to look around. They couldn’t believe their eyes! Rumor had it that attendance hit 20,000 that day – the largest attendance ever in their 23 year history! I can see why. This is a GREAT convention! Every square inch of the incredible Connecticut Convention Center was busy with something! I met Dave & Paula at the Sons of the Desert convention last month in San Diego. It was totally random and coincidental (though I don’t believe in coincidences) as we just happened to be sitting next to each other at the sea cruise dinner. When they told me they were from Hartford I couldn’t believe it! But…no coincidences in life. It was meant to be. They had a blast enjoying the day, and later we met for dinner. We headed across the street from the hotel (it had started raining by then, so Dave drove) to a restaurant called Molly McFly’s. It was fun! But it was a long day for all of us, so they drove me back to the hotel and took off. I packed up my stuff for my Sunday flights back to L.A., but I couldn’t check in and print my boarding pass because the “Twilight Zone” hotel had no computers in their Computer Room. Oh well.

Sunday the 19th – …AND WHAT A JOURNEY IT WAS! – On the final day of a convention I always get nervous about flight out that same night, particularly if it’s a flight with a connection. Lots can go wrong, and to be honest, I had a bit of a premonition something would happen. But as my gal Angi always reminds me, “Don’t manifest the bad stuff!” I tried to stay positive, but still I felt that I’d be spending the night on an airport floor. I had breakfast at the hotel, cleaned up, packed up, checked out, and got on the shuttle for the final day of the convention. As is usual on a Sunday, it was slower than the previous two days. But it was still great getting to chat with all the nice people. HERE’S A “PUPDATE” – most all of the puppies that were brought to the show were adopted! YAY! Since it was a slower day, some of the people working the puppet pen brought the puppies around to meet the Voice Actors and get them socialized (the puppies – not the Voice Actors. Though some Voice Actors could use socialization too!). BEAUTIFUL! Around 2 we packed everything up, and got picked up by the airport shuttle by 3pm. My flight wasn’t leaving until 6pm so I had a lot of time. But unlike most of the other Voice Actors, who were connecting in Chicago, my connection was in Dallas. Strange. For some reason I had a bad feeling that I was in for a very long night. The flight to Dallas was delayed, so I sat in the airport chatting with a very nice lady from Charlotte who was waiting for her flight home too, which was also delayed. Luckily the delay for my flight wouldn’t affect my connection to L.A. very badly. And the flight attendant on my plane told me that the flight to L.A. was also going to be delayed, so I had more time than I thought. Come to find out, I’d end up having a LOT of time! I’m not sure why there were so many delays, and I don’t think it was because of the Canadian fires, but I couldn’t be sure. We were sitting at the gate going nowhere for a very long time. I put on my headphones and tried to veg out. I was pretty beat. But the guy to my left kept doing this annoying “snort,” like he was snorting the contents of his nose into his mouth repeatedly. It continued on and on, and was very annoying. A guy in the same row across the aisle had his friend on face-time and he was talking and laughing very loudly, literally annoying the entire section. He kept talking about how he was going to Turkey in March to have his bald spot taken care of. Trust me, we ALL heard the entire story. Even the part about going to the barbershop when he got home to have his mustache trimmed. Ugh. So be assured that even though you have a seat in First Class, that doesn’t necessarily guarantee that you’ll be flying with a “better class” of people. Some technicians came on board to examine something, but then cleared us to take off. We taxied down the runway, but then stopped. The pilot came on the intercom and said there was a malfunction in the cockpit and we needed to turn back around and go back to the gate. Oh for cryin’ out loud! My premonition was coming true! Technicians came on board with their flashlights and looked around and looked around. The pilot assured us it was only a 5 minute part replacement job, and we’d be on our way. But it got longer, and later, and later and longer. Then the technicians had to go to their storehouse to get the right part. No telling how long that would take. But by now the crew on the flight had “timed out,” and couldn’t stay on the flight anyway. So now they had to get an entirely new crew to fly the plane which could take another hour. It was already 2am. We were ushered off the plane around 3am as they canceled the flight altogether. This was living hell. But luckily, I was prepared for it. And thankfully I was one of the first people off the plane to go to the customer service desk to get rebooked. Since I don’t have the “app” or a smart phone, I required (and prefer) the human touch. Oddly enough, all of the people who DID have a smart phone were having trouble getting through on the phone line, and the app wasn’t working very well. The lady at the desk booked me on a 6am flight. As it was already 3am I didn’t feel the need to get a hotel room, but I did want some food. Thankfully (Oh thank Heaven!) the 7-11 was still open. My analytical mind pondered the logic behind having a 24 hour store situated next to an airline that is notorious for delayed and canceled flights. SOMEBODY had their thinking cap on! From now on, my hard and fast rule for conventions is – NO connecting flights on the last day of the convention. Connecting flights home will only be allowable on the following MORNING of the convention. The producer will have to cover for an additional night in a hotel and an airport shuttle if they want me at their con. I will still do straight flights home on the last day of a convention, but that rule may change too someday. We’ll see. I honestly don’t need this kind of aggravation. To quote Dan Fogelberg’s line from the song “Same Old Lang Syne”…”the audiences are Heavenly, but the traveling is hell.” Luckily, in my carry-on bag I have provisions for just such a contingency. A toothbrush and toothpaste, extra supplements, nose spray, face wipes, etc. – are all in there. 3am to 5am passed rather slowly, but when the 5am hour hit I hopped on the Dallas shuttle and went from gate D to gate A to get on my flight home. And I was just in time! As expected, early morning flights are the way to go!

Monday the 20th – FROM HELL TO HOME! – The rebooking process negated my First Class ticket, and put me (a 6 foot 1 inch, 200 pound boy) in a center seat in row 16. I haven’t flown Coach in about 10 years for this very reason. For somebody like me it’s VERY uncomfortable. My legs are just too darn long. But, beggars can’t be choosers. (I’m wondering, since I wasn’t given all the services that the producers paid for when they bought my ticket, are they due a partial refund?) I was seated between two 20-something girls who, like me, seemed only interested in napping. And nap we did. But still, being between them was very cramped as I didn’t want to bump into them at all and alarm them. By the end of the flight my legs were cramping up. I kept trying to nap on and off, and each time I’d wake up I’d pray for it to be over. Pretty soon the blessed announcement came on the loudspeaker, “We’re about 25 minutes away from Los Angeles and we’re starting our descent. Flight Attendants, prepare for landing.” Thank God! It’s times like these when my meditation practices really come in handy! It helps keep stressful situations from becoming too overwhelming. I got off the plane, and despite only having catnaps over the past 26 hours, I managed to find my way to baggage claim. And wonder of wonders – my luggage arrived too! I flagged down the shuttle to the Hyatt and got my car. I called my gal Angi to wish her a happy birthday (today’s her birthday!) and let her know I was back safe – albeit a bit worse for the wear. As it was now 8am, I was just in time for the busy morning L.A. traffic! Lucky me! So I’m not quite out of the proverbial woods yet! When I got to my area, I realized it was now 9am, and Taco Bell had just opened. As the Enchiritos will be discontinued again this coming Wednesday, I went to the drive-thru and ordered 6 to go. I got home and got caught up on emails, did a few auditions, ate my dinner/breakfast/whatever and headed to bed. I slept throughout the day, and unpacked my stuff later. I did some organizing, recorded an audition, and took my WOG (it felt great to be out again!). I wrote Wally’s Week and then hit the hay.
And how was YOUR week??!!

PIX FROM THE WEEK

Outside of our hotel, I was curious as to why the ground was leveled perfectly in these two distinct heights. Come to find out, they had planned on building a hotel there and did appropriate landscaping. But this was in 2020, so when the shutdown happened, the plans were scrapped and never revisited.

This architecture is gorgeous!

A stunning New England day!

Though my assistant Ali assured me she knew how to work an old-fashioned digital camera, this shot turned out a bit blurry. But this Renji cosplayer was impressive because of her working Zabimaru – that actually extended and retracted!! As a puppet builder I was fascinated by the process she used.

Wonderful Connecticut countryside!

And now…for your heartwarming enjoyment…may I present…PUPPIES!

My favorite!! THOSE EYES!!!

THAT TUMMY!

THOSE EARS!

All the puppies seemed to like the bed that was high profile the best. This one was the winner…for a while.

Cuddling, tired puppies.

This guy had several autographs of other “Bleach” Voice Actors already tattooed on his arm and shoulder. But he didn’t have Renji’s actor on there yet. This is the first time I’ve ever signed somebody’s skin when their intent was to have it tattooed onto their body permanently. I really made sure to do it up nice! I hope he likes it, and I hope the tattoo came out well. WOW!