RANDOM PIC OF THE WEEK

After injuring my lower back Friday afternoon, my pals Brittney and Sara check it out before we go into dinner Friday evening. It’s nice to have friends that care.

Just out of the blue I started singing the hook to this song…”This time the girl is gonna stay. For more than just a day.” I looked it up and found out that it was B.J. Thomas’“I Just Can’t Help Believin’” from 1970. Elvis also did a great version of this as well, but for now here’s B.J.!

Monday the 6th – HIATUS WEEK 2! – Even though I was on hiatus from “The Tonight Show,” I didn’t have much of a vacation. I still had plenty of work to do for other projects. Roxy’s barking woke me up at 6a, about 3 hours before I needed to actually be up. So I called her upstairs and had her get on the bed with me. That settled her down so I could grab some more z’s. After waking up I headed over to Buzzy’s Recording in Hollywood for another couple of Garfield episodes. We were joined by two amazing guest performers today…Bill Farmer and Joe Alaskey. It was a fun day with great episodes. I got back home and grabbed a quick nap before I had to be at Studiopolis to do two hours on the next “Tiger and Bunny” episode. There are only 5 episodes left in the run, so in order to be finished before I have to be back at “TTS,” we need to finish one episode every day for the remainder of the week. So far so good. When I finished I headed home and did some work around the house and fed Spook. I took Roxy for a nice walk around the neighborhood. Then I went upstairs to grab a nap. When I got up later in the evening (I sleep best in short shifts) I recorded my auditions in my home studio and e-mailed them to my agents, did some more work around the house, and then settled in for a few episodes of “Night Gallery” from the Season 3 DVD set.

Tuesday the 7th – HAPPY BIRTHDAY FREBERG! – At today’s Garfield session we celebrated Stan Freberg’s 86th birthday! It was awesome, and it’s always fun to watch Stan work. Laranie Newman was also at the session, and she had this painful sounding cough. I asked her if she had a good doctor and she said she had seen someone but was still coughing. So I told her I would introduce her to my “super doc” Dr. Stephen Patt and he’d fix her right up. I texted him and he happened to be in the area! He said he’d drop by the studio! In about a half hour there he was, stethescope around his neck and doctor bag in hand! He and Laraine went off to an office and he did the exam. He gave her a vitamin shot and a steroid shot to help the coughing. He’s amazing! She didn’t cough the rest of the session! It’s the least I could do for someone I consider to be one my personal “queens of comedy!” She’s right up there in my book with Carol Burnett and Gilda Radner! The episode we recorded involved a nightmare Garfield was having, and it was terrific! Lotsa fun! Lotsa cast members! It was a merry group to help celebrate Stan’s birthday! We finished up and I hung out at Buzzy’s for awhile for an Old Navy session. After finishing that session, I was off and running for Studiopolis for another “Tiger and Bunny” episode. We finished up episode 22, and only had 23, 24 and 25 left to do. Things were going very well! I got home and it was still very hot out. I walked Roxy down the street and she started digging around in a patch of ivy. She surfaced with an old, crappy tennis ball…which she treated like found treasure. Even though it was hot, it looked like she wanted to play ball. So I tossed it a few feet away and she ran to get it with a big smile on her face. She brought it back to me and I threw it again. She was loving it. I was astounded that she wasn’t getting hot. She’s definitely an outdoor dog! But she eventually got tired so we put the ball in a special hiding spot for next time and we went inside to get her a drink of cool water. She looked so stunning running back to me with the ball in her mouth…her hair flowing and bouncy and that giant smile on her face. Pure doggy magic! I grabbed a nap, then got up later to do tons of stuff around the house. I had to crank out a few auditions, and then I settled in to watch a few more “Night Gallery” episodes. Generally they’re pretty good, but it looked like they were running out of steam on a few of the episodes. I was starting to see why they only went three seasons, which is sad because the first two seasons were terrific!

Wednesday the 8th – AUGUST IN L.A.! – Well, our lucky streak of good weather was over. It was now officially August in Los Angeles…with temps over 100 degrees. Yuck! Luckily I got to sleep really late, so I missed most of the heat of the day in my comfy little bed and the AC cranked up. I walked Roxy over to Studiopolis for another “Tiger and Bunny” episode. She had never been to a session with me before. She did pretty well about 3/4 of the way over there, then the heat started to get to her. So I just walked her slowly because I could tell she was getting tired. But once we got into the studio she had a nice bowl of cold water and she was happy as a clam! I hadn’t eaten anything and my stomach was starting to growl on the microphone. So I called my assistant Sara and she brought over a Subway tuna sandwich. The walk home was much cooler and more pleasant. I took a nap on the couch, then got up to do a bunch of things around the house. I also had a ton of auditions to do. Sara brought over take-out food from Denny’s and we watched a few more “Night Gallery” episodes.

Thursday the 9th – BACK BAD! – I got up around noon and cleaned up the house. My pal and webmaster Scott Sebring was going to shoot a quick video of me doing an impromptu tour of Planet Wallywood for a friend. So I wanted to make sure the areas we were shooting in were clean and orderly. It was another beastly hot day. We finished the video, I walked Roxy, and got cleaned up for “Tiger and Bunny.” This was the second to the last episode, and by Friday we’d be finished. After the session I headed home and got cleaned up to meet my pal Ron (a fellow collector) at Jerry’s Famous Deli for dinner. I went home for a quick nap, and then my pal Edi stopped by to say hi. I did auditions and some work around the house like laundry, dishes, cleaning up from the earlier video shoot, etc. I noticed that my lower back was a bit sore, probably from all of the work this week. I stand at all my sessions, and I started counting all of the hours I spent working. If my posture isn’t 100% correct, (back not arched, hips thrust forward) I get lower back fatigue and it sucks. I took a pain pill and went to bed. I finished up the night watching the last episodes of “Night Gallery.” Unfortunately they weren’t very good episodes and I was starting to see why the show was cancelled.

Friday the 10th – A REAL PAIN IN THE…BACK! –I got up late afternoon to walk Roxy and my back was still sore. Plus it was another 100+ degree day. (Is it Christmas YET??!?!!) I came inside and started getting ready for the final “Tiger and Bunny” episode and BAM! I twisted the wrong way and my back went nuts! Severe pain! I went down on all fours trying to bend in a certain way to minimize the pain. Clearly some muscles back there were rebelling from the week’s activities. I don’t normally do this many sessions in a row, and since I stand at all my sessions I must’ve gotten lazy and let my posture slip. It all adds up and gets you in the end. And today, being the last day of the week, it decided to let me know it was unhappy. I totaled up the hours of work…Monday 4 hours on Garfield plus 2 on T&B, Tuesday 4 hours on Garfield plus 1 hour for Old Navy and 2 on T&B, Wednesday 2 hours on T&B, and Thursday 2 hours on T&B. 17 total hours of standing on my feet! YIKES! No wonder my back was fatigued! I called Studiopolis and canceled the “Tiger and Bunny” session. I went back to bed with my legs elevated and some ice on my lower back. I slept for a few hours. Later that night my pals Edi, Brittney and Sara all came by to see if I needed anything. I took a dip in the jacuzzi and started to feel better. We all went to dinner, but carefully. I am really going to have to be conscious of my posture at future sessions! I came home and went to bed after taking an anti-inflammatory. I called my chriopractor’s office and left a message to see if I could get in on Saturday morning.

Saturday the 11th – HOT DAY, SORE BACK…WHAT ELSE? – I got up and checked my voice-mail, but the chiropractor’s office said they couldn’t get me in. So I went back to bed and called Emily my masseuse. She would be coming over for movie night anyway, I told her to bring her equipment to work on my back later. It was another 100+ degree day and I spent it sleeping in my cool, comfy bed with my feet elevated. When I got up I felt a little better, but still a little sore. The heating pad and jacuzzi were helping to settle the sore muscles somewhat. Movie night was a blast…we watched the new Blu Ray releases of “The Incredible Mr. Limpet” and “Clue.” Then it was time for my massage and I felt a lot better.

Sunday the 12th – HOW HOT WAS IT?! – I slept the entire day, and since it was another blazing hot day, I didn’t miss much. I got up for evening church, but wasn’t feeling it. My back was still sensitive and I was groggy. So I laid on the couch with my legs elevated and napped briefly. I hate missing evening church, but I wasn’t going to be very good company. I took another dip in the jacuzzi and then Emily worked on my back some morwe. We went to Paty’s to enjoy dinner on the patio, and after the sun set it was very pleasant. A nice summer evening breeze blew through the patio. I was feeling pretty mellow, but still watching my posture whenever possible. I got home and iced it up and went to bed. Rest will help the muscles get back to normal, and now it’s my responsibility to make sure I don’t reinjure them in the future!

And how was (OUCH!) your week??!!