RANDOM PIC OF THE WEEK
Where was this shot when I was a kid?! I would have loved to have seen a Behind-The-Scenes shot of “Empire Strikes Back” with director Irvin Kirschner and a stripped down Darth Vader!
Back in the late 90s I loved the band Smash Mouth. I felt their “retro vibe” was just what that decade needed. Unfortunately the band is no longer around, but boy they had some great hits! Like “Then the Morning Comes!”
Monday the 30th- MARSHALLING, MAHNA, & MOORE! – Most of the day was spent not doing anything. Bruno Mars would have been proud. There’s not really much to do anyway, seeing as how the year is winding down very quickly. I’m marshalling my energy to tackle the challenges in the new year. I typed out Wally’s Week and sent it over to my webmaster Scott Sebring for posting. I got some updated pictures of the new Mahna Mahna Muppet replica that a builder in Chile is making for me, and it’s looking amazing! I made one a few years ago, and while it was a beautiful puppet, I don’t think I captured the look nearly as well as this builder did. I’m looking forward to getting the new Mahna in-house. I took this open free-time opportunity to install another set of incandescent blue rope lights. They’re getting harder and harder to find because of the advent of LED rope lights. But even at their lowest setting I don’t feel that the LED rope lights give me the soft glow I’m looking for in the Tranquility Zone. They always seem too bright and garish. I’ve had a set of red, and two sets of blue in my Tranquility Zone since I set it up in 2014. But over the past 10 years entire 3 foot sections of the rope lights are burning out. I removed all the old rope lighting and installed new rope lights that I was able to find on eBay and Amazon. They’re all looking good! I took my nightly WOG (walk/jog) and then came inside to do some editing and organizing on my computer. I also came to the realization that the black necktie that Roger Moore is wearing toward the end of “The Man With The Golden Gun” is actually a knit tie; which would make sense because they were popular for about 10 minutes back in the 70’s. I found one on eBay that was for sale in the UK and I bought it for the Roger Moore mannequin I’m having made. It’s all coming together!
Tuesday the 31st – TRADITIONAL NEW YEAR’S EVE BUSY-NESS! – Before having lunch I stopped by my box to get my packages. I got a fantastic new Laurel & Hardy book that’s so thick and heavy I almost can’t lift it with one hand. There are so many great pictures, and so much great information in this book, that I’ll be perusing this one for quite a while! And this is only volume ONE! WOW! I also got a DVD of “A Muppet Family Christmas,” but when I opened the package it seemed like it was a bootleg, for some reason. But no, it was the official release. Unfortunately this one is the edited version that appeared on American TV in the 80’s. I’ll have to go on-line and try to find the uncut version that has extra footage. I also got in a black necktie, but it won’t be usable for my James Bond/Roger Moore figure – now that I’ve discovered that the real tie was knit. But this is a very nice silk tie which I’ll unfortunately never use because I’m more of an ascot guy than a necktie guy. Just like we did on Christmas Eve, I met my pal Chris Malmin for lunch at Paty’s so we could talk and catch up. I’ve known Chris since 1985 when we were both young actors in Sioux Falls, South Dakota dreaming of getting to Los Angeles. What fun! I headed over to CVS to pick up some supplies, and then I got some grocery items. I got home and put everything away and then decided to nap for a bit. I was awakened at midnight with a glorious fireworks display off in the distance. It was nice lying there in my bed watching the amazing pyrotechnic exhibit from the comfort of my cozy sheets and comforter. I got up to do some of my traditional New Year’s Eve work and I got a call from my girl Angi, who was off in Washington D.C. visiting family. I guess the phone call served as a virtual New Year’s Eve kiss. I got dressed and took my nightly WOG but it was cold! I guess I’m conditioning myself for my upcoming trip to South Dakota for my dad’s 90th birthday. But there it will be about 40 degrees colder than here. Buckle up! As is usual on New Year’s Eve, I clear my file cabinets of all my bank statements, pay stubs, corporate bookwork, and receipts, and place them in large envelopes for my accounting team. This way my file folders are open for the new ephemera that’s yet to come. I checked out some news on-line and I’m feeling good. I really hope 2025 will be a great year. I made a salad and watched another episode of “The Incredible Hulk” on Blu-ray. After this I only have one more episode to watch in the fourth season, and then my DVD viewing will turn to a different series.
Wednesday the 1st – HAPPY NEW YEAR! – As expected, it was a very low-key day. I lounged around, spent a little time with Spooky my cat, worked on the computer, and later I took my nightly WOG. I’m really feeling good about the new year.
Thursday the 2nd – HIATUS: BIG LEAGUE CHEW! – The afternoon was gorgeous and warm, so I took advantage of the amazing weather and grabbed a quick salad on the patio at Paty’s. But then I had to head to my dentist’s office to get some work done. I had a very small cavity in one of my teeth on the lower right side. In the tooth right beside that one, I had a slightly larger cavity that would need an “onlay.” An onlay (I had one a few years ago) is like a partial crown. It’s for teeth that don’t require full crowns, but for when a standard filling procedure would be inadequate. Think of it as a prosthetic piece of tooth that’s permanently glued onto the real tooth. I got numbed up, the dentist did the work, and off I went to enjoy the rest of the day. While I have a temporary filling as I wait for two weeks for the onlay to be created, I’m unable to eat anything sticky or chew gum. Rats! I like chewing Big League Chew on my WOGs because it helps me keep my timing while I exercise. And yes, I CAN WOG and chew gum at the same time! On the way home I got the Gray Ghost filled with gas, and took advantage of the robotic car wash they had on-site. The pool ol’ Ghost was filthy. And while a hand wash wasn’t possible at the time, I figured this would do in the short term. It took a while waiting in line behind all the other cars, but I just sat there and enjoyed some music while I waited. Unlike all of the “robo washes” from back in the day, this one comes with a cool LED light show. Pretty fun! I went home and did some work, rested and relaxed for a while, and then got up later to work on the computer. I’m anxious for the world to return to normal after a two-week holiday slumber. I took a “gumless” WOG and then came inside to clean up and hit the hay.
Friday the 3rd – A WELL HUNG…CANE! – My maids arrived in the mid-afternoon to clean Planet Wallywood. When they finished I felt it was a good opportunity to finally hang the Stan Laurel cane that had been gifted to me by my friend Tyler. It’s a cane that’s over 100 years old, and it’s one of the ones Stan Laurel used to use when he was doing his impersonation of Charlie Chaplin’s “Little Tramp” character. Stan was Chaplin’s understudy for many years, so Stan actually performed this character many times. I’m sure he used many different canes during this time, but this cane was given to Tyler many years ago by Lois Laurel. They were friends until her passing in July of 2017. I had already mounted it in a Plexiglas case I bought on Amazon, so it was ready to go. Cases of this type are made for displaying collectible baseball bats, but the sizing worked out perfectly for Stan’s cane. I had to have Alex In Wonderland do some minor customization to accommodate the cane, but it’s a beautiful display. I measured everything once, and then measured everything again just to be sure. I pounded the nails in the wall where the case would hang, and eventually got the case hung on the wall, and got the information sign mounted as well. It looked amazing! Since I had the available time, I also set about prepping for the arrival of the new Mahna Mahna puppet, which was on its way to L.A.! My original intent was to have this puppet on display downstairs in the living room next to my “travel” Cookie. I had also intended on using this Mahna puppet for travel, but it’s such an amazing piece I don’t think I’ll ever remove it from the house, except under special circumstances. So I needed to find space for it in my display cases in the Tranquility Zone. I like having my Muppet replicas on display in my bedroom, as it makes me happy to look at them. And don’t we all want a sense of peace and happiness every time we drift off to sleep? I have one case that contains characters from “Sesame Street.” The cabinet even has a cool wooden street sign that looks like the one from the show (I bought it a year ago at Sesame Place; a “Sesame Street-themed” water park in Chula Vista, California). On the top shelf of this Sesame case I have Green Grover, Beautiful Day and Prairie Dawn all hanging out. In the bottom section of the case I have The Count. Because he’s a large “live hands” puppet he’s by himself. But I started thinking of ways that I could move my Roosevelt Franklin replica out of the case he’s in now in order to make room for the new Mahna Mahna replica. The logical place to put him would be the Sesame case, since he’s in keeping with the theme. After doing some measuring and work with Roosevelt, I figured out a way to do it! Luckily he’s very small, so it looks like he’ll be enjoying a new home with The Count. And really – the Count was looking very lonesome down there all by himself anyway, so I’m sure he’ll appreciate the company. That way, all of the “Sesame Street” characters in the Tranquility Zone will be together. I have two Cookie Monsters that are downstairs (one is in the kitchen keeping an eye on the cookies), Oscar the Grouch which likes the solitude of his trash can in the living room, and Super Grover is mounted from my living room ceiling as he’s on perpetual patrol for wrongdoing!
Saturday the 4th – DREMEL, DENTISTS & DOING STUFF! – Since I needed to make a new display base for my Roosevelt Franklin Muppet replica’s new home with the Count (the rod had to be taller and the base had to be more narrow), I headed out to Anawalt Lumber to get all the necessary components and materials so I could make the stand later that night. After a quick stop through the McDonald’s drive-thru I sat in the Anawalt parking lot and ate my Big Mac while I chatted with my dad on the phone. This made me a bit nostalgic, because when I was a kid my Dad would occasionally take me with him to his office on Saturdays so he could tie up a few loose ends from the week’s work. His office in Aberdeen, South Dakota was across the street from the Moccasin Creek, and right by the new McDonald’s restaurant that just opened up in town. After he finished his odds-and-ends at work, he and I would pop over to McDonald’s to get lunch together. Good memories – a Saturday afternoon with Dad eating a Big Mac! And now we were doing it virtually. Perhaps when I’m back in Sioux Falls in a few weeks for his 90th birthday, I may take him out to McDonald’s to get lunch. This time…I’LL pay! I went inside and ordered the custom-cut baseboard for Roosevelt, and found the proper gauge of wood dowel for the rod. I also picked up a few other things including a new Dremel tool! I’d been wanting to get one of these things for a while – and now is the time. I’m getting tired of hand-sawing and hand-sanding whenever I have a project come up. This versatile tool will do all of that, and more! Now if I can just avoid cutting off a finger! I stopped by my box to pick up a package, and I got to chat with a few friends for a very long time on the phone. It was really nice to have non-rushed phone conversations with good friends. When I got home I relaxed for a while. Later I got up to work on the computer, took my nightly WOG, and then made the new Roosevelt Franklin display stand. His former stand will most likely be perfect for the new Mahna Mahna, since all the dimensions of the stand already fit in the display case where he’ll eventually live. I cut the wood dowel to size (until I can read all the instructions for the Dremel tool, I figured I’d just cut this one by hand), and brought up some Ultra-Suede and spare fleece material from the garage. Before I drilled the hole for the screw, which will hold the rod in place, I took the base upstairs and put it in the Sesame case to make sure it would fit all right. I placed the puppet where I wanted him to be and made the appropriate marks on the base board to denote where the screw should go for the dowel. I went back downstairs and drilled the hole, secured the rod in place, and saw that all was good. I disassembled everything and started covering the base with fleece fabric. I punched four little round pieces out of a substance called L200 (it’s a soft, rubbery substance) and mounted those to the underside of the baseboard to act as coaster pads. Then I put some Ultra-Suede on the rod and waited for the glue to cure. I cut a small piece of foam rubber to mount to the top of the rod, and tied it in with some armature wire. This gives some cushion for the inside of the puppet’s head as it stays on display. The raw end of the wood dowel could potentially damage the foam inside the puppet after a while. When everything was set I screwed the dowel to the base and put it in the case. Then I put Roosevelt on the rod and WOW! It looked perfect! In fact, Roosevelt and The Count seem to be getting on very well together! Since it was the first Saturday of the month (and the year) it was time again for my traditional “Laurel & Hardy Theatre” screening that I do once a month. Though I had received the Blu-ray of “Laurel & Hardy; Year Two” back in November (which contained all of the newly restored silent classics from the second year of their partnership) I held off on watching them until the new year. Tonight was the night! I made my traditional Chef Boyardee pizza, popped some popcorn, got out a banana Twinkie, and dug out the ceramic Stan Laurel mug that my mom made for me at ceramics class back in 1974. I filled the mug with ice and Diet Pepsi and I was ready to rock. If you’re new to Wally’s Week you won’t know it, but all of these elements are things I consume for a very specific purpose. I watched the first two films on the set. The first one was “Leave ‘Em Laughing,” which dealt with (oddly enough – given my past week) a trip to the dentist! In fact, as I was in the dentist’s chair this past week getting my work done, the fact that this film would be on my weekend docket occurred to me. It actually made me chuckle a bit while I was getting drilled. For the silent films I like to watch the film through once with the accompanying music track, and then I like to watch it again with the commentary track. Randy Skretvedt is an amazing L&H historian with an amazing “off-the-top-of-my-head” ability to offer up fun trivia about the filming of the short. However, the second film I watched, called “The Finishing Touch,” had a commentary done by a different guy that wasn’t nearly as fun. Unlike Randy’s fun off-the-cuff presentation, this guy sounded like he was reading a prepared statement. And sometimes he would get ahead of or behind the on-screen action, so what he was talking about (or reading about) didn’t match what was happening on-screen. I’m hoping he’s not going to be doing a lot of the commentaries on this set. Or if he is, they get better. But the films themselves, as well as the restoration they’ve done, are fantastic! During the next date for my monthly “Laurel & Hardy Theatre” I’ll be out of town for my dad’s birthday. And I can’t do it the weekend after because I’ll be doing a convention appearance in Puyallup, Washington. What to do?! Then it occurred to me. My whole reason for trying to recapture the nostalgic magic during my monthly event hearkens back to when I was 13 years old, and staying up late on a cold, snowy Saturday night watching “Laurel & Hardy Theatre” on KABY-TV channel 9 in Aberdeen, South Dakota. But in February I would actually BE in South Dakota (albeit not Aberdeen) on a cold, snowy night. I started making a plan on how I could do my first ever “remote” observance of my monthly “Laurel & Hardy Theatre.” I could pack one of my Sons of the Desert fezzes, my Laurel & Hardy pajamas, and put the next two films on the docket on a drive that I could watch on the TV in my hotel room. I could get a pizza from Boss’ Pizza (the closest thing I’ve found to the original Lu’s Pizza so far) and take it to my room! Oddly enough, there’s a Boss’ location just a short ways from my hotel! Also near the hotel is a movie theatre, where I could buy some hot, buttery popcorn to go! Though I don’t want to risk damaging my original Laurel & Hardy mugs in travel, I’m sure I could let the tradition slide just this once, under the circumstances. The local Walmart in Sioux Falls regularly sells banana Twinkies, so I’m pretty much good to go! How much fun will that be snuggling up in my hotel room bed watching The Boys and eating local South Dakota pizza and popcorn! This will be great! After all, as I’ve gotten older I’ve realized that it’s the ‘little things’ in life that really matter! Big Macs on Saturday with Dad, and cold, snowy nights in South Dakota with Laurel & Hardy films on TV!
Sunday the 5th – WHAT DAY IS IT?! WHERE AM I?! – My gal Angi texted to let me know she made it back home safely. After 15 days of not seeing her, I was ready to get together and catch up! However, because of bad weather in the central and eastern parts of the U.S., her flight DID have to be rerouted through Charlotte, NC. Luckily her doggies back home are doing well, and their surgeries went perfectly. Her doggies’ medical needs were one of the reasons she spent so much time there. But it’s all good news! Later I took my nightly WOG and worked on my computer for a bit. Then I set about working on my Day Planner project. I’ve kept my Day Planners from every year since I moved to Los Angeles. While not being a very descriptive diary of my past experiences, there is enough information to go on to necessitate an extraction of “Notable Events.” It’s my goal to peruse every Day Planner meticulously and glean notable events from them that I can compile in a set of documents. Think of them as historical cliff notes. The years I perused tonight were 1992 and 1993. These were very pivotal years for me. It’s when I started booking Voice Over work and branched out to other performing opportunities beyond my daily job as a radio DJ at a local smooth jazz station. But by late June of 1993 I was laid off from my job due to corporate-wide downsizing. I knew at the time that it would be the best thing for me, as it would “kick my ass” and launch me into the field I really wanted to be in. But sitting in the year 2025 and reading about the progression of events in my 1993 Day Planner gave me a bit of anxiety. Particularly since I made a detailed notation at the end of each week how much money was left in my bank account! I was horrified as I watched it gradually dwindle each week from a starting point of just over $3,000. It was nerve wracking looking at it through the lens of my life as it stands now in 2025. But back then my overhead wasn’t anywhere near what it is today, and prices for everything were much cheaper. Oddly enough, I was WAY more affected by it now than I ever remember being back in 1993 when it was actually happening. Actually, I don’t remember having any anxiety about it at all back then! I just knew at the time that God had my back and it would all work out, and it was a new challenge. But as I got more and more involved in reading the Day Planner I felt bad for all of the missed opportunities and “near misses” that occurred during that time. I had to keep reminding myself that it all had a happy ending, and it all worked out for the best eventually. But like most people do, when they read books and get very involved in the storyline, when I got to the end of 1993 I shut the book and had to take a breath or two. I was so involved in the reading of my history that I didn’t immediately know what day it was, or what time it was. It took me a while to snap out of it and get back to real life. And it was odd that I felt a bit traumatized by reading about it, but back in 1993 I suffered absolutely no trauma at all. I immediately thanked God that He made it all turn out OK. Whew! And one of the biggest things I learned from reading that, was how important saving money is!
Monday the 6th – CHRISTMAS BREAK IS OFFICIALLY OVER! – Now that the holiday break is over, auditions were starting to come pouring in. I recorded an audition in the afternoon, relaxed a bit more, and then my gal Angi came over with her dog Khloe so we could go out. Khloe just had a bath with some coconut-scented doggie shampoo, so she was smelling very tropical. In honor of her lovely scent I started calling her Khloconut! Angi and I went to Citywalk by Universal Studios and had a quick dinner, and then we went to see “Nosferatu” at the theatre. The good news is: I felt like I was watching a real movie again. One where they turn the camera on and let the actors act the scene, without all of the quick cutting and edits that are characteristic of most modern-day films. There was also very little (noticeable) CGI. And the locations were stunning, as was the photography. But because the script was written in such an “old world” way, it was sometimes difficult to ascertain the intent of what it was they were saying. My mind would have to check out for a second and process the line I just heard so I could derive an immediate translation into modern language, and the storyline could progress. But very often, by the time I processed it, the storyline had moved on so rapidly that I got a bit lost along the way. Understandably when you’re reading a book or a script that is written in this old world style it’s a lot easier to process. If you stumble on a word or phrase you’re unfamiliar with, you can stop and process it, and then pick up where you left off without missing any of the story. Not so in a movie where the timeline of the film can’t be interrupted. So I’m assuming the reading of this script was a much more beautiful experience than actually trying to stay abreast of the archaic verbiage as the movie ran. But the biggest disappointment was the main character. There’s an old rule in Voice Acting that goes: accents for characters are great, unless they’re so thick that the audience can’t understand what’s going on. Clarity is king. I can appreciate what the lead actor was trying to do by crafting a certain kind of character voice. Since he was buried under so much make-up (which I felt severely limited the visual expressiveness of the character) he had to make up for it with his voice. But the voice was so guttural and heavily processed, and the accent was so thick (with rolling R’s that seemed to last for an eternity) that I just wasn’t understanding much of what he said. Add to that the “old worldliness” of the script and I only was able to grasp about 45% of what he actually said throughout the course of the film. Angi said she had no problem understanding it, but I’ve spoken with several other people who saw the film who felt the same way I did. A little more clarity would have gone a long way towards enhancing my enjoyment of this film. But overall it was enjoyable. A lot of the traditional vampire lore is never applied in this film, which was both refreshing and disappointing. And to be honest, I wasn’t really taken with the look of the main character Orlock. I felt his look could have been streamlined quite a bit while still maintaining a lot of the creepy vibe. Any further assessment I could offer may affect your enjoyment of the film if you haven’t seen it yet, so I’ll leave it there. But while I walked away from the theatre satisfied that I had just seen a good movie, I couldn’t help but feel a bit underwhelmed. I got back home and did my nightly WOG and then recorded a ton more auditions. Christmas break really is officially over!
Tuesday the 7th – OH $#!+!!! – As I slept during the day, I kept getting awakened by my power going off, and then coming right back on again. Each time that happened I would have to get up and turn off certain lighting elements in the Tranquility Zone. For some reason, some of these LED lighting products turn on after their power has been interrupted, and is then restored. Not sure why, considering that they weren’t on BEFORE the power was interrupted. Perhaps it’s a design flaw, or it may be intentional as a programmed indication to the owner that a power outage had occurred. I got up and texted my neighbor to see if his power was going out too. He said it’s because of the high winds we were having. High winds? I wasn’t aware we were having them, but after looking outside…sure enough! My power kept going out and coming back on immediately so many times, that finally I just unplugged all of the light fixtures that had that annoying aforementioned feature. Eventually I got up and did some auditions and sent them into my agent. I wanted to hurry up and do this before the power potentially went off and stayed off! It always puzzles me about California’s crappy power grid. You know the one. The one that can’t keep my air conditioner on reliably in the summer, and the one that can’t keep the power on reliably when a stiff breeze blows in. But yet by 2030 they want everyone to have electric cars – which requires everyone to charge them regularly using a clearly antiquated power grid. I think the reality of the poor infrastructure situation will make this wish nothing more than a pipe dream. It’s simply not reality. I got cleaned up and got ready for my dinner meeting with my pal Tyler. I was starting to hear about fires breaking out in the Pacific Palisades area, which is far from me and overlooks the ocean next to Malibu. The high winds would only tragically exacerbate those flames. I opened up my garage door and sat in the Gray Ghost to start her up. Off in the western horizon I saw a huge flash – much like lightning, but there were no clouds or storms. The power went out, and immediately came back on. Another huge flash and BAM! The power was out for good. I turned on my headlights and pulled out into the driveway. All the lights in our complex were out! I went into my garage and pulled the hand release of the garage door so I could close it by hand. I figured by the time dinner was over and I got back home, the power would be back on. Luckily the power at Ernie’s Taco House was still on, and I met up with Tyler. As an author and former PR rep I asked his opinion on what he thought the next step for my Christoween project might be. Once he saw the materials he was blown away. He said he never infuses people’s ideas and projects with lies and false hopes, and he’s always very honest about their prospects of potential. I thought to myself, “Uh oh. He hates it.” But he said the concept and presentation that my partners and I had compiled spoke to him of being a multi-million dollar industry. He felt it had a lot of potential to be very, very big. I loved hearing that, and I hope as time progresses Tyler can come onto the team and help this goal become realized! I said he could keep the sampler book I brought for a little while so he could formulate a plan and some ideas. 3 hours later when I returned home, my power was still off. I kept my headlights on so I could lift up my garage door by hand and park my Rav. I used my phone’s flashlight to make my way inside and I found my headlamps that I use when I take my WOGs. Since Spooky’s electric heater that he loves was off, I started a fire in the fireplace for him, got him situated in front of that, and I took a shower and headed to bed. Without power there wasn’t much else I could do. I woke up when the power came back on at 11:30pm. So it had been off about 5 hours. But some people I spoke with days later, who live in other areas of town, said their power was off for about 10 to 12 hours! Some were out of power for 4-5 DAYS! I napped for a few more hours, and then got up to take my WOG. I went on-line to see what the temp was outside to see if I needed to layer up or not. But I couldn’t find EITHER pair of my reading glasses. I have one pair for computer monitor viewing, and another pair that are a little stronger for small print; like bank statements, bills, etc. But BOTH were missing! I was just using one pair earlier as I was checking the texts from my neighbor. What happened to them? I started thinking that they may have gotten accidentally swept into my garbage can while I was fumbling around in the dark. I put on my WOG clothes, donned my headlamp, and went outside to rifle through the garbage bins to see if the glasses were in any of the discarded trash bags. Since it was “garbage night,” my cans were outside. I looked through the garbage bags and no luck. However, with my headlamp still on, I looked up into the night sky and in the beam of light it looked like it was snowing out! Could it be that the wind had been blowing around pollen and junk from the trees and other vegetation? Or was it something worse? Given that I was starting to hear about all of the horrible fires, I started thinking that the flakes in the air might be particulates from the fires. Both options seemed bad to me, so I went back inside and changed out of my WOG clothes. Not gonna breathe that stuff in tonight! I found a few pairs of spare reader glasses and I did a few complex auditions that I couldn’t do earlier when the power was out. I got ready for bed just after dawn on Wednesday morning, and I went outside and shot some photos and video of the dark, smoke-filled skies. This was NOT good!
Wednesday the 8th – QUESTIONS, QUESTIONS! – As I prepped to head out the door to go to the final voice session for the third season of “Bleach,” I started to hear about how the fires were spreading. And not only were they spreading, but they were sparking up in a lot of different areas. Some of the areas were 20 miles away from the original fires. So if these were started by embers, those embers must’ve sprouted wings and flown to the other locations. I was starting to suspect that these were being intentionally set. I had so many questions, as did many other L.A. residents that I spoke with. I went over to Studiopolis and did the voice session for the episode finale of the third season of “Bleach: The Thousand Year Blood War.” It only took about a half hour, but was a lot of fun. I wish the director/engineer Ryan well, as he said they may have to evacuate their home soon. Just terrible. I called my pal Chris Malmin to see if he could meet me for lunch at Coral Café in Burbank. We met there and tried to shut off the world for a while. Lots of crazy stuff was going on. It was starting to seem that a lot of the troubles were due to leadership incompetence in the city of L.A. and at the state level. Heads are gonna roll, I feel. I drove by my box and picked up some packages; one of which was my new Mahna Mahna puppet from Chile! He’s absolutely gorgeous! Then I headed home to do some auditions. It felt good to have a session already in the first week back from the holiday break. Normally it takes a little while for the industry to wake back up from their holiday slumber. As the evening wore on, and I stayed on-line to monitor the news situation, a house fire had broken out in a neighborhood very close to mine. Where I live is in a very flat area and we’re surrounded by concrete. So I feel it has a very low chance of fire danger. But this was a little too close to home. Luckily the fire in my area was dispatched fairly quickly, and it started to seem like it may have been set intentionally by some opportunistic homeowner who wanted to take advantage of the fire situation in town and get the insurance money. But hearing helicopters flying over constantly was a bit unnerving. It was all a very sad, sad situation. I decided to go to bed and hide. I got up later and did some work on the computer. There weren’t any auditions left to do, and I wasn’t going to WOG because of the continuing, horrible air quality. The more news I read about the fires, the more depressed I got. I feel it will change L.A. forever, and take a very long time to rebuild to its once-great glory. Even sadder, was the news I received that my pal Mark Hamill’s Malibu home was completely obliterated. His entire collection of stuff – gone. I scanned some checks and prepped a deposit for the bank on Thursday.
Thursday the 9th – THE DAY AFTER! – The environment seemed very post-apocalyptic as I drove to the bank. Lots of stores were closed and there was very little traffic on an otherwise-busy street. I made my deposits and headed to CVS to get some supplies, and then get some groceries. When I got home I put everything away and did some organizing around the house. The air quality seemed like it had improved a bit, but I still don’t think it’s safe to open the windows quite yet. I relaxed and then did some auditions. I set up my home studio for another Voice Over session which would occur at 2pm Friday from my home studio. Two sessions in one week, and early on in the year! At least with all of the bad stuff happening, there’s a little good news, anyway.
Friday the 10th – ME? GIVING ADVICE TO HIM!? – Like everyone else in L.A., I suspect, I just didn’t sleep that well. Unable to sleep I got up and started making final preparations in my home studio for a Dr. Pepper commercial. But before the session I was able to get through to my doctor for a phone consultation so he could refill a prescription. My regular doctor was at home dealing with fire-related things, so I spoke once again with his partner. The last time I had spoken with him was back in October when I came down with a head cold after the weekend of ELO shows at the L.A. Forum. As soon as the doc got on the phone he said, “I think I have what you had.” He said he’s been under the weather for about three weeks with a cough and he’s felt miserable. I gave him some advice about what I did when I was sick, and how I ended up beating it fairly quickly. Luckily I was able to land my hands on some Ivermectin through an emergency contagion kit I had purchased on-line. I took 7 pills in the morning, 7 pills at night, and 7 pills the next morning. And by the next afternoon I woke up sweaty and the symptoms were completely gone! The doc said, “I’m afraid of Ivermectin, with all its side effects.” This showed me that he was pretty uninformed about using Ivermectin for off-label purposes, something I’m sure other pharmaceutical industry devotees struggle with. I told him it was a Nobel Prize winning drug (in 2015) and it’s been roundly regarded by an entire army of enlightened physicians as one of the safest drugs ever created. It’s even being reported that Ivermectin and something called Fenbendazole are curing some cancers when taken together. I’m sure we haven’t heard the last of Ivermectin, and I will stay ever vigilant in keeping up with the latest news and reviews. I told him that Viagra started out being used for something completely different when it was first introduced, but the industry had no problem using that off-label to help men with their sexual issues. He listened to me intently. I told him that my kit also came with a Budesonide nebulizer that helped me considerably. It’s a steroid system that is mostly used by people with asthma. He was asking me for other pieces of advice as to what he could do to feel better. Maybe I’ll send HIM a bill for my consultation. But if I managed to give him some useful information which may help him to help others, then I’m all for it. I’ve never met him in person but he seemed like a really good guy. I sat down in my home studio at 2 and waited for the producers of the commercial to come on-line, but they didn’t get on with me until about 2:20, because another session before ours was running late. But we got what we needed in about 30 minutes. Then I did some work around the house, relaxed, and decided not to WOG again. It was still too smoky out. I pulled some items out of my collection in preparation for an autograph show I’d be attending on Saturday. I bought a ticket on-line for a photo op with the legendary Ann-Margret, and I can’t wait to meet her!
Saturday the 11th – I MADE ANN-MARGRET LAUGH! – Even though she was supposed to go with me, my friend Sara decided to stay home because it sounded on the phone like she had caught a head cold as well. Probably a good idea not to go to a show filled with elderly celebrities when you’re contagious. I also found out that my friend Officer Mark would not be attending, as he’s keeping an eye on fire-related issues in his neck of the woods. So I went solo. The fact that I was able to find immediate and convenient parking showed me that the attendance at the show had been severely affected by the fire situation around town. Too bad, because the show had some great celebrities in attendance. My friend Emily was at a table assisting a celebrity so I got to talk to her. I also saw my pal Sid Krofft and his assistant Kelly. I ran into a lot of old friends and it was great seeing everybody. My pal Joey Torino was there with his cousin Jesse, and I ran into my old buddy Sam Kwasman. Sam has performed the voice of Donald Duck for many years, and I first met him at the AIDS radiothon we had at 94.7 The Wave back in 1993. He was kind enough to cut some Donald Duck voice messages for donors who supported the cause financially. We’ve been pals ever since, but I haven’t run into him for several years. At 2:00 I lined up in the Ann-Margret photo op line. This system is tight and efficient, and they run people through pretty fast. You only have time to say a quick “hi” to the celebrity, then smile for the camera, click, and then they’re on to the next customer. Then you make your way out of the photo booth and line up to get your print – which is printed right then and there via a Bluetooth connection with the photographer’s camera. It’s really quite ingenious. The photo I took with her was so good I decided I would try to have her sign that as well. After the photo op she was going to take an hour off for lunch, and then go back to her signing table upon her return. Joey, Jesse and I were starving so we went across the street to Denny’s to get some food. But just as we got settled and ordered I got a call on my phone from Nery at Celebworx. Nery represents me for several of the conventions I fly to, and they also arranged for Ann-Margret to appear at this show. He was giving me the heads-up that Ann-Margret was on her way back to the signing table, and if I met them there in a few minutes he would slide me into the front of the line so I could get my stuff signed. Sweet! It pays to be family! I grabbed my stuff, told Joey and Jesse to start without me, and that I’d be back soon. When she returned I unfolded my original one sheet poster from the film “Magic,” one of my all-time favorite thrillers. She looked at the poster with awe (I think I may have been the only guy to bring up a “Magic” related item that day!), and then she looked at me and said, “Scary!” We spoke about the film just a bit and I told her the other signature on the poster was from Ed Lauter who played her husband Duke in the film. Then I showed her the photo we took at the photo op and she said, “My. You look happy.” I said, “You have no idea how happy I was. I had waited all my life for that moment.” She chuckled a bit and I said, “Even when I was a kid I said – there’s something special about that girl but I don’t know what it is! And then when I got older – I found out what it was!” She laughed heartily and said, “You’re very funny.” She also signed my Blu-ray covers for “Viva Las Vegas” and “Bye Bye Birdie.” She’s a total legend, and I’m glad I got to meet her. She was absolutely delightful! Afterwards I went back to Denny’s to finish up lunch with the guys. We stayed at the table for several hours and chatted, but then it was time to head home. What a day! When I got back home I chatted with my computer guy Brian and he looked in on my system to assign a time for another weekly back-up of my data. After suffering through the hard drive meltdown of this past summer, I’m not taking any chances! I want quadruple redundancy from now on! I put my signed stuff away, recorded an audition and relaxed a bit. Later I decided to do some customization on my new Mahna Mahna puppet. While he’s perfect in every way, I needed to separate the two cables that work his eye mechanism. His hollow eye sockets are made of cones of foam rubber that have strands of fish line running through them. The fish line extends down inside the length of the puppet’s body, encased in thin medical tubing, and then comes out the bottom. Both strings are then attached to a tongue depressor. So when the tongue depressor is pulled down to the right, he blinks his right eye. When it’s pulled down and left, his left eye blinks. When the tongue depressor is pulled straight down, both of his eyes blink. It’s a brilliant but simple design. To keep things uniform in the puppet’s interior, the builder joined the two cables together with electrical tape and a cloth cover. But I found that the cables being joined didn’t give me the wide range of movement and articulation that I have on the Mahna Mahna puppet that I made. My pal Drew Massey, who helped me build my Mahna, suggested that we run each cable down the opposite sides of the puppet and keep them as separate as possible. This gave me a lot of room to manipulate each eye individually. I took the new Chilean Mahna and cut off the fabric cover, and then separated the two cables. I safety- pinned them to the interior of the puppet’s body on opposite sides. At the bottom I stitched the cables to the body with thread to secure it even more snugly. Then I put the puppet on again and worked him in the mirror. The separation of the cables worked really well! It’s a gorgeous, gorgeous puppet! The builder did a terrific job. I made a salad and watched another episode of “Boris Karloff’s Thriller” before bed. It was a fun episode that featured Tom Poston, Elizabeth Montgomery and John Carradine! The turn of events at the end was very “Twilight Zone-ish!” It was fun!
Sunday the 12th – AQI! – As is usual with a Sunday, I spent most of my day resting and relaxing. I keep checking the AQI (air quality index) so I can see if it’s safe to get back to doing my nightly WOG. But I decided to give it one more night before I went back to it. But I’m going to try my hardest to go out on Monday night, because there will be a beautiful full “Wolf” moon out that night! Later I started typing out my two weeks’ worth of Wally’s Week experiences! Since a lot had been going on this would require several hours of work. This week’s upload will really be an opus!
And how was the beginning of YOUR new year?!
PIX FROM THE WEEK
Getting to meet the legendary Ann-Margret was amazing!
Starting the year right…with a GREAT blood pressure reading!
The Count gets a friend! Roosevelt Franklin moves to the “Sesame Street” cabine in the Tranquility Zone. I’m diggin’ how this looks!
On January 8th, the Los Angeles skies were darkened with ominous clouds of smoke from the area fires!
It’s the first Saturday of the month, AND THE YEAR! It’ll be another fun night of “Laurel & Hardy Theatre” with movies and reading!
The Stan Laurel cane has been officially added to the Planet Wallywood collection! It’s beautiful!
Speaking of beautiful…my new Mahna Mahna puppet, built by Marcos Hanglin in Chile, is absolutely gorgeous!
As I strolled through the neighborhood the morning after the Pacific Palisades fires began, the otherwise blue sunny sky was partially blacked out with a dark smokescreen.
