April 15 – April 21 (2013) – Wally On The Web

RANDOM PIC OF THE WEEK

I try to resist having the Random Pic of the Week feature the same subject matter from one week to the next, but #1…I love dogs. #2…I think you love dogs too. #3…this is totally hilarious! It’s a “time-lapse” photo in a sense. The first frame shows a new puppy taking refuge in the bottom shelf of a bookcase. A few months later, the second frame shows him getting a little bigger, and a little less able to fit into the space. Frames 3 and 4 are hysterical, as he’s trying desperately to fit into his favorite little place, but he’s gotten much too big. And finally by the fourth frame, all he can fit in is his right shoulder. Gotta love it!

One of my favorite things to do while driving down the freeway to Palm Springs late at night, is to try and grab a distant AM station at 660 on the dial that plays classic country. Not only do they play awesome old country songs that make me feel good, but they’ll pepper it with native American music. While driving to Palm Springs this past Tuesday night, my rental car had a great antennae that picked it up beautifully! I found out that the station is KTNN-AM 660. They call it the Voice of the Navajo Nation. While all of the commercials and station IDs are in English, the DJ speaks in Navajo (with some English peppered in here and there). After talking with a radio guy from Palm Springs who was familiar with the station, he said it blows in at night all the way from New Mexico. When I got home I Googled the station and here’s their website if you’d like to listen to them on-line.https://www.ktnnonline.com/ But trust me when I say there’s a magical quality to driving through Native American desert lands late at night under a star-filled sky, listening to this crackly AM station play old country favorites. I really got a special feeling when they played Alabama’s“The Closer You Get.” I had “a moment” during the part of the song where Alabama sings “Yes I’m fallin’, yes I’m fallin,’ yes I’m fallin.” The build of the harmonies, along with the ambience of the beautiful evening gave me chills and a sense of blissful well-being. It was very moving. Here is the song, but I’ve extended the “Yes I’m fallin,” part a few extra bars, just ‘cuz I like it.

Monday the 15th – HAWAII FIVE-O! – I got up early and drove to Paramount Studios in Hollywood to do some “walla” for “Hawaii Five-O.” My pal Pete Tassler is an Associate Producer on the show, and they needed a show announcer for a fictitious talkshow that will be featured in one episode. His boss told him, “It would be great if we could get a legitimate guy, like the “Tonight Show” guy.” Pete smiled and said, “I think I may be able to get him.” So he called a few weeks back and we hooked it up. While I was there I also did some walla, which is background vocal effects. When they shoot a scene, the extras you see on-camera can’t talk, because their conversation may get in the way of the lead’s conversation. So they add all that in during post-production so they can control the audio levels. During the session, one of the other actors saw on his phone an alert that the Boston Marathon had just been bombed. Very sad. After the session I hooked up with my friend Pete, who walked me across the lot to go meet the Executive Producer Peter Lenkov. Turns out, he’s a HUGE fan of the original show. I brought over my framed Jack Lord badge and ID card set, and he went nuts when he saw it. We had a lot of fun talking about old TV shows, and I showed he and some of the writers photos on my i-Pad of Planet Wallywood. They promised to come visit during their next hiatus. As Pete and I walked back to my car, we walked through the New York street part of the backlot. The effects crew had just exploded a car for a scene in “CSI.” There was glass everywhere, and a look of general destruction and chaos. It was marvelously realistic. But Pete mentioned that it was creepy, considering that’s probably what it presently looked like in Boston, and it unfortunately WASN’T a movie set. Since it was the first day of a week’s hiatus from “The Tonight Show,” I didn’t have to rush to NBC. I got some lunch at Arby’s in Hollywood, then headed home to meet up with Electric Bob and my contractor Terry to discuss an upcoming bathroom remodeling project we’re doing. With the amount of guests I have visiting Planet Wallywood, I figured I should modernize my facilities considerably. When they left, I was feeling a bit tired, considering I had gotten up so early. I grabbed a nap, then got up to do my auditions. I did some work around the house, and began planning and packing for my upcoming Palm Springs trip.

Tuesday the 16th – P.S. I LOVE YOU! – I got up at 1, but I didn’t get to bed until around 7 that morning. So I only got about 6 hours of sleep. I had scheduled a meeting with my agents, but I had to cancel because I got too far behind on things that needed to be done before my trip. My friend Edi and her daughter Ems came by to pick me up to do errands with me. We started out with lunch at Paty’s, I got my mail, and then we dropped Ems off at the Equestrian Center where she works with horses and rides her own horse Claire. Edi dropped me by Leet TV repair so I could pick up two camcorders and a VCR that was being cleaned. We stopped by the bank so I could get some traveling cash. We got Edi’s car gassed up and then I headed back home. Electric Bob brought over Harold the Plumber to discuss further what I want to do with my bathroom. Electric Bob and I are going to go shopping for fixtures soon…bathtub, toilet, sink, etc. I’m definitely ready for a change! When we finished Electric Bob gave me a ride to Enterprise rental car so I could pick up my SUV for the week’s trip to Palm Springs. My Mustang is much too small for all my luggage and Roxy. This way we can stretch out and ride to Palm Springs in style. Rae, the gal who waited on me, expressed an interest in doing voice-over, so I was happy to give her some advice on coaches and classes. Then Sara came by and we went shopping for groceries, supplies at CVS, and then I went home to do a ton of auditions before I left! I finished packing up, Sara came by to start her housesitting responsibilities, and Roxy and I hit the road in our rented GMC Terrain. It was very nice! It drove very well, and Roxy was well-behaved and mellow the entire way there. I think since we had gone to Palm Springs a month or so ago, she was now accustomed to road trips. It was VERY windy in Palm Springs. As is my tradition, I hit Denny’s to get some food to go, then went over to the Hyatt to check in. I ate my dinner, then walked Roxy down North Palm Canyon Drive. Then I went upstairs to enjoy “Star Time” on the patio. It was still very breezy so it wasn’t the perfect conditions to enjoy the patio. But strangely enough, at 3am the wind completely stopped. And it stayed calm until 4:30am. But even stranger, at 4:30 the wind started back up again. At that point I turned in for the night.

Wednesday the 17th – DELICIOUS TURNABOUT! – I got up at 10 to walk Roxy for a bit, and then came back upstairs and went back to bed. I slept until 2, then packed Roxy up in the SUV and went to the Burger King drive-thru to get lunch. It was a stunning day! I took her over to the dog park so we could relax and have some fun. Roxy had a blast and ran around so much she was actually exhausted! She loves herding the other dogs like they were sheep. Edi called to say she was close to Palm Springs, so I headed back to the hotel to rest. At 7, Edi and I took the dogs (Roxy and her dog Bunny) down to Ruby’s Diner to have dinner on the patio. We met up with Ron Chaney, President of Chaney Entertainment, and keeper of the legacy of Lon Chaney (both Sr. and Jr.). At Monsterpalooza last week, he told me he has an interest in recreating his great-grandfather’s super-creepy make-up from “London After Midnight.” Since I had done the character before, I told him I would be happy to share with him some tips I picked up during the process. I brought along my beaver hat, the wig, the prosthetic teeth and some of the make-up effects I used for the character. He put the hat and the wig on, and it looked fabulous! He has the same facial structure as Lon Sr. so he could really pull it off nicely! Then it hit me. WOW! ME?! Giving a Chaney make-up advice? TOO COOL! He said next time he’s in L.A. he’ll stop by Planet Wallywood to try on the full costume. Edi and I hit the jacuzzi, then I went upstairs to get ready for the second night of “Star Time.” As I listened to some music on my i-Pad, drank ice-cold Cokes in glass bottles, ate freshly popped popcorn, I relaxed on the patio and watched the stars slowly disappear one by one behind the massive mountain outside my hotel room. The evening was calm, and the fierce winds from the night before had died down. A truly stunning experience!

Thursday the 18th – ROXY RULES THE STREET! – I slept until noon, then hit the dog park with Roxy, Edi and Bunny. As always, it was lots of fun watching the doggies roam around freely and explore. As it got later in the afternoon we decided to head back to the hotel to get ready for the Village Fest, the weekly street fair held every Thursday night on North Palm Canyon Drive. It’s where I pick up packages of home-made licorice, hand-made soaps, kettle corn, home-made lemonade, beef jerky and other great stuff from local vendors. I bought five great hand-made pillows for my movie night guests. The fabric was Star Trek, Batman, Marvel heroes, Sesame Street, and Beatles related, and there was a panel on the back where the lady who made them would draw their names on them. I placed my order, and while she worked on them Edi and I went back to Ruby’s to grab dinner on the patio. The area was packed because it was a beautiful night, but we lucked into getting a great table right by the street so we could people watch. Of course Roxy got LOTS of attention. People saw her and would walk over to pet her. Roxy got lots of “LASSIE!” callouts, and one lady said she would watch “Lassie” every Sunday night and cry. I told her so would I. She was flabbergasted to learn that Roxy was a direct descendent! We saw our old pal Harpo the Clown roaming the streets, so we got a photo and chatted for awhile (which is tough since Harpo’s character is totally mute!). After dinner Edi and I took the dogs back to the suite, then went out to buy a bunch of stuff. It’s difficult to carry all those sacks of goods when you’re also holding dogs. It was a fun night, as always. We got back just in time to hit the jacuzzi. I checked e-mails in the hotel’s business office, then I got set for my final night of “Star Time.” The bright half moon was in perfect position and shone right through my hotel room patio door. I called Edi out to the patio to watch the moon gradually disappear behind the mountain. I guess it would be called a “moonset?” I took Roxy on a late-night walk, and a lady was just coming out of the bar across the street. She called out to me and said my dog was sending her psychic vibrations. So she asked if we would walk her to her car so she could arrive safely. She said she had avoided being attacked so far in life, and wanted to make sure it stayed that way. After making the judgment that she wasn’t drunk and was OK to drive, I agreed to escort her to the parking lot. She asked me about Roxy and I told her the story about her being from the Lassie lineage, etc. She brightened up and said she felt SO much safer knowing that she was being escorted by a REAL Lassie! We got her to her car safely and she took off. The pizza place across the street was looking yummy, and they were open until 2, so I called them and ordered 2 pizzas to go. I brought them upstairs, gave one to Edi, and I ate the other. It REALLY hit the spot! Then it was time for star watching. There were a ton of shooting stars, and it was fun to watch two flashlights of some late-night mountain climbers making their way to the top. I got to thinking it was an odd time to mountain climb (and I had seen that during previous trips) but it occurred to me that perhaps they were making it up the mountain so they could reach the top in time to watch the sunrise. Neat idea! I was in a very nice, mellow place…eating popcorn, drinking Cokes, enjoying my Palm Springs playlist on my i-Pad dock…but my solace had been jarred by a VERY loud delivery truck that pulled up in front of the hotel and parked at 4:30am. The driver got out of the truck and started banging the truck’s doors, talking loudly and making all sorts of racket. Doesn’t he know he’s in front of a hotel where people are SLEEPING!? It continued on for awhile so I decided to cut my losses and hit the hay.

Friday the 19th – I’M TIRED FROM MY VACATION! – I slept til 1, then got up to pack and head down the road back home. Edi followed me in her car down the freeway to an outlet mall she wanted to go to. Next to it was a McDonald’s with outdoor seating, so we took the dogs there and had some lunch. Then I headed out for home, while she spent some time shopping. Roxy was quiet all the way, pretty exhausted from all the activity. I got home, unloaded the SUV, cleaned out all the dog hair, gassed it up and took it back to Enterprise just before closing. Perfect! Then Sara picked me up and drove me home. I managed to squeeze in a quick nap just before my pal Mark Ackerman came over to replace my receiver in my home theater with a loaner model. Mine needed cleaning, as the volume control knob was dirty and was cutting out from time to time. My pal Amanda came by to see me for a bit and we went to eat dinner at DuPar’s. Later I got some stuff ready for this weekend’s autograph show.

Saturday the 20th – FROM STAR-FILLED NIGHTS, TO A STAR-FILLED DAY! – I got up early (for a Saturday) to drive down to the LAX area for another Hollywood Collector Show. Sara drove, and we were joined by my pals Kristy and Amanda. Angie Dickinson was very pleasant and we had a great conversation. She grew up in North Dakota, just over the South Dakota border. She knew of Aberdeen, where I grew up, so we had a lot of fun talking about the old country. Ted Neely from “Jesus Christ Superstar” was there and I had him sign a photo he and I had taken with Carl Anderson back in the early 90’s. We were all backstage after one of their live “Superstar” performances at the Universal Amphitheatre. Carl’s been gone for several years now, and Ted looked at the picture for awhile. I could tell he was getting emotional. He asked if I would make him a copy of that photo. I said it would be my honor. I told him I knew of Carl because we played a lot of his music on 95.7 The Wave when I was a DJ there. Ted asked if I was still a DJ and I told him I quit radio and went into voice-over full-time back in the late 90’s. He asked about some of the things I did and when I mentioned “TTS” he lit up. “I watch every night!” Then I did the “TS” announcer voice for him and he laughed heartily. “I should be asking for YOUR autograph!” I told him it was worth about 3 cents on eBay. We had a great chat, but his line was getting long so I bid him farewell to let the other people have a chance to talk to him. Great guy. Sitting next to Ted was the great Barry Dennen, who played Pilate in “Superstar.” We had a great chat and I found out we have the same voice-over agent. It occurred to me as we were talking, that he did the voice for Chamberlain in “Dark Crystal.” I immediately slapped my forehead and realized I had forgotten to bring “Dark Crystal” stuff! Oh rats! But Barry gave me his contact info so we could meet up and he could sign some stuff for me later. Cool! I also had Howard Hesseman sign my “Tunnelvision” movie poster and DVD. “Tunnelvision” is one of my all-time favorite movies, and parodies a lot of TV shows. It’s edgy and fun, and in a way a little prophetic. It offers an early 70’s view of what TV would be like in the mid 80’s. Including a lot of profanity-laced, sexual, trashy TV shows. And what do you know…that’s pretty much what REAL TV is like today! Nell Campbell (Columbia) from “The Rocky Horror Picture Show” was there, so I had her sign a few things. I ran into my old pal Mike from Chicago, and we went next door to the Daily Grill to grab lunch. Mike called Butch Patrick (Eddie Munster) to come join us, and we had a great time. After lunch we went back into the show so I could get a picture with the lovely Loni Anderson. The last time I had met her the photo we took turned out blurry, so this was my chance to get a better one. Michael Pare was there, and he had worked with a friend of mine a long time ago in a film called “The Dangerous.” In fact, I have the laserdisc of it, and my friend Sherlyn and he are on the cover embracing. Pretty cool. Ron Dante, who was the singing voice for Archie in “The Archies” cartoons, signed my Archie fan club poster. It’s a very rare poster that you could only get from the fan club. I had one back in the day, but it didn’t survive. The one I have now was bought from a friend about 12 years ago. I remember spending hours looking at that poster when I was a kid, and being mesmerized by the bright, vivid colors. Ron said he hadn’t seen one of those in a very long time. We finished up our autograph seeking and headed home in bad traffic. I liked the show better when it was in Burbank, because I could stay there all day and not have to think about the time. Now that it’s all the way down by LAX, I constantly have to do math in my head to anticipate when the traffic will turn bad, and when we have to leave. It puts a serious damper on the fun element of the show. If the show doesn’t come back to the Burbank area again, I may stop going, as it’s often times not worth the hassle of all the traffic. The attendance was considerably lower than the last show, so apparently I’m not the only fan who feels that way. I hope they can find a better home soon. Speaking of home, I made it back home in time to grab a quick nap before movie night. We watched another episode of “Van Dyke and Company” (Dick Van Dyke’s 70’s era variety show), and “Ed Wood.” When everyone left at the end of the evening I put away all of my newly autographed stuff, and continued unpacking from Palm Springs. I got a chance to enjoy a quiet night at home relaxing, and looking forward to getting back to “TTS” on Monday.

Sunday the 21st – LONG TIME, NO SEE! – I slept all day, but got up in time for evening church. Roxy and I walked over for the service, and afterwards I came back home to meet my pals Edi and Ems for dinner at Paty’s. I had just returned home when I got a text from my old pal Robert Hall from Almost Human Special Effects. He’s one of the top make-up/effects guys in the business, and now he’s doing a lot of directing. I saw him briefly at Monsterpalooza last weekend, but I hadn’t had a chance to sit down and talk with him in years. I invited him over, so he popped by and we had a great chat! In the late 90’s he and I were inseparable, but in the early 2000s I moved out of the Westside, and he got married. I’m so glad he came by, and we promised to keep in better touch. I had a ton of catching up to do, so I sat down at my desk to do some organizing. I had a bunch of paperwork to do, a few auditions, and some prep for the new week. As I was getting ready for bed I heard a screaming commotion outside the building, most likely in the courtyard. Not sure what it was (my neighbors had said they spotted coyotes in our area recently) I grabbed my Walther PPK-S, slapped a loaded magazine into it and quickly got dressed to see what was going on. Was somebody’s cat or dog being attacked by a coyote? Was a PERSON getting attacked? I got out there and didn’t find anything. I started thinking that a few of the noises I heard sounded a lot like some raccoons I had heard in Palm Springs once. It was a little squealy hooting-type of sound. So perhaps a few rascally raccoons got into a tiff. I came back inside and went to bed.

And how was YOUR week?!!!

VIDEO &PIX FROM THE WEEK

The lovely Loni Anderson at the Hollywood Collector Show over the weekend.