RANDOM PIC OF THE WEEK
While waiting in my doctor’s office (the great Dr. Patt: the Rock and Roll Doc), I was looking through a little turn rack of postcards in his collection. This one absolutely slayed me! I call it “Monster Manger!”
On the way back from the “Family Guy” session last Thursday I had the craving to hear James Morrison’s “In My Dreams.” Luckily I had my i-Pad along, so I plugged it in and sang with it at the top of my lungs. When I first heard this song, it was at a Panera in Studio City. I wasn’t sure if it was an old Motown song, or a Stevie Wonder song, or what. Luckily I had remembered enough lyrics to Google it when I got home, and voila!
Monday the 22nd – AAAAAAND WE’RE BACK! – I got up early and headed over to Venice to record a commercial for Vitamanwater. While I was in doing the session, I got a parking ticket. I didn’t see the sign that said “Street Cleaning Monday 11-12. No Parking.” To make matters worse, it didn’t look like the street had been cleaned at all. It’s apparently just another scam to get money from unsuspecting suckers. Oddly enough, the director of the session didn’t see the sign either because he parked right in front of me, and got a ticket too! Ugh. On the way home I stopped at Foster’s Freeze and got a chiliburger, fries and a pineapple shake. YUM! I stopped by It’s a Wrap in Beverly Hills, but didn’t find anything to buy. When I got home I walked Roxy, then took a short nap. I got a hotline call to record a bit for “The Tonight Show” in my home studio. We had been on hiatus the week before, so it was good to be back. I got ready to head in to NBC, and drove over to the studio. It was good to see everybody again. When the show finally comes to an end next February, I can honestly say I’m going to miss the people who work on the show most of all. The money will be made up elsewhere, but there’s a ton of great people who work on “TTS” that I’ll really miss. And of course I’ll miss the job itself too. But, lots can happen between now and then, so… After the taping I stopped by my mailbox to get my mail, then went home to do some work. Sara dropped by to pick up some mail, then I grabbed a short nap. When I got up later I did a bunch of auditions, but then got ready to get back to bed for the night. I had to be up early for an audition the next morning, so I had a quick Cup ‘O’ Noodles in the shower before bed, and then hit the hay.
Tuesday the 23rd – HI CAROL! – I got up early and went to DGE in Hollywood to audition for a TV commercial voice-over. The Director of the session Zach Schary’s grandpa Dory produced a film my dad loves called “Take The High Ground.” So we always talk about then when I’m in. I finished the audition and stopped by the grocery store to get some supplies and groceries. When I got home I recorded a bit for “TTS” and did some work. I prepared a deposit for the bank, and then headed over to NBC. The legendary Carol Burnett was on the show, and I saw her in the hallway. She looked right at me and I said, “Hi!” She smiled that famous smile and said hi back. What a legend. But her interview was a little sad, as she told about losing her daughter to cancer several years ago, and the book she wrote about working with her daughter. It was sad to see Carol sad, because we all love her so much, and she’s been responsible for so much laughter. But Jay handled it marvelously. After the show I headed off to the bank to deposit some checks. On the way home I passed Little Caesar’s and got the sudden craving for Crazy Bread. I’ve been eating Crazy Bread for 29 years or so. I hadn’t had some in awhile and it sounded REALLY good! So after a quick stop, (with TWO containers of Crazy Sauce) I was on my way back home eating the delicious and nostalgic treat. I got home and did some work, organized my next day, walked Roxy, took a dip in the jacuzzi and headed to bed.
Wednesday the 24th – HI TOM! – I got up early for a session in my home studio, but when I fired up the computer I got an e-mail telling me that the script wasn’t quite ready, and we would have to re-book for Friday. So I headed back to bed, but my respite was short-lived. I got a hotline call to do a bit for “TTS,” then I went back to bed. But it rang (or beeped) again, and it was time to get up to do another bit. I figured it was time to start my day, so I got ready to head in to the studio. First though, I dropped Roxy off at Rusty’s for a good bath. She was in dire need! My new friend Rae was there for the taping. I had met her the previous week at Enterprise Car Rental when I rented my SUV for my Palm Springs trip. She said she had an interest in voice-over and I told her to come to some of my sessions. But first I wanted her to see a taping of “TTS.” As luck would have it, Tom Cruise was on the show promoting his new film “Oblivion.” After all of his appearances on “TTS,” he always goes out into the audience to shake hands with people. I went out to the studio to find my friend Rae, extracted her from the crowd, but the lady who hands out the backstage passes was busy running interference for Mr. Cruise. While we waited, Tom made his way over to the left side of the house, and then down towards the stage so he could leave. He walked right up to us, turned and looked me square in the eye, extended his hand and said, “Hi.” I shook his hand and said, “How’re ya doin’?” Then he sped off backstage. Cool. He’s a very nice guy. I gave Rae the backstage tour and then took her to her car. I stopped by the cleaners to pick up some dry cleaning, picked up Roxy from the groomer’s, and then went home. Edi and her daughter Ems came over and we walked Roxy over to have dinner at a local restaurant. I got home to take a dip in the jacuzzi, and then Edi and I “tortured” her daughter Ems with a Tom Jones concert on DVD. She hates him for a lot of reasons (I happen to LOVE Tom Jones) so it’s funny watching her reactions and hearing her comments. They took off and I did some auditions, then I hit the hay to be up early for another session.
Thursday the 25th – HI CARY! – I got up early and headed over the hill to do another session for “Family Guy.” But the traffic was horrible. So I got there about 10 minutes late. Casting Director Linda Lamontagne said that everybody was running late for the same reason. I saw my old pal Phil LaMarr there, and the guy he was talking to looked VERY familiar. It was Cary Elwes! He’s a very nice guy, and when I was introduced to him I couldn’t that he looked virtually the same as he did in “Princess Bride.” He was kind enough to sign my “Family Guy” script for my assistant Sara who adores him. What a fun session! I headed home and stopped at McDonald’s for some quick grub, then stopped at CVS to get some enlargements made from the photos I took at the Hollywood Collector Show the previous weekend. I went to the bank to get Sara’s ATM card “pinned,” (I got her a card to make purchases for me while she’s out running errands.) I got home and two “TS” bits were waiting for me in my inbox. I recorded them and turned them in. I switched cars, and drove my Torino into NBC. We taped the show, then I headed home. It’s always fun driving that thing around! When I got home I heard my neighbor’s dog barking on their patio. It was odd, since they never do that. Normally they’re home at that hour walking Zoe, and if she’s on the patio they’re usually with her. I went over to see why she was making the racket, and she was acting very strangely and protective. She kept scratching at the door, whining and growling. I was hoping that my neighbors weren’t inside in some sort of trouble. I couldn’t see anything inside, and Zoe didn’t seem to want to let me get too close. I got my neighbor’s phone numbers from the area rep, but wasn’t getting any answer. I called our security company but they weren’t able to do much. So I brought Roxy over (Zoe likes Roxy) and we sat with Zoe for awhile and I fed them some treats. Zoe settled down a little bit and relaxed. I stayed with her, talking to her gently, but it was starting to get chilly out. I wasn’t sure if I should go get her a blanket or what, so I just stayed with her. Shortly after 7 (almost an hour after I had found her) my neighbors came home. They were confused by what was going on, but apparently Zoe had snuck outside to the patio while my neighbors had gone out earlier to do something else. Then when they left they hadn’t realized that Zoe was still out there. Zoe was ecstatic to see them. She ran inside the house, jumped all over my neighbors with glee, and then the strangest thing happened. Zoe came back outside to the gate, stood up on her hind legs and looked up at me with a huge smile on her face. I reached through to pet her head and tell her goodbye. She licked and kissed my hand, as if to say thanks! Too cool! I honestly believe she was thanking me for hanging out with her! My pal and contractor Terry came by to unload some equipment, and then we went out for dinner at Jerry’s Famous Deli with his fiancé Michelle and my assistant Sara. When I got home I did some auditions, finished some work around the house, and watched an episode of “Bionic Woman” before bed. It was the first time in a long time I could enjoy “TV Time,” since I’ve had to be up early so many mornings. Roxy and Spook especially loved it.
Friday the 26th – FURIOUS FRIDAY! – I got a hotline call at 9:45 (so much for sleeping late!) to possibly come into “TTS” at 1:30 for a bit. I went back to sleep for a little bit, and then got another hotline call to confirm my early arrival at NBC at 1:30. I had a quick one-hour session to do at Voice Trax West at noon, so that would work out perfectly. Around 11 I got up and got ready for my day. Sara came over to sit with the maids while I rushed out. I was e-mailed the script for my session about 20 minute before I had to leave, and the script was a mess. The words were in a lot of different colors, with notes and suggestions in the margins, lots of screen direction and highlighted exposition. Stuff that didn’t concern me. Plus it was 47 pages! I prefer to have clean scripts with only my lines, otherwise it gets very confusing to my eye when there’s so much stuff going on that doesn’t concern the voice-over read. I like to get into the rhythm of the piece, and all of that extraneous stuff gets in the way. So I asked my agent if he could have the script cleaned up and have it over at VTW by noon in time for the session. I hopped in the shower and headed over to the studio. When I got there Andrew at Voice Trax was beside himself. I told him I would only need an hour of studio time for a 2,000 word, 20 minute piece I’d be recording. He did a word count on the script and it in fact was 6,000 words! Oops! Somehow, somewhere the wires of communication got crossed. Plus I only had an hour to do it, since I had to be at “TTS” at 1:30. So we connected with the producers on the phone for the session. We started the session with me plowing through the entire script. By the time we got done it was 1:00pm on the nose! The “20 minute” piece had turned into 45 minutes from start to finish. It was to be an on-line pitch for a weight loss/healthy eating program, but who is going to sit on their computers and listen to a 45 minute pitch? 10 minutes sure, 15 to 20 minutes is pushing it. But 45 minutes? I told them I was sorry I had to go, but they were going to take the track we recorded, suss through it and contact me the next week with any lines they needed re-recorded. I hopped in the Torino and sped over to NBC to record the bit for “TTS.” When I finished I got some lunch at the world-famous NBC Commissary and headed back to the studio. On Fridays we tape at 3 instead of 4, so it was just a little while before my call-time anyway, so I just chilled out and talked to some of the other crew. I was driving home talking to my dad on the phone, when Edi pulled up beside me with her dog Bunny. I told her to meet me at my house, which she did. I had to run over my printer’s before they closed to drop off some graphics I wanted to get done. I was starving, so I had my friend Brittney Powell meet Edi and I at Miceli’s for dinner. YUM!
Saturday the 27th – (SKIN) TAG, YOU’RE IT! – Edi came by to pick me up so we could head over to Santa Monica and see my pal Dr. Patt, the rock ‘n’ roll doc. He’s the best doctor in the world. Edi needed to see him, and Brittney needed to see him as well about a foot issue. So we all carpooled over together. I had to see him because a little skin tag was growing near my left eye, and it had gotten considerably bigger the past few weeks. It was time to remove it! And since I didn’t know how my vision would be affected after the surgery, Edi drove. Dr. P laid me down on the table, deadened the area with some stuff in a needle, and started trimming it away. He said the skin tag (or lesion) was “cobblestoning.” It’s where a lesion was growing on top of a lesion growing on top of a lesion growing on top of a lesion…like a cobblestone street. He said I had come in just in time to have it removed, otherwise it would get really nasty. The procedure was pain free, as Dr. Patt is (like I said before) the greatest doctor in the world. He cauterized it and put a bandage over it. Since we were on the Westside I took the girls over to one of my favorite old restaurants… Campo’s! It’s not Taco Bell, but it’s not a fancy sit-down Mexican restaurant. But the food is AMAZING! Since were in my old neighborhood I took them by my old apartment buildings. They really hadn’t changed much, other than a new fence here and there. It’s kind of fun to see the old places every once in awhile. When I got back home I put some Neosporin on my wound and took a nap. It didn’t hurt, but Dr. Patt said it would scab up nicely, and not to pick it. When I got up later I took a swim and a dip in the jacuzzi. The water was PERFECT! As the sun began to set at the close of day, it was very relaxing and intoxicating paddling around leisurely in the water, listening to the gentle cooing of Mourning Doves, hearing the tweets of several unidentifiable birds, and watching the humming birds dart to and fro amongst the colorful flowers surrounding the pool area. But my euphoria was short-lived, as the screams of annoying children broke the spell. I figured it was time to go inside and get movie night started. We watched another episode of “Van Dyke and Company,” Dick Van Dyke’s all-too brief 70’s era variety show, and “The Amazing Spider-Man.” Then we finished up with episode 3 of “Tiger and Bunny.” A fun evening! I spent all night working on stuff, organizing files on my computer, touching up photos and cleaning up. Then I made a sandwich and went to bed to enjoy some “Saturday Night Saint.” Saturday nights I allow myself to deviate from what I’m currently watching during TV Time, and watch an episode from the final season of “The Saint” starring Roger Moore. It’s too bad only two seasons of that show were in color. I think there’s only about 6 episodes left in the set. Rats!
Sunday the 28th – HAPPY BIRTHDAY, JAY! – Today is my boss’ 63rd birthday. I’m sure he had a good one puttering around his garage. I woke up around 1:30 and it was very warm in my house. I walked Roxy briefly and kicked on the A/C. It felt nice sliding back into bed with the cool air blowing into my room. I got up in time for evening church and was joined by my neighbor Genta and her doggie Brutus. My friend Kristy met us there too. Brutus was a big hit, as he’s a super cutie! It’s a blast going to church where doggies are welcome! At the end of the service Edi and Ems dropped by and we all took off in the Gran Torino for dinner at the Coral Cafe! When I got home I grabbed some quick jacuzzi time, and a quick nap on the couch. Then I got up for a few auditions, fed and walked Roxy and planned for what promised to be another busy week ahead.
And how was YOUR week??!!
PIX FROM THE WEEK
A great pic from last week’s autograph show! Ted Neely (Jesus) and Barry Dennen (Pilate) from the movie “Jesus Christ Superstar” together again! Amazing talents!
Edi’s dog Bunny has earned the nickname “Slipper,” because one night in the dark at movie night, I looked down at Bunny napping on the floor and wondered, “What’s my slipper doing down there?” Then I realized it was Bunny. I have a pair of Bumble slippers from “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer” and as you can see the fur is the same texture and color as Bunny’s. So now…Bunny is SLIPPER!
At church, 99 year old Valerie loved hanging out with Roxy. She had a collie when she was a little girl named Laddie that looked just like Roxy! Valerie couldn’t get the smile off her face, and I’ll bet she’s still smiling today!
Edi’s daughter Ems took this picture of Roxy relaxing on the floor. Interesting perspective! Now I know how an ant feels!
Here’s a close-up of the “cobblestoning” lesion that was growing next to my eye. Next week…the completely healed work of Dr. Stephen Patt…post removal!
