Monday the 18th – WOLFMAN WOW! – I went to the Warner studios to audition for some vocal effects for the new “Wolfman” movie, directed by Joe Johnston and starring Benecio Del Toro. I hadn’t heard much about the movie, and I totally missed the panel they had at the San Diego Comic Con, so I went into it totally blind. But after they showed us a few clips and had us add our vocal effects to it, I was totally sold! This movie is going to be awesome! And Del Toro even resembles Lon Chaney Jr. a little bit! Not sure if I’ll be working on it yet or not, but fingers are crossed. And Joe Johnston is a great guy, very pleasant and down-to-earth. Later that afternoon, I went back home to rest. I had just gotten over some sort of sore throat virus (see last week’s Wally’s Week HERE) and I was trying to rest up so I wouldn’t get a relapse. I felt pretty good but I didn’t want to push it.
Tuesday the 19th – THE GARFIELD GANG! – I was up early and headed over to Buzzy’s in Hollywood to record another day’s worth of Garfield episodes. We actually got to see some completed episodes and this cartoon is going to be awesome! It goes on Cartoon Network in the spring of ’09, and the pacing, the color, the music, the sounds, the animation (and of course the VOICES!) all work marvelously. Director Mark Evanier brought in a DVD of a few episodes and the entire cast was flabbergasted! I was also flabbergasted because I got to stand beside the great Stan Freberg, who was a guest on one of the episodes! Stan’s material has been featured on the Dr. Demento Show for years, and THERE HE WAS IN THE STUDIO TO MY RIGHT! Now, this story has to be set up somewhat…Stan recorded a record a long time ago called “John and Marsha.” Basically all it was, was some music and a man and woman saying each other’s names over and over again. But the brilliance was, is that they managed to say each other’s names (John and Marsha) with a different meaning and intonation each time they said it. If you haven’t heard it, it’s definitely a thing to hear! They tell a whole story about their relationship, and all they say is…”John…..Marshaaaaaa.” It’s a comedy classic. So there we were in the studio rehearsing. We had just been given our scripts and Frank Welker, Gregg Berger, Jason Marsden, Audrey Wasilewski, Stan Freberg and I were all going through the scripts highlighting our lines. Occasionally we would speak our lines out loud under our breath to try and wrap our tongues around the words. So remember that my character’s name is JON. So Frank had a line as Garfield, where he starts out saying Jon’s name. So Frank says (under his breath)..”Jon…” and without missing a beat, Stan Freberg retorts with…”Marshaaaaaa.” It was one of those great moments I’ll always remember, and hopefully not one of those where you “had to be there.” We all had a great time, and a great day. That night my pal Fred Westbrook, GloZell Green and I met up with our buddy Chuck McCann at Bob’s Big Boy for our usual Tuesday night get-together. It was a great night!
Wednesday the 20th – OFF TO THE WESTSIDE! – I went over to Gray Martin Studios in Santa Monica to do some commercials for Qwest. It’s always nice to be on the Westside of LA…near where I first lived when I moved her 21 years ago. But I still was feeling a little odd, so I went home to rest up before evening church. I did go to evening church, and decided that I needed to start my exercise regimen again. So that night I went jogging and did two miles. I felt really great afterwards, and I promised myself I would stick to it.
Thursday the 21st – BATMAN ARKHAM ASYLUM! – Awhile back the news broke about a new Batman videogame called Batman: Arkham Asylum. Well, I went to the session at Salami in North Hollywood to work with my pal, Casting Director Collette Sunderman. I’ll be doing three characters, Robert “Bob” Johnson – a guard, Adrian Chen, and one of the Joker’s henchmen. It was a lot of fun, and the game looks to be fantastic! More details on that later! That afternoon, Scott Sebring came over and we dealt with some computer issues. I took a short snooze on the couch while he worked away, and then I had to head out to a meeting at the church. When I got back, Scott and his wife Vickie and I, took my dog Sassie down the street to a local cafe and had some dinner on the patio. I love walking down there with Sassie and having a nice dinner in the cool evening air. My pal Chuck McCann soon joined us with his dog Judy and we all had a great time. But I had to get back home and do some auditions and prepare for the next day’s activities.
Friday the 22nd – END TO A BUSY WEEK! – I was up early to head to the “Gormiti” session at Studiopolis Burbank. Then I headed back home and had lunch. I did some work around the house and rested until I had to be at Voice Trax West for another session. For the eighth year in a row, I’ll be narrating the new Multi-Media Assemblies project that goes into schools all over the country and speaks to kids about the problems they’re facing in their everyday lives. The name of the show this year is “Showtime.” It’s always great to work with my buddy Jim Hulihan on these worthy projects. But at the session I started craving barbecue beef brisket. So when I was done I headed over to Jerry’s Famous Deli and grabbed some beef brisket. Then I went home, grabbed a nap and then got up later and jogged 2 miles. When I got home from my run, I remembered that there was a Laurel and Hardy marathon on TCM, so I made a sandwich, some popcorn, iced up a Coke in a glass bottle, and enjoyed watching some of the old L&H two reelers I used to watch on TV as a kid! It was very nostalgic for me. The first one I watched was “Brats”, where Stan and Ollie play their own kids. GENIUS! I ended up watching Laurel and Hardy until dawn!
Saturday the 23rd – SWINGIN’ SATURDAY! – I picked up my friend GloZell and we looked at a house owned by a friend of hers that we’re considering for a shoot. Then we went over to my friend Fred Westbrook’s house to lay around by the pool. We were joined by Scott and Vickie, and eventually Chuck McCann. We talked a length, but then Chuck decided he was going to go to the Playboy mansion and have dinner. GloZell had to get going so she could start organizing for a party she was having that night, and I went home to grab a shower. Scott and Vickie came over to hang out, when I got a call from Chuck. He was done at the mansion and wanted to know if we were interested in seeing a movie at his place! WERE WE!? Sure! So Fred came over, Chuck dropped over, and I was ready to go. We were all watching Laurel and Hardy on TCM, and Chuck pointed out a scene that he said was one of Stan Laurel’s favorites. Chuck knew Stan very well, and he got all the great inside info from Stan throughout their friendship. It’s the scene in “Swiss Miss” where Stan is feigning illness so the St. Bernard dog will give him some of the brandy in the barrel around his neck. Hilarious! Chuck said Stan did it all in one take! Then, Chuck, Fred and I decided to stop over to GloZell’s to look in on her party. We stayed for awhile, and then made it back to my house to grab Scott and Vickie. We started out by meeting Chuck at Menchie’s, a new frozen yogurt place in Sherman Oaks. After we had dessert, we drove to Chuck’s and watched a special he did in 1972 called “Clowing Around.” It was the last thing Ed Sullivan ever did. It was an amazing show with circus acts from all around the world. It was also fun getting commentary from Chuck as it went along. Then we watched a Laurel and Hardy pilot he did in 1974. But it was getting late. So we all took off and went to our houses. I spent the rest of the night watching “Charlie’s Angels” on DVD…as I’m just now starting the third season.
Sunday the 24th – EVERY HAVE ONE OF THOSE DAYS??!! When I woke up I could tell right away that nothing was going to go right. I had developed a leak in my kitchen ceiling (which is right underneath the upstairs bathroom) so I had my contractor friend Terry come over to see what was causing it. I was supposed to be bringing pizza to my evening church service, so I called the pizza place to see how I could make this happen. But the guy working there wasn’t understanding what I was telling him about delivering pizzas to the church, etc. I got frustrated and hung up. Then he called me back and tried to disguise his voice saying that he was the manager, but it was the same automaton I was just speaking to. I told him I was going to call Pizza Hut instead and hung up. I just about had it! When I called Pizza Hut, their phone message said they were closed! CLOSED?! At 1 in the afternoon? I was frustrated, and realized quickly that I wasn’t going to be able to make the pizza thing happen. In fact, until Terry and I found out what was causing these leaks, I probably wouldn’t even be able to make it to church anyway. So I called the appropriate people, explained the problem, and they handled it. I was focused on fixing these leaks so I wouldn’t have water leaking through my kitchen ceiling any more. Well, Terry found the leaks and we set about patching them up. It took the majority of the afternoon, and by the evening Terry and I were ready to take a dip in the pool and jacuzzi. Then we walked down to the local cafe with Sassie and had dinner on the patio. Then I went home, laid on the couch for about 20 minutes while Terry fixed some last minute things, and then got up when it was time for him to leave. Then I got my jogging duds on, took a 2 mile run, and then watched another “Charlie’s Angels” episode before going to sleep.
And how was YOUR week??!!
