April 12 – April 18 (2010) – Wally On The Web

As I was tooling down the road on Thursday morning heading to a session, I had the top down, the day was perfect, and my i-Pod was blasting away. A song came on that I used to love back in the days that I was a D.J. at 94.7 The Wave here in L.A. It’s by an artist named Black, and it’s called “Wonderful Life.” It was the perfect underscore to a perfect drive on a perfect day. Enjoy!

Monday the 12th – HAPPY BIRTHDAY ZAK! – My son Zak turned 23 today, and as one of his gifts I got some signed drumsticks from “Tonight Show” drummer Smitty. Zak is also a drummer so I’m sure those will be amongst his prized possessions. I had to be at “The Tonight Show” early to record a comedy bit, then I grabbed some lunch, and then got back in time for the taping. When I got home afterwards, I met up with my old pal Guy Koepp, who directed me in “Art of the Deal.” Guy now lives in Tennessee, but gets back to L.A. once in awhile for work. He wanted to get copies of “Livin’ On a Prayer” and “Uncle Davver’s Really Scary Movie Show” to show to some agent friends of his. So it was fun, and it’s always nice to see Guy!

Tuesday the 13th – TODAY IS BAT DAY! – Having just spoke at Adam West’s “Star” ceremony on the Walk of Stars in Palm Springs the previous Saturday, I knew he was going to be a surprise guest on “The Tonight Show,” but I couldn’t say anything. I did manage to get tickets for my friends Scott, Ben, Sara and James. I met up with them at the Guest Relations window and got them checked in, then headed over to the set. I knocked on Adam’s dressing room door and he was sitting there with his daughter Nina and her boss Steven. It was fun getting to chat with Adam away from the crowds. He thanked me again for the kind words at the ceremony, and asked how I got the job at “TTS.” We spoke for awhile and then there was another knock on his door. It was Andy, one of the writers. He said they needed me to cut a few voice tracks for the show. I asked him, “How did you know I was in HERE?” Andy said, “EVERYBODY knows you’re in here.” That made me laugh, because I make it no secret that I’m a lifelong Adam West fan. Roberta the stage manager was surprised to learn that I had known Adam for 30 years! I took Adam to the audio bay where I do my work and he met up with Patrick and Jason. I knew Patrick was a big fan so I wanted him to meet Adam. When Adam broke into a Batman line we all cracked up laughing. Adam was on the show to surprise Nicolas Cage, who does an impression of Adam as his character in the new movie “Kick Ass.” They competed in a Batman trivia contest. Check it out on NBC.com…you’ll see the whole episode! Apparently the ratings on Adam’s appearance were so high, that rumor has it “TTS” may be asking Adam back to do some more stuff in the future. That would be great! After the show James had to go back to work, but Sara, Ben, Scott and I ate dinner at the Smoke House. Deeee-licious!

Wednesday the 14th – MORE BAT STUFF! – I was up early and off to the Warner Brothers lot to record some lines for a new videogame that, unfortunately, I can’t say anything about. But when I’m able, I’ll be sure to let you know all the juicy details! As soon as I got out of Warner I got a call from my agent asking if I could be at NBC right away. They had more comedy stuff for me to record. So I headed over there and did a few quick V.O. lines. Then I got lunch at Wendy’s (it took them THREE times to get my order right! Guess you just can’t find good help these days!) and then off to my Chiropractor’s office to get an adjustment. I was still having trouble with the muscle under my right shoulder blade, and I had woke up that morning with it bothering me. So he put me on the “stim” machine (short for stimulation) which uses electrical pulses to work the muscle. It was weird feeling. But as I was laying there face down with this on my back, I fell asleep! It was weird, but actually quite soothing. I felt much better when I got up. I went to tape “TTS” and then headed home. I took my new Tony Clifton tux jackets to my tailor to get the lining repaired, then I went to home to do some auditions to e-mail to my agent. That night I got my stuff packed for my upcoming trip to the Wizard World Anaheim Comic Con.Thursday the 15th – LAST MINUTE ERRANDS! – I got up early, gassed up my car, and headed down the freeway to Mattel to do another voice-over for them. It’s for the voice of a toy, and I can’t tell you much more about it unfortunately. They’re very protective of their secrets there. I actually made good time getting there, and was able to sit in their parking lot for awhile and eat my blueberry muffin and drink my orange juice. When I finished I drove down the freeway and got totally lost. Here I am, driving around Inglewood not having any clue where I was. All I knew was that I was near the Forum. I finally found the freeway on-ramp and I was on my way. I drove through Culver City (my old stomping grounds) to see how things had changed. I got lunch at Burger King, then stopped at my favorite office supply store and bought a bunch of my favorite pens. I hit Laser Blazer, but they didn’t have any DVDs I needed. It’s especially hard because I buy everything on Amazon now. I would like to support my local stores, but they never have what I want, and I don’t get to Laser Blazer that often. I also stopped at It’s a Wrap in Beverly Hills, and even though they had 30% off everything, I didn’t find one thing I wanted. I got back to my neighborhood in Hollywood and hit my favorite craft store. I picked up some items I needed, then got dog food at my vet’s office. After dropping my stuff off I headed to NBC to tape “TTS.” When we wrapped I got home and met up with my housesitter GloZell and her boyfriend Kevin. I wasn’t anywhere near ready to go to Anaheim, so I told them to go grab dinner and I’d be ready when they got back. I got packed, got the Puppet Room cleaned out for them to use while I was gone, and I got ready. Sara came over and we loaded up the car and headed to Anaheim. That late at night we made really good time. We pulled up to the Jolly Roger hotel (where I had a reservation) but it looked different than their website. It wasn’t a hotel at all, but rather a glorified MOTEL. The doors to the rooms opened up right into the parking lot like at a motel, and there were window air conditioners. I have become accustomed to hotels with hallways, parking and central A/C. So Sara and I kept walking around the neighborhood. The Sheraton was right next door so we stopped in there and asked if they were sold out. They had rooms available so I booked one for two nights. I then went back to get the car and told the Jolly Roger people to cancel my reservation. I felt bad, but I also felt that they misrepresented themselves on their website by calling themselves a “hotel.” So, luckily we got into the Sheraton. We unloaded the car and settled in.

Friday the 16th – ANAHEIM COMIC CON DAY 1! – Since the convention didn’t start until 3, I was able to sleep in quite late, which I enjoyed immensely. We scouted the convention center and found out that they would be opening the ticket window around 2 so you could exchange your on-line tickets for the wristband you would need to get in. Sara and I got there around 1:45 and waited in a line of about 60 people. We were also joined by Scott, Vickie and Ben. Once we got our wristbands, we had to go outside and wait in ANOTHER line until they opened at 3. It was very weird and kind of disorganized. I guess I’m used to the “machine” of the San Diego Comic Con. After waiting around we were let in almost at 3:00 on the button. It was great seeing a lot of the usual folks and saying hi. I met Julie Newmar in the hallway and helped walk her to her table. I had one of my old Batman cowls laying around, so I decided to have that signed by the cast, much like somebody would have a baseball or football signed by a sports team. Oh, what about “The Tonight Show” you ask? Well, it was a day off for us, since Jay was speaking at the correspondent’s dinner in Washington D.C., so it was a rerun that night. It all worked out perfectly! I got my two Austin Powers movie posters signed by Mindy Sterling (Frau Farbissina) and Larry Thomas (the blackjack dealer). I also had Adam West sign a bunch of stuff. Once I got the majority of the things signed that I wanted, I hauled it all back to the room and stashed it there. My pal Scott Zillner was there so we got a quick bite to eat and a soda at the hotel and chilled out for awhile. I was able to get the majority of the stuff done I wanted to, so I knew Saturday would be laid back and easy. Liz, the director of “TTS” is a big Star Trek Next Gen fan, so I got some signed photos from some of the cast members as a surprise for her. Many people from the 1966 Batman message board were in town for this event, so we all met up at a restaurant in the Sheraton and had a great time visiting, laughing and joking.

Saturday the 17th – HAPPY BIRTHDAY SARA! – My niece Sara had a birthday today and I was so busy I spaced on texting her birthday wishes. We slept in fairly late but got to the convention shortly after noon. My pal Sara (not my niece) was getting dressed with the gang as Batgirl so I was on my own. I got to the convention and met up with William Shatner, who looked great and was very pleasant. In past experiences Mr. S wasn’t very cordial, but I was happy that he was in a much better mood today. He signed a few things for me and I went on my way. I also got a photo op with three of the guys from “Star Trek” Next Gen.” I also had more fun joking around with The Suicide Girls, some web models who were selling a book. They were fun, down-to-earth gals. There was a Batman Q&A in one of the big meeting rooms, and Adam West, Burt Ward, Julie Newmar, Yvonne Craig, George Barris and Lee Meriwether were all there on the panel. It was very funny, and Julie and Adam got some good zingers in. But when my pal Ruben Procopio took the stage to talk about the new Burt Ward bust that they’re unveiling, he credited me as having the original concept for the previous Adam West bust. Somebody from the crowd asked if that was the same guy who had the Adam West song. Adam said it was, and that I was in the back of the room. Hundreds of heads turned to look back at me. It was wild! All of a sudden I was on the spot when Adam asked me to sing a bit of it. My mind went blank! After all that song was done 20 years ago. But I had remembered one line and sang that. It was pretty crazy! When the panel was over I realized that I hadn’t gone toy shopping yet, so I went from booth to booth while the Bat gang were off posing for photos. I found what I had been looking for. There are 3 Groovie Goolie maquettes that are out now, from the company called Amok Time. I had thought about mail-ordering them, but shipping would have been extra, etc. So I cut a deal with a dealer there to just take them home with me. Perfect! Funnily enough though, the box design is credited to some guy I don’t know, but yet most all of the graphics on the front and back of the box were my design from the “Groovie Goolie” DVD release, when I produced the box set. The graphics and art were exactly the same as my concept. And even though the artists at BCI Eclipse did the work from my specifications, the artwork on the maquette boxes were my concept. I thought at least they should have credited the guys from BCI who did the layout. Oh well. That’s the way it goes I guess. I was just happy to have the figures. The Bat crew had changed out of their costumes and were getting ready for a private party at one of the hotel meeting rooms, where everyone would show off their costumes, props, etc. It was a great time. Sara and I were exhausted, but we hauled our tired carcasses over to the party, got a pizza and some sodas and hung out. It was great meeting all the batfans from all over the country…and even the world! A guy was there from Argentina, and of course my pal Ben was there from the U.K. We’ve been keeping an eye on the volcanic ash over Europe, to see if Ben is going to be able to get home or not! Speaking of home, Sara and I hit the road (after an extensive packing of the car experience) and we were headed home. We decided not to stay for the final day of the convention since we were able to accomplish what we set out to do. It was good to get home and see Sassie and Spooky again anyway. But boy was I beat! I unpacked all my stuff, organized my autographed stuff, set up my Groovie Goolie maquettes, and finally hit the hay around 5am!

Sunday the 18th – ZZZZZZZ! Needless to say, my Sunday Sleep Day was much needed today. I got up in time for evening church but when I took Sassie out for a walk just before I left, she did a #2. I went back to my house to get the pooper scooper, but when I returned to the “scene of the crime” I couldn’t find it! I looked for 10 minutes! Meanwhile church was starting and I was running late. A-HA! I finally found it. I grabbed it, flushed it and sped off to church. My friends Joe and Zandra were there waiting for me. After church we got dinner at Little Toni’s and then I set about doing my auditions. It was going to be another busy week…in addition to more Garfield sessions, “The Tonight Show” and my folks coming to visit, there is another autograph show the following weekend! Busy busy busy!!

And how was YOUR week??!!

It was fun to meet up with Loretta Swit at the Anaheim Comic Con. We spoke about her guest appearances in “Hawaii Five-O” as well as “Mission Impossible.”