April 2 – April 7 (2012) – Wally On The Web

RANDOM PIC OF THE WEEK

At Rusty’s Discount Pets on Easter Sunday, photographer Kathryn Segura captured Roxy with the Easter Bunny! CUTE!

At the Adam Walk of Fame Ceremony one of the ’66 Catwomen was played by a gal named Valerie. She said she has about 10 cosplay costumes of all different characters. I saw her at Wonder Con dressed as Wonder Woman. But any time I meet somebody who has a name that was used in a song, that song usually sticks in my head for a few days. And since “Valleri” was one of my favorite songs by The Monkees, it also had me thinking about the premature passing of the legendary Davy Jones.

Monday the 2nd – A BUNCH OF YAHOOS! – I got up really early and headed to a studio called North Hollywood Sound to work on the videogame “Guild Wars 2.” (Have you seen the trailer? It’s magnificent!) We’ve been working on it for 3 years now and it will definitely show in the game! The powers that be are saying that it will be released sometime this year! Though I had some cereal for breakfast, about an hour into the session I got really hungry. The only thing at the studio were bananas, apples and little candies. But I needed something more substantial. I guess it’s been so long since I’ve done four hour recording sessions (with my busy schedule it’s generally impossible to schedule out that much time) that I wasn’t very well prepared. I vowed to bring a muffin or chips in the future in case that happens again. Luckily my assistant Sara was home and brought me over a tuna Subway sandwich. MUCH better! We finished the session and I went home to rest for a bit. I grabbed a quick half hour nap then got up for “The Tonight Show.” Trust me, when I take a quick nap before “TTS” I set TWO alarms to make sure I get up in time! My pal Thomas the Robot Guy and his friend Anika came to the taping. (Thomas has been a great help planning my Robo-Elvis, which will be completed soon!) Also at the taping were some friends of my friend Tony in Minneapolis. They were in town and got tickets on their own. I said goodbye to them and them met Thomas and Anika at Paty’s for a lovely dinner on their patio. Then I brought them over to Planet Wallywood for a tour. Anika is also a robot whiz, so she will be a great resource as I continue my quest for a fully robotized collection of icons. I grabbed another quick catnap, then my friend Brittney Powell came over for a quick visit. When she left I sat down to write my Wally’s Week (like I do every Monday evening) and was horrified to discover that it no longer existed in my Yahoo! mail. Normally I write some notes about each day in my mail and save it as a draft. And at the end of the week I compile all the notes into Wally’s Week. I’ve had lots of problems with Yahoo! being stupid in the past, but this topped it. All of a sudden, it was gone. I vowed to ditch Yahoo! as soon as possible as a mail service. And after hearing on the news that Yahoo! just laid off 2000 employees, it sounds like I’m not the only one who got sick of their idiocy. I tried to retrieve it, but no dice. I even wrote to Yahoo! who stated that they could restore my mail to its previous state as long as I notified them within 48 hours of the incident. Well, they sent me back a form letter stating that they were unable to find a “snapshot” of my mail and couldn’t restore it. I immediately signed up for two Gmail accounts that I’ll start using soon. Yahoo! will most likely be completely obsolete in a few years, so it’s good I’m making a change now. I did some auditions and watched another episode of “Kojak” from the season 1 DVD set.

Tuesday the 3rd – TEMPMESTUOUS TUESDAY! – In the morning I was off to Kalmenson and Kalmenson Casting for a voice-over audition. Shortly after I finished I got a call from my agent asking when I could record a bit for “TTS” at my house. I told him I hadn’t planned on going home and was running errands. I had a session scheduled at Studiopolis Burbank at 1pm and I’d never make it back home and back to their studio in time. So I called ahead to Studiopolis and asked if it would be OK to record it there and e-mail it over to NBC. They said to come on over. I finished up the bit and Susie the engineer e-mailed it over. I had time to grab a quick chicken filet sandwich at Wendy’s and make it back for the 1pm session. We spent two hours working on a new anime series that they have very high hopes for. The buzz is extremely high. I can’t tell you yet what the name is, but I will in the near future. I think it’s the first time in my career that I’ve ever played a title character in a cartoon. We finished up and I went over to NBC to tape “TTS.” After the taping I headed home to feed Spook and I got ready for dinner with my old pal Ian (he started the Wally Wingert Fan Club Facebook Page) and his girlfriend Rochelle. We were also joined by my assistant Sara and my friend Alex Capriola. Alex asked if I had any good ideas about a birthday present for Hugh Hefner (she goes to the mansion for parties every weekend) and we came up with some great ideas. One was making a classic Lon Chaney photo (Hef’s a HUGE Lon Chaney fan) 3-d by doing a cut and paste layering thing. My other idea was more along the adult lines and I can’t talk about it here on a family-friendly website. But suffice to say it had everybody at the table laughing. I headed home to start working on my idea right away. I helped Alex pick an appropriate Chaney photo from my collection. I gave Ian and Rochelle the tour of Planet Wallywood and after they left I did my auditions and got ready for bed. I had to be up for another early session!

Wednesday the 4th – I’M NOT A MORNING PERSON! – This was the third morning in a row this week I had to be up early. Normally I don’t rise until noon or so, so this was quite a change for me. I met with several US Airways execs who were in town to record me doing a narration for a new safety video. I got over to Post Modern in Burbank at 9:30 and we started the session. It turned out to be fun and GUESS WHAT!? They had a TON of bagels and muffins! YAY! I took great pride in showing them my Gran Torino after the session. When we finished I went to Michael’s Crafts to buy some more supplies for Hef’s gift. Then it was a trip to Staples and Office Depot to find the right type of press-on lettering. My agent called with some audition info, so I headed home and did it right away and sent it in. I finished up Hef’s gift and then went to NBC for the taping of “TTS.” After we wrapped, I headed home to do some more work, and then grab a nap. My friend Alex Z. flew in from Nashville and was staying the night at Planet Wallywood, so I took him and Sara to DuPar’s for a late dinner.

Thursday the 5th – LONG OVERDUE! – Today I would be at the ceremony to give Adam West his long overdue star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame! Many of us have been working, hoping, wishing for this for a long time, and today it came true! Alex got up early to prepare his Robin costume. Scott Sebring dropped by to pick up Sara, Alex Z. and Alex C. for the festivities. They would be driving over to the Roosevelt Hotel and changing into their costumes for the ceremony. I did a few auditions and then showered to get ready to go to Hollywood. I switched out my Gran Torino for my Mustang (I didn’t want some valet scratching my Torino!) and valet parked at the Roosevelt Hotel. I walked over to the star location, right in front of the Guinness museum. I saw tons of friends there…George Barris and the Batmobile, Adam’s agent Fred, Andrew and Tracy from Canada, and Ralph Garman from KROQ radio who spearheaded the whole campaign to get Adam his star! Then Adam West, looking none of his 83 years, showed up and the immense crowd went wild! He looked fit and fab! The ceremony started and Ralph spoke. Then Seth MacFarlane spoke. The two gave very funny speeches. Then a local politician spoke. When he took the microphone I leaned over to my friend Andrew and said, “Oh! And it was going so well!” (I don’t have a very soft spot in my heart for politicians.) They awarded Adam his star and there were tons of photos with friends and family. I walked to the hotel with Fred and a few other friends so we could enjoy the reception and lunch. I went to the bathroom poolside at the Roosevelt Hotel to wash my hands before lunch. In all the excitement I forgot my CAMERA in the men’s room! Adam’s son-in-law James (who has spent the last 3 years working on a documentary about Adam) asked if he could interview me one last time. But all I could think about was my lost camera. I had some amazing photos on that thing! But I collected my thoughts, took a deep breath and just knew that it would all work out. Add to this the fact that “TTS” called and wanted me in early to do some comedy bits, and I was quickly running out of time if I was going to get to work in a timely manner. I did the interview then hurried to the men’s room. NO CAMERA! Luckily the crack security team said they had it in their Lost and Found. GREAT! I described the camera and filled out a bunch of paperwork. TICK TOCK…time was running out and it looked like I wasn’t going to get to NBC on time! I got my camera but it was taking the valet forever to bring my car around! By the time I got through the mess of traffic in Hollywood and got to NBC I was only about 10 minutes late. But we got all the comedy bits done and everything worked out very well. WHEW! We taped “TTS” and then I went home to pass out. I was exhausted but I couldn’t wait to download the photos. I turned on my camera and noticed that my photos had been gone through. Most likely the person who found my camera was looking for something. I’d like to think he was looking for images that would tell him whose camera it was, but he most likely may have been looking for “naughty” photos. Sorry bub. None there. However, the most recent photo taken didn’t look familiar to me. When I downloaded it I got a hell of a surprise. The finder of my lost camera took a photo of him using the urinal, from his perspective. EWWWW! I guess I deserved it for being so lame as to leave my camera laying around, but really? Later that night I met the gang for dinner at Jerry’s Famous Deli and I was so tired I almost fell asleep in my salad! I came home to do my auditions and then hit the hay. Four early mornings in a row, and I had another one tomorrow! YIKES!

Friday the 6th – GOOD FRIDAY! – Since we didn’t have enough time to finish all my lines for “Guild Wars 2” last Monday, we scheduled a second session today to get them finished. I brought my own breakfast this time to munch on, so it went very well. When we finished I headed home to do some work and catch a quick nap before “TTS.” Alex C. would be picking my up birthday gift for Hef later that afternoon. We had an early taping scheduled so everyone could get away for Good Friday services. I got in really early, got a salad at the world famous NBC Commissary, and settled in for the taping. On my way home I went to It’s a Wrap and picked up a few items, and then stopped by my mailbox. Earlier in the week I had gotten a few great new additions to my collection. Not only did I get an original Elvis scarf (light blue) to go with Robo-Elvis, but I also got a pair of his ORIGINAL glasses! My collector friend bought them from the estate of Elvis’ optometrist Dennis Roberts. But the best new item was Andy Kaufman’s original Elvis costume. I figured this thing had been lost years ago, and it almost was. Luckily someone saved it from oblivion at a costume shop, kept it in their closet for 20 years, sold it to my friend on eBay, then he sold it to me. What a find! Today it arrived in the mail and I couldn’t wait to get it home and open it to check it out. This baby is amazing! I never dreamed I’d actually be owning his Elvis costume when I saw him perform in it on “The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson” back in 1977! I thought about going to my church’s Good Friday service, but I was exhausted from the week. So I took a nap. The spirit was willing, but the flesh was weak. I got up and felt refreshed. I did some work on my autograph books, installing new pages and photos. Then I had Sara run out to Little Toni’s to get us some food and we watched an episode of “Kojak” from the first season, and the special guest was our pal Paul Michael Glaser! He shot this about a year before he got “Starsky & Hutch!”

Saturday the 7th – RELAXING SATURDAY? HA! – I got up just before noon and met my pal Edi. We drove up to Lassie Land to get my friend Roxy the collie for another weekend of fun. She’s adjusting to life in Planet Wallywood very well, and as soon as her “manners” training is complete, she’ll be with my full-time. I’m VERY excited! Edi and I stopped at Jack in the Box to get some lunch, and I got some grilled chicken strips to feed Roxy when we saw her. After we got Roxy we drove right over to Toluca Lake to meet my friend Randy to look at a house that was for sale. The house was beautiful, but not my style. Because it was built in 1937, many of the door frames were very low and I only had about 4 inches of clearance for my head! I guess people were much smaller back then. Edi dropped me off at home, and Roxy and I got in my Mustang and headed to my friend Fred’s house so he could meet her. After chilling in the sun for a bit I went back home to meet with my seamstress Kathy. She had made me a Jesus costume for Easter. For the past two years I’ve been asked to play Jesus for the kids at church. They do an educational Easter Walk to demonstrate specific points in the Easter story for the kids. The costume they had for me had gotten worse and worse, so I vowed that I would get my own made, if they asked me back for a third year. They did. And I did. It was beautiful. White linen robe and sash, and dark maroon cloak that hangs off one shoulder. I put it on, took a picture in the mirror and laughed when I saw it. Roxy, who follows me everywhere, was right there at my feet. So I texted it out to my friends as “Jesus and His faithful dog.” Not sure Jesus ever had a dog, but if He did I hope it was a collie. I got into bed for a nap and called Roxy up. She went NUTS! She was having a great time. She rolled around on the comforter, started making happy grunty noises, put her nose in my face and twisted all around. I laughed hysterically. I’m not sure she’s ever been on a bed with a person before. She was enjoying it so much! We napped for a bit then got up to meet Edi and Sara for dinner at DuPar’s. Though I had to be up early for Easter Sunday, I wasn’t very successful at getting very much sleep. Roxy was WIRED!

Sunday the 8th – HAPPY EASTER! – I was proud of myself. In the past few years when I’ve had to get up early on Easter Sunday to do Jesus in the Easter Walk, I would sleep until the very last minute. But this morning I actually got up an hour early! I had time to walk Roxy and get my costume together. It was an absolutely BEAUTIFUL morning! Couldn’t have been better! But because I had gotten up early every single day this week, my body had conditioned itself to get up early. I hope it doesn’t get too used to it! The Easter Walk was another success and my third annual appearance as Jesus was pleasant. They had a huge breakfast in the social hall afterwards so I walked upstairs and had a bite. But I spilled orange juice all over my shorts and shoes! What a klutz. I figured it was time to go home and shower and rest. But when I got home my friend Chris Ameruoso texted to see where I was. I told him I would be walking Roxy down the street to Rusty’s Discount Pet store so Roxy could see some other dogs and participate in the doggie Easter Egg Hunt. As we were walking over Chris found us and stopped to chat. We got a photo of Roxy with the Easter Bunny and she got to meet a ton of great dogs. On the way home I called my friend Bruce Kulick and he came over to see Roxy. As Roxy and I were walking through the courtyard to my house, my little squirrel friend “Notch” (so named because of the notch in his left ear) notice me. He was begging for peanuts. He saw Roxy and came right down to see her. Normally, Roxy gets all excited about squirrels and barks at them. But I’ve told her no in the past, so now she just perks up her ears and looks at them with wide eyes. I honestly believe that Notch thought Roxy was Sassie. Sassie used to be around squirrels but wouldn’t even give them a look. She would totally ignore them, which totally baffled the squirrels. Notch came down out of the tree and approached Roxy. He came up and was less than A FOOT AWAY from her! Roxy was a good girl and didn’t bark. She just looked at him with great interest. I thought they were going to touch noses! It was amazing! Roxy’s really doing well with her manners. Either that or she was just too darned exhausted to care. I could tell that she was worn out. All the excitement of seeing the dogs, and the walking, and the sunny day…had taken its toll. She came upstairs and collapsed on my floor. She was so out of it, she turned over completely on her back with her feet in the air. It was hilarious, and I was lucky to have found my camera in time to get a shot. We took a nap for a few hours before evening church. The service was great, and after her third visit Roxy was getting into the routine. In fact, she was so relaxed that she laid on the floor like a good girl through most of it. This is quite a change from just a few weeks ago when she was very hyper. But now Roxy was feeling right at home. After church I met my friend Loren at Studio Café for dinner, and Sara and Edi joined us. Loren took Roxy and I back to Lassie Land and she got to meet Junior (Lassie 10) and Junior’s galpal Novak. But apparently there’s always been a little history of jealousy between Roxy and Novak, and they got into some rough play. But as I was petting Junior, Roxy walked right over and stood between me and Junior to block me. It was funny because Sassie used to do the same thing when she got jealous. I bid Roxy farewell and Loren and I headed for her car. As we walked down the drive I looked back and saw Roxy looking back at me with her ears perked up high as Carol led her back into the house. It’s almost as if she was saying “Hey! Where ya goin? Can I go too?!” It was a bit heartbreaking, but cute at the same time. Roxy and I had become fast friends and I look forward to the day she’s a permanent resident in Planet Wallywood. I got home and collapsed into bed for a nap. Later that night I got up to do some work and watched another “Kojak” episode. WHEW! What a week!

And how was YOUR week???!!!

PICS FROM THE WEEK

Since Yahoo! mail ate my notes from last week’s Wally’s Week, some of the photos here are without accompanying stories. But I still wanted you to see them so I included them anyway.

On Friday March 30th a Warner Brothers video crew had all 5 legendary Batmobiles together at Bob’s Big Boy in Toluca Lake for Hot Rod night! Here’s the best of the best…the 1966 Batmobile, followed by the “Keaton” and the “Kilmer.”