April 23 – April 29 (2012) – Wally On The Web

RANDOM PIC OF THE WEEK

For some reason, Roxy began a nap with her teeth nudged against my friend Amanda’s foot. How strange?!

An obscure song popped up on my i-Pod while I was relaxing in Palm Springs doing some stargazing. I hadn’t heard this song in awhile, but it sure sounded good. The artist is a Spanish artist named Bose (Miguel Bose) who did an album in English back in the 80’s, and we played some of his stuff on 94.7 The Wave. This is “New Tracks In the Dust,” a darn sexy song!

Monday the 23rd – GOOD TO BE BACK! – While it was great to enjoy a few days’ rest in Palm Springs, it’s always great to be back at work at “The Tonight Show.” Today would be our first day back after a week-long hiatus. I started the day by checking the e-mail, doing a “Tonight Show” comedy bit at home and e-mailing it in, and heading over to Studiopolis for a quick session for the “Stitch” anime cartoon. We finished up and then I hit Wendy’s drive-thru for lunch. I got over to NBC for the taping and got caught up with some of the crew members and exchanged hiatus stories. It’s always great to be back. On the way home I hit my mailbox and picked up some packages, and then headed home to get a nap. When I got up I did some work around the house, organized stuff, took care of some stuff that needed to be done after my trip, wrote Wally’s Week and then started in on the Season 2 boxed set of “Bionic Woman.”

Tuesday the 24th – US AIRWAYS FULL THROTTLE! –I got up for my usual Tuesday session for US Airways, and found out we have a whole boatload of new prompts to do. It looks like it’s going to be pretty intense for the next couple weeks wedging US Airways in with my work with “TTS” and my work on the new anime cartoon I’m doing. I wish there were more hours in the day! We worked at Voice Trax West for a couple hours and then I met up with Sara at my house to pick up some packages she had for me. Then I went to NBC to tape “TTS.” After the taping I hit UPS and picked up a new teenage sized mannequin. The original Andy Kaufman/Elvis costume I recently acquired was too small for one of the new headless mannequins I bought. So I figured I’d try a smaller mannequin. But when I got home and put the costume on, it was much too big for this mannequin. So the first mannequin was too big, then the second mannequin was too small. Back to the drawing board. Maybe, like Goldilocks, the third mannequin will be juuuuust right! I e-mailed a gal at one of the mannequin suppliers I use and got very specific measurements for one of their headless mannequins. It looked like it was going to fit so I ordered yet a third mannequin. My friend Brittney Powell came over for a bit, we did some work and then I decided to grab a nap after she left. I got up, did my auditions, e-mailed them to my agent, and did some work around the house.

Wednesday the 25th – LET IT RAIN! – I headed over to Studiopolis to do some more work on the new anime series I’ve been working on. stopped on the way to get some lunch at McDonald’s, we worked for a few hours, then I headed to the bank to transfer some funds. We taped “TTS” and then I headed back home to feed my cat Spooky. I did some work, and then I met my pals Edi and Brittney for dinner at Miceli’s. It was supposed to rain all day, but it was slow in coming, so the weather was just humid and heavy. But by the end of the night it had started to rain nicely. It was nice grabbing a nap while listening to it pour outside. Later I got up and did auditions, and then watched another episode of “Bionic Woman” from the Season 2 boxed set.

Thursday the 26th – US AIRWAYS TO GO! – We still have a long way to go on the new list of US Airways prompts, but we’ll get through somehow. We put in another couple of hours of work and carved off a good piece of it. I got a tuna sub at Subway on the way home and got home to do some work and watch my cat Spook look at me with those big sad eyes while I devoured a delicious tuna sandwich. (For the record, I DID give him a few tastes!) I got to “TTS” and did the taping, then got back home to do some work and collapse in bed for a few hours. I got up to do some auditions, and let my friend Edi pick through my closet of clothes that she could wear in Las Vegas for the weekend. Her sister was getting married there and Edi needed a black dress to fit in with the theme. BLACK at a wedding? That’s MY kind of wedding! A little later on my assistant Sara came by to watch an episode of “Bionic Woman” with me.

Friday the 27th – BUT WAIT! THERE’S MORE! –It was time to head back to Voice Trax West to do more US Airways stuff. We finished up, I went back home to do some more work and then headed to “TTS” for the taping. Mel Gibson was on and he’s always great. I had a lot of friends and acquaintances at the taping that day, so after the show I took some of them backstage for the nickel tour. Then a bunch of us met up at Paty’s for dinner, of course after driving through the Bob’s Big Boy parking lot to look at the lovely vintage cars for Hot Rod Friday. I stopped by my box, picked up the third mannequin, got it home and VOILA! It fit perfectly! So I took the teenage mannequin and dressed it in the original Donny Osmond I had laying around. That too fit perfectly! So now I had some new displays in Planet Wallywood. The Andy Kaufman/Elvis costume is going to be awesome! Since I have a mold for Andy’s original lifecast, I’m going to have my effects guy Jim pour up a “positive” in soft material called plasticine. Then my pal Ruben Procopio (amazing artist and sculptor) will be reconfiguring the lifemask’s facial features to look like Andy doing his “Elvis” face. When it’s finished we’ll make a casting of that, and make a fiberglass “positive.” Then Jim will attach that to the mannequin’s body and we’ll have Andy doing Elvis in my house! He’ll join regular Andy, Tony Clifton Andy, and “Heartbeeps” Andy. I’ve got so much Andy Kaufman DNA in my house I could clone an army of Andys! My pal Alex Zsolt was in town doing some concerts, so I asked if he wanted to meet at DuPar’s later for dinner. After we ate I headed home and hit the hay. I was exhausted!

Saturday the 29th – WELCOME ROXY! – When I got up my assistant Sara arrived to stay with the maids while they cleaned. I had to go to Verizon to try and exchange my cell phone. It was the final day of my 14 day window where I could exchange it for a model I really liked. The model I got (after my other phone died a few weeks ago) was aggravating me to no end for several reasons. I just wanted the same model I had before. But the first Verizon store I went to explained that they were a satellite retail store and not a corporate store. Therefore they couldn’t do exchanges. UGH! So I went down the street about 3 miles away to another Verizon store. Same crap. Not a corporate store. The nearest one was further into Sherman Oaks about another 3 miles away. But anytime I’ve ever gone to that location it’s been at least a two hour proposition. I got down the road a little ways, getting more and more frustrated, and I just decided to head back home and forget it. I’ll pay whatever I need to pay to get the model I want. I had insurance on the other phone, but the insurance company sent me the wrong replacement model! Is ANYBODY at Verizon smarter than a 3rd grader?! Running short of time, I decided to pull into my church and meet up with Alex. He would be playing a few numbers at my church on Sunday night and he was running through his Audio-Visual materials with Karl, the technical director. Everything ran well, so I headed back home to load up Roxy’s bed in my car. This was the day she would be coming to Planet Wallywood for good. I was very excited as I drove to Canyon Country to Lassie Land. I couldn’t get there fast enough. Carol the trainer was sad to see her go, but I assured her that it would be great for Roxy, (and me!) and she would only be 15 minutes up the road if she ever wanted to visit. Carol gave me a few pages of notes about the care and feeding of Roxy, and down the road we went. Roxy sat in the backseat quietly and comfortably. I thought about how much she had changed since I first met her. She used to be nervous and restless in the backseat of my car (probably expecting to soon be poked and prodded by the vet) but now she lays down and enjoys the trip like an old pro. (I’m sure she probably suspects there’s chicky involved at the end of it all) Carol had done a tremendous amount of work with her in all sorts of behavioral areas. From getting in and out of the car, to riding in the car, to common manners, to the standard sit and lay down. I kept thinking that Roxy was the canine version of Eliza Doolittle. And Carol was Professor Henry Higgins! She had been cultured! Our first stop off the freeway was KFC to get some celebratory chicky! Then it was off to Rusty’s for a bath. Roxy seemed to like to find the dirtiest places to lay down at Lassie Land. She was a true dog of the land! While she was getting her inaugural bath, I went to my box to pick up some mail. My Riddler figures arrived! I bought 4 of the new Riddler figures from the “Arkham City” videogame. I like to collect figures of characters I’ve provided voices for, but in most cases (Flik, Ant Man, Jon from Garfield, etc.) the characters had been voiced by other actors in the past. But this one was all mine! Even though the Riddler’s been around for decades, this PARTICULAR Riddler was my baby! I was elated. It was turning out to be a VERY good Saturday! I immediately opened one up from the package and started playing with it. He comes with a derby hat and a question mark cane. NEAT! He’s going right in my case as soon as I get home! I drove over to Floyd’s Barbershop to get a cut and color, and then headed home to get Roxy’s poop scoop. I walked over to Rusty’s, walked her home and got her settled in. She’s always been very comfortable at my house, during the weekends I had her visit. And one of the first places she went was the bed in the Puppet Room. Only here a few hours and she’s already staking her claim! I got Spooky fed, and started preparing for movie night. We watched Dustin Hoffman in “Little Big Man” and then the new documentary about filmmaker Roger Corman called “Corman’s World.” Both fascinating films! After everyone left I leashed Roxy up and we went for a midnight stroll to take care of some bathroom duties before bedtime.

Sunday the 29th – ROXY ROCKS! – I know I sound a bit like an overly proud parent (you know the kind…the ones who talk about their children constantly and think their kids is the best ever) but Roxy and I got up around 10 to take a beautiful stroll on a Sunday morning. While I don’t have her on the bed with me at night (she has her own bed on the floor next to mine) I do let her come up for quick naps. She loves that! She gets completely comfortable after a few pets and scratchies, and rests on her side. Or if she’s really comfortable, on her back with her paws in the air! We went back inside to nap until 1pm, and then I got up to go look at a house with my realtor Randy Carver. The house was interesting and had possibilities, but I still think I can find a more suitable one for me and my…ahem…eclectic tastes and artistic proclivities. I got home and showered up, and walked Roxy over to the church. Not only would my old pal Alex Zsolt be playing a few numbers, but I would be singing a tune called “Try a Little Kindness,” made famous by Glen Campbell. The service went very well, and when we were finished I walked Roxy home to get her dinner ready. Then I drove over to Jerry’s Famous Deli in Studio City to meet up with my pal Bruce Kulick and his friends. Sadly, Bruce lost his little 16 years old dog named Joe Joe last Thursday. Little Joe Joe was Bruce’s mascot and buddy, and would go to the studio when he was recording and just lay there and enjoy the music. Joe came to church with Bruce many times when he was playing in our band. He was a fun, feisty little black scrapper of a dog. He loved his food, and he loved playing. He really enjoyed licking people’s feet! Much to the surprise of some of my movie night guests from time to time! Joe’s health had been deteriorating for about the past year, but he always seemed to miraculously pull through somehow. Like I said, he was a scrapper! A little toughie! But advanced years eventually catches up to us all, and he passed away peacefully under a doctor’s care. The doctor was able to keep him as free of pain as possible. Bruce and his girlfriend Lisa stopped over Saturday evening just before movie night, and I was glad he was able to meet Roxy and get some pets and cuddles from her (she seemed to “know” he was in need of some lovin’…funny how dogs are instinctual like that!) Bruce and Lisa also got to meet Robo-Elvis. The loss of a beloved doggie is still all too fresh in my mind, so my heart was with him and I was glad to see him laughing. But it’s still gotta hurt. Anyway, we met at Jerry’s and had good food and fun conversation. The last time I was there with Bruce and his friends like that was after his dad’s funeral a few years ago. Alex had lots to do, so he finished eating and hit the road. Then Amanda came over to help out around the house and hang out. After she took off for home I did my auditions, and Roxy and I hit the hay. This was the first Sunday evening I didn’t have to take her back to Lassie Land. It was great! We had a good time laying on the bed watching “Bionic Woman” and eating pieces of grilled chicky.

And how was YOUR week??!!

PICS FROM THE WEEK

Roxy’s first photo in Planet Wallywood as a permanent resident. “Hmmm…should I conquer the bed in the Puppet Room…”