Since watching the “Heart: Live” Blu Ray, I’ve had a particular song in my mind that they performed. They covered a tune from Elton John’s “Tumbleweed Connection” album beautifully. I couldn’t find a recording of their version, so here’s Elton’s version of “Love Song.” Simple, but powerful
Monday the 8th – VEGAS CALLING? – I got a call in the morning on my bedroom hotline telling me to be at NBC in an hour for a bit for “The Tonight Show.” I called my friend Alex from Arizona who was in town for some Playboy events. We had tried to meet for lunch, but she lost her car keys. Luckily just as I finished the bit at NBC, and was heading over to Studiopolis for another “Bleach” session, she called and said she found her keys. Alex and her friend Allie met me at Studiopolis so I could give Alex a housewarming gift. (She’s moving to L.A. on the 20th). It was a large poster of her as Catwoman from the San Diego Comic Con. Her friend Allie said they were off to Vegas for a few days for some fun in the sun. They asked if I wanted to go along. I was thinking of ways I could take a few days off from my work commitments because I was VERY tempted to take the girls to Vegas. But alas work won out, and I bid the girls a fond farewell and a safe trip to Vegas. I finished up the “Bleach” session then headed back to NBC for the taping of “TTS.” That night I rested up for an early and busy Tuesday!
Tuesday the 9th – THAT BUSY TUESDAY I TOLD YOU ABOUT! – I was up early and headed to Dave and Dave recording studio in North Hollywood to record a radio spot for Sonic. I got there and saw my old pal Sam Riegel was there doing the other part. He and I have worked together on a few cartoons in the past. It was fun chatting in the lounge area while the producers edited together our takes. Sam had been talking about buying a house in Palm Springs, and since it’s one of my favorite places I told him to call my friend Jacklynn Chaney who’s a real estate agent there. I also found out that Sam’s a huge fan of Groo the Wanderer, written by my pal Mark Evanier. I put him on the phone with Mark so he could tell him what a fan he was. When the session was over I headed home for a bit to put some checks together for a deposit in the bank. I headed over to Voice Trax West to do another session for US Airways, then went to my bank to deposit the checks. I had spaghetti on the patio of an Italian restaurant in the area, and got to see a couple of really great doggies. Including a Pomeranian named Pinky! What fun! I stopped at my tailor’s and got a pair of jeans he fixed, then I went home to get ready for “TTS.” When I finished at NBC I headed back home to get ready for another recording session for Paul Michael Glaser’s audio book of “Chrystallia.” At the session, Paul had really gotten the hang of it and was whipping through the book at lightning speed! This was going to turn out GREAT! And getting to work with the guy who brought one of my childhood heroes to life on TV’s “Starsky & Hutch” is really an honor!
Wednesday the 10th – WONDERFUL WEDNESDAY! – I got another hotline call to be at NBC at 1:45 for a comedy bit. So I headed over there, did the bit and then went to get lunch. I don’t normally have to be at NBC until 3:30 for my normal announcer gig, but when I finished lunch it was 3:15. I figured “what the heck” and went into NBC anyway. Good thing I did! I got the word upon walking in that they had decided to tape the show 15 minutes early today. I guess there are no accidents in life, eh? I just happened to be there so it all worked out! After the taping I headed home to meet up with Scott and Vickie Sebring. Scott’s going to help me assemble a new computer system and we were looking over various components. He was also going to assist on recording audio for video clips of Paul Michael Glaser reading his book “Chrystallia” in the audio book session. So we went to Voice Trax West, I introduced everyone to Paul, and we were waiting for our pal Deverill the cameraman to arrive. We started talking about Jim Croce, and other things as we waited. It was fun! My pal Edi showed up too and we all waited in the lobby while Paul recorded two more chapters of his audio book. I figured with the video shoot going on, I didn’t want to be in the way in the studio. Dev and Scott were shooting video clips of him reading so they could be posted on his website. Paul was very happy with the session, as well as the video Dev and Scott shot. Afterwards we all went to grab a bite at Jerry’s Famous Deli and we heard some great “Starsky & Hutch” stories from Paul! We also talked a lot about art, spirituality, positive thought and other random things. What a great evening! Some people at a nearby table recognized Paul and called out to him. He went over to them, shook all their hands and talked to them for a bit. Too cool!
Thursday the 11th – YET ANOTHER INFLUENCE OF MINE! – I got up and set up my recording equipment so I could record some commentaries for a few “Tennessee Tuxedo” cartoons. My old pal Larry Storch would be on the phone recording his side of the commentary in New York. When we were finished, the two audio tracks would be put together for an upcoming DVD release. But first I got a call to record a bit for “TTS” at home, so I did that and sent it over. Then I got the call from Larry. It was great to talk to Larry again, since it must’ve been close to a year since we last talked. I told him I had some bad news. He said, ‘Sassie and Spook?” He knew. I told him I had to let Sassie go about 6 weeks ago and he was very understanding and sad. But we had a great recording session, and he’s always been one of my favorite voice actors! Then just as I was finishing up, I got a call to record another bit for “TTS,” so I did that and sent it over. I noticed that my cat Spook was peeing again. He had peed on one of the vinyl beanbag chairs in my living room, as well as in one of my canvas travel bags. After not having done it for a long time, I wonder why he had started again?! Crazy cat! I headed off to NBC for the second-to-the-last day before a two week hiatus! On the way home I stopped at my friend Kristy’s house to feed her cat. She has been out of town for awhile and needed somebody to fill in for her catsitter who had gone out of town for the weekend. Her cat Osky and I go way back, so it was fun to get to see him again. I was craving Little Cesar’s pizza, so I stopped off and got a pizza and some Crazy Bread. MMM! I got home, got a nap, then woke up to do some auditions and watch another episode of “Mannix.”
Friday the 12th – HIATUS IS HERE! – I got up early to do a session for “The Penguins of Madagascar” for Nickelodeon. I had done the initial tracks a few months ago, but I needed to do some ADR (additional dialogue recording) for some of the scenes. I had driven my Gran Torino over to the studio and took great pride in showing the producers and studio engineer the car. Then I rode over to Toys ‘R’ Us and picked up a Giant Man figure from the Avengers collection! I grabbed some Burger King then went to Skylark studios to record an hour’s worth of stuff for an upcoming videogame. I got to work with the amazing Collette Sunderman again! When the session was over I showed her the Gran Torino, and then headed off to rest for a bit before taking off to the final day of “TTS” before we go on hiatus. But I didn’t get to relax for long. My agent called and said Old Navy needed me for an emergency recording session and how soon could I be to Mai Tai studios in Burbank? I told her I’d be right there, so I hopped in the Torino and headed over. I was limited on time because we were set to tape “TTS” a half hour earlier than normal, so those who were traveling could make their evening flights. I was booked at Mai Tai at 2:35 but didn’t actually get there until 2:40 (stupid slow traffic lights!) I wanted to turn on the siren in my Gran Torino and put the cherry light on the roof of the car to make it quicker, but that would have gotten me a quick trip to jail. But we did everything we needed for Old Navy in a flash and got 45 takes of the tag! Then, I was on my way to NBC (which is just down the street from Mai Tai) and “TTS.” Sometimes this biz really keeps ya movin’! I hit the NBC parking lot just in time, and made it inside to rehearse the opening. Whew! After the show I met up with my Canadian pals Andrew and his wife Tracy. When the show was over we went to feed Osky the cat, then I went to The Smoke house for dinner and met up with my friends Sara, Chuck McCann and Fred Westbrook. By the time I got home it was fairly late in the evening. But I took a nap, and then got up around 1:30 in the morning! I had lots to do around the house. I changed out the posters in my living room, put some DVDs and CDs into my database and did a lot of other random things around the house. By the time I hit the hay to watch “Mannix,” morning was breaking. But it wasn’t sunny. Instead, a beautiful blue-gray overcast filled the sky and it was absolutely beautiful! I just sat there for a short while looking at how beautiful the sky was in the quiet, early morning!
Saturday the 13th – FIRST OFFICIAL DAY OF H IATUS! AAAAAAAH! – Since I had gotten to bed so late, needless to say I slept well into the afternoon. I picked up Sara and headed to Fred’s for some poolside fun and conversation. Then I stopped by Kristy’s to feed Osky again, and then went home to set up for movie night. We watched “Fantasia” and “Fast Times at Ridgemont High” on Blu Ray. My old pal Chris Malmin came over for movie night and gave me shocking news. He was going to be in Minnesota for about two months, donating a kidney to his father! WOW! I’ve known Chris and his dad since I was 25, so this was really a shocker. But Godspeed to Chris for doing this! I’m sure they’ll both come out of it fine! After movie night was over, I looked through my CD collection and pulled out some songs that weren’t on my i-Pod. I spent virtually all night ripping CDs into MP3s on my computer, and putting them on my i-Pod. When I looked at the clock it was after 5am! I was getting to bed as morning was breaking again. And again, it was a beautiful blue-gray overcast. It was deathly still and wonderfully cool. I just sat on my steps for about 20 minutes just letting my mind wander as I looked at the beautiful brightening sky, and feeling the still, cool weather. Getting a moment’s peace is what going on hiatus is all about, right? Then I went to bed.
Sunday the 14th – SLEEPY SUNDAY! – Again, I slept most of the day away. But I did get up in time for evening church. And I’m glad I did. Pastor Bob gave an awesome message. When church was over, my friend Amanda and I met up with my Canadian pals Andrew and Tracy at The Counter in Toluca Lake. The Counter is a wonderful L.A. based hamburger place with terrific hamburgers. I thought it was funny when I walked in. There sitting at a table against the wall with his family, was actor Paul Dooley. Now if you remember, Paul played Wimpy in the “Popeye” movie in the 80’s. I had seen him at Weinerschnitzel before and I quietly laughed to myself “Shouldn’t he be at a hamburger stand?” But this time it all made sense. Here was Wimpy himself at The Counter for a hamburger. TOO PERFECT! We had a great meal then went to Firing Line in Burbank to shoot some guns. Andrew had shot before, but Tracy never had. She was very nervous but shot very well! We shot my .22 Ruger (which Andrew said was like a toy), then we shot my Berette Cheetah (which Tracy was a little more nervous about), and then my new .357 Magnum, which scare the hell out of Tracy. But she shot actually VERY well with it! After the range closed we met at DuPar’s with Chuck McCann for some pie. Then I headed home to do some auditions, type up Wally’s Week and hit the hay. Though I am on hiatus from “TTS,” I still have other bookings to attend. And we had two days of Garfield and Old Navy sessions to start the week! Woo hoo!
And how was YOUR week??!!
