August 11 – August 17 (2014)

RANDOM PIC OF THE WEEK

As I was going through my old phone (now my NEW phone, since I lost the other one) I found some old shots I had forgotten about. This one of my cat Spooky is so painfully cute I just had to post it!

As I was doing some shopping for groceries, the store’s music system played this oldie but goodie from the 80’s. For some reason it sounded really good to me and brought back a lot of great memories. Music in the 80’s smiled, and had a charm that’s missing from most music today. Where are The Bangles today? And are they still enduring the occasional “Manic Monday?”

Monday the 11th – I REALLY HATE MONDAYS! – When I got up at 2pm I was already feeling out of sorts. Little did I know at that point that I should have turned right around, headed back to bed and pulled the covers over my head. I hopped in the Gran Torino to go run some errands. I picked up a check at Studiopolis, and then walked over to Rusty’s Discount Pets to pick up some food for Roxy. One of the clerks at Rusty’s said, “Did you hear about Robin Williams?” My heart sunk because I thought that maybe he was having heart troubles again. But when I heard the full story I was in shock. I drove to the bank and made a deposit, then stopped by the post office to drop off some mail. I went over to the local CVS store to print off some headshots for a meeting I had scheduled for Tuesday with some on-camera commercial agents at my Voice-Over agency. If you remember from last week, I was investigating ways to expand my professional boundaries and it was suggested by my VO agents that I give a try to on-camera commercials. I picked up my assistant Sara and we stopped by my mailbox to pick up some mail. I got my new deep green velvet curtains for The Puppet Room and my new Wizard of Oz bust display. We headed over to Coral Café for a late lunch and we didn’t talk much. I think hearing the news about Robin Williams had affected her too. I put my cell phone on the table so I could see if anyone called. I turn the ringer off during dinner because it’s annoying. But when I got home I couldn’t find my phone. I called the restaurant and they said it wasn’t there. I searched everywhere in the Torino but couldn’t find it. (The Gran Torino has swallowed my cell phone before, so I gave it a good going over!) I was really brain dead today. I pulled out my spare phone (the one I lost in the Torino before) and had it activated. The lost one may turn up someday/somewhere, but I’m not waiting around. I figured going home to have a dip in the Jacuzzi would set me straight, but when I started looking for my pool key I couldn’t find it anywhere. And a replacement key is about 80 bucks! My phone, and now my pool key? What the heck was going on with me? Like I said, I hate Mondays.

Tuesday the 12th – TURN-AROUND TUESDAY! – I was up at 9:30 to head over to my agent’s office in West L.A. for the meeting with the on-camera commercial agents. I spent about 45 minutes in traffic, parked, and went in. It was a great meeting and it was understood that a guy with my specific look wouldn’t be going out all the time for commercials, but I said that was fine. My true, first love is Voice-Over and I didn’t want any on-camera auditions interfering with that anyway, so it all works out. We agreed to work together and they told me to e-mail them over a bunch of headshots so they could choose which ones go up on-line on the casting services. So I drove home, happy that I now had a new direction to pursue in life, but sad while listening to the Robin Williams reports. When I got home I walked Roxy, sent my new on-camera agents a dozen headshots, and napped on the couch for the rest of the afternoon. When I woke up later in the afternoon I got a call from my agency. They already had an audition for me! It was for the role of a long-haired biker and I had to be in costume and ready to be seen Wednesday afternoon at 4:30! Wow! That was fast! Maybe this WILL work out to be a good thing after all?! I tore through my Chaney Room closet and pulled out all my biker clothes. I found my spiked leather gauntlet, a studded leather wristband, fingerless leather gloves, a pair of biker boots, torn jeans, a sleeveless leather vest, and my black Sturgis t-shirt. I also found a leopard print “do rag” that would look neat too! I unwrapped the green velvet curtain from the box and hung it in the Puppet Room. It looks fabulous, and will be a great background to the Oz busts. I recorded some Voice-Over auditions in my home studio, then picked up Sara for dinner at Denny’s. Ahhhh comfort food. That would make us feel better! I went home to do some more work around the house, I did some writing, and then watched another “Magnum,p.i.” episode before bed.

Wednesday the 13th – METEORITE NIGHT! – At noon I got up and redid an audition for a Voice-Over casting service and sent it in. My hair guy Sergio came over to work some more on the Cowardly Lion bust. I walked Roxy, and then got a call from Leonard, the owner of the Elvis Honeymoon Hideaway in Palm Springs. There was an Elvis auction coming up that weekend and one of the items listed were Elvis’ original house keys to the Honeymoon Hideaway house! Leonard was interested in bidding but wasn’t sure how the on-line auction thing worked. We chatted, and then I got ready for the “biker” audition. My new on-camera agents sent back their list of selected headshots, and now it was up to me to sign up for two on-line casting services, post the chosen headshots, and fill out all the information and resume information. Wow! This is SO much more complicated than Voice-Over! But, it must be done. Sergio was doing fabulous work finishing up the Lion. I headed off to the audition in Sherman Oaks, and stopped at the local Wendy’s to get a quick lunch. Come to find out, the audition wasn’t so much about being “biker-y,” but having long, luscious hair. It was a hair gag. So I took off my “do rag” and let my hair flow. I had the top down in my Mustang convertible all the way to the audition, so my hair was fairly windblown and ratty. It went well, and I made the casting director laugh, but some of the guys who showed up looked like bikers, but they were totally bald. The gag in the spot is, sometimes things are different based on the way you perceive them. And when you look at them from a different viewpoint, you can see things differently. For example, you see a close-up of fierce fangs, but when the camera pulls back you see it’s only a Chihuahua. In this bit, you see a close-up of long, flowing hair in slow motion. But instead of being a beautiful woman, as one would think, the person turns around and it’s a big, hairy biker. Great spot! Funny concept. I drove home, marveling at the idea that I had just signed on with my on-cam agents the day before, and already I was out playing the game. I hadn’t auditioned for an on-camera commercial since 1999. It was getting in the way of my burgeoning Voice-Over career, so I quit. But now that the VO stuff is at cruising altitude, I figured it’s time to try something else. It was one of the revelations I had during my recent “Journey of Spiritual Necessity” in Palm Springs. And apparently, it was a correct assumption. I got home and saw Sergio’s progress on the Lion. It was phenomenal! He’s going to finish it up with some hand-tied lace eyebrows (like they had in the original film) and then he’ll be done. Now, we just need to finish Dorothy to have the set completed! I was reminded that today was Bert Lahr’s birthday (the guy who played the Lion in “Wizard of Oz”) so it was appropriate that we would finish him today. I grabbed a nap on the couch and my buddy Dan Roebuck called me at midnight. I was glad we got a chance to catch up before he left town for a month to work on a film. Up got up to do auditions and work around the house. As I was walking Roxy I saw the most amazing sights! As we strolled along the sidewalk in our neighborhood at 3am, I caught a glimpse out of the corner of my eye of a bright, streaming light through some of the trees overhead. I looked to the right and said to myself, “That looked like a shooting star!” We finished our walk and headed back home. As we were coming back to the complex, I looked up to see a Police helicopter overhead that was heading our way. And behind it, was ANOTHER shooting star! Stunning ! Two in one night! I found out later from a neighbor that a meteor shower was happening that night, so I WASN’T going nuts. I really DID see them! It’s not often you get to see double shooting stars in L.A.! Palm Springs yes. But not L.A. normally. I watched another episode of “Magnum, p.i.” before bed, and was pleased to see that my pal Eddie Deezen was in it! FUN!

Thursday the 14th – THOSE LAZY, HAZY, CRAZY DAYS OF SUMMER! – Since the industry is pretty slow still, in these late summer months, I set about doing some much-needed errands. I woke up at 2 with Roxy cuddling me closely on the bed. I think she knew she was going to get a bath and was trying to talk me out of it! No dice. We walked to Rusty’s to get her groomed, and I headed back to get some work done around the house. I signed on to the casting websites and uploaded my headshots and vital statistics. It took me a while to get it done because it was a completely new experience for me. But I got it figured out. I finished up and went to get Roxy, then came back home to keep working on the computer. I took my assistant Sara to Little Toni’s for dinner, then came back home to do auditions. Roxy and I enjoyed our late night stroll through the neighborhood (no shooting stars though) and then I headed to bed with some leftover pizza to watch another “Magnum, p.i.” episode.

Friday the 15th – HAIR’S THE DETAILS…! – When that alarm went off at 10am I was sound asleep in a deep REM trance. I had to be up early for a Voice-Over session at Studiopolis at 11am. Still drowsy, I checked my e-mails before walking Roxy. And the e-mail I got made me spring awake! I got a call-back audition for the TV commercial. THAT afternoon! IN SANTA MONICA! Boy! Talk about last minute. Apparently that’s how they do things in the on-camera commercial world. I fumbled around the casting website to get my audition information and was having trouble singing in. I had to go back and reference several other e-mails to find my sign-in information. RATS! Time was running out! But I got what I needed, got showered and headed to Studiopolis. The session was from 11a to 1pm, then I had to rush home, wash my hair and drive all the way to Santa Monica, an HOUR away! But luckily it took less than an hour to get there and I actually arrived a bit early. I waited for about an hour in the waiting room, and then went in to do the audition. They had a P.A. who was fanning me with a huge piece of cardboard so my hair was windblown. Then I turned to the camera and smiled a big S.E. grin. I did it a few times, they thanked me and I got ready to head out. I told the P.A. that she did a great job, and if she was available and worked cheap I could use her fanning skills at my house over the weekend. The directors laughed, I wished them a good weekend and was on my way out the door. Luckily, it was an easy drive home. It was just slightly before rush hour started so I was thankful for that. I got home and walked Roxy, talked to my neighbors for a bit, then went inside to check auditions on my e-mail. Sara came over to join my pal Terry, his wife Michelle and me for dinner. We went over to DuPar’s and had a great dinner. Terry brought some tools over that he would need for some work he was doing on my house the next day. I got home I grabbed a quick nap on the couch. When I got up I started working on the casting sites again, continuing to update my information, and nail down my sign-in information so I wouldn’t have trouble getting on-line again, like I did earlier in the day. Then I checked my e-mails. I got an e-mail from my on-camera agent telling me I was “on avail” for the TV commercial! WOW! That’s crazy! “On avail” means they want you to stay available for a few days so they can nail down more specific call times. Sometimes they put several people “on avail” and they’ll make their final decision last-minute as to who they’re casting. Sometimes the avails turn into a job, and sometimes the avails are released. Which means you don’t get the job. But even if it doesn’t turn into a job, it’s still really cool that all this happened so quickly. And my agents are elated that I’ve gotten this far so soon!

Saturday the 16th – IT WAS 37 YEARS AGO TODAY! – Terry came over around 2 to start working around the house. He hung up my blinking Voice-Over light that I got from “The Tonight Show.” It was the blinking light fixture that told people in the hallways to be quiet, because we were recording Voice-Over tracks in the editing bay. It’s a nice addition to the collection! While Terry worked I went to the vitamin store to get some more vitamins, and then I headed to the grocery store to get some more Gentle Giants food for Roxy. I stopped by Taco Bell to get some food, and then headed over to Guns Direct to pick up my new Walther PK380 pistol. My 10 day California-mandated waiting period was over and it was time to pick up the newest addition to my collection. I got a scoop of Baskin-Robbins ice cream on the way home. YUM! When I arrived Terry was just finishing up. He loaded up his tools and took off. Just as he left Sara came over to start cleaning up for movie night. Since it was the 37th anniversary of the death of Elvis Presley, I figured we’d run the 1968 “Comeback” special. It was right between the time Elvis had quit doing movies, and got back on stage to perform live. It’s a terrific special and he never looked and sounded better. It was a fun group of folks that night. We even watched a few of the outtakes which are also included on the DVD. When my guests left I fed and walked Roxy, worked around the house for a while, then made a big salad and watched another episode of the old “Avengers” TV series.

Sunday the 17th – MONSTER PARTY! – As usual for a Sunday, I slept until 3pm. I walked Roxy and we got ready for evening church. We walked to the service, had a nice time, and then walked home after. There was a ton of church youth at the service who fawned all over Roxy the entire service. It was fun watching her lay there getting pets from 4 or 5 of the kids. They LOVE her! I changed clothes then headed over to my pal Matt Weinhold’s house to be a guest on his “Monster Party” podcast. He does it with three of my other buddies…James Gonis, Larry Strothe and Shawn Sheridan. It was a blast, and the subject was TV horror. We talked about everything from “Dark Shadows” to “Salem’s Lot.” What a great time! When it gets posted I’ll post the link so you can check it out. What fun! I got home and finalized some mail for Sara to take to the Post Office the next day. I also did a bunch of auditions, and finished up some more work around the house. I watched another “Magnum; p.i.” episode and hit the hay. What a week of ups and downs. CRAZY!

And how was YOUR week??!!

PIX FROM THE WEEK

My new piece! A Walther PK380!

Waitin’ for Dot! The only bust missing is Dorothy, who should be joining the guys soon! Scarecrow and Tin Man are completed, but the Lion still needs his eyebrows.