This year I’ve been discovering a whole new crop of “new-favorite” Christmas songs. I’ve purchased about 10 so far on i-Tunes just from hearing them played on satellite radio. I’m not sure why it took me so long to discover this one, but it’s Stevie Wonder from 1967 singing “What Christmas Means To Me!”
Monday the 4th – MADAGASCAR MONDAY! – I got up early and headed to Atlantis Studios in Santa Monica for another “Madagascar”-related project. For about 5 years now I’ve been the “stunt” voice for Ben Stiller’s Alex character in “Madagascar.” It’s a cool character and a lot of fun, and rumor has it that Ben chose me personally years ago when they were looking for “stunt voices.” These are for projects for which Ben isn’t available. I can’t tell you much about the project, but I can tell you that my training with the US Airways job was invaluable for this session. It used something called concatenation, and the US Airways job uses a lot of that technique. After the session I stopped by Arby’s for a roast beef ‘n’ cheddar. Yum! Then I hit It’s a Wrap and bought a few new items. I got a great pair of boots that looked like they’ve never even been tried on, let alone worn. The boots were made in Mexico and they go up to my knees. But there is as flap that goes up over my knees. They’re black leather and size 13! They’re amazing. The bottom soles were virgin! But the best thing about them was the price. They were originally marked at $95, but they had a 75% off tag on it so they ended up being only $23! Not sure what I’ll ever use them for, but for 23 bucks you can’t go wrong! I went off to Kit Kraft to get some painting supplies for my new Phantom mask. Then I got home and got ready for “The Tonight Show.” I headed off to NBC, did the taping and then got back home for a nap. I got up later in the evening and worked around the house and recorded my auditions in my home studio. Then I e-mailed them to my agents.
Tuesday the 5th – GIVE ME A MAN WHO WORKS IN LEATHER! – I got up way earlier than what I needed to, but it gave me the opportunity to do some work around the house. I got organized and then headed off to the US Airways session at Voice Trax West. We worked for a full hour, then I took this great navy blue suede blazer I got at It’s a Wrap (for only 50 bucks!) to several places to see about getting some tailoring done on it. The jacket didn’t have a label in it, and it also had no buttons or button holes. It looked custom-made. The lining was hanging out of the sleeves because it hadn’t been finished. I’m guessing it was custom-made for some production, and they ended up not needing it so it went off to It’s a Wrap. I needed to have somebody finish the sleeves up, but nobody I talked to worked with leather. Their sewing needles weren’t that kind I guess. I went home and let my assistant Sara in so she could let my computer guy in to do some work. We had an early start time for “TTS” so I headed off for my call-time. When the taping was over I went to Milt & Edie’s Cleaners in Toluca Lake and their tailor said he could work on suede! GREAT! So I left the jacket with them and headed home to work with my computer guy. When he finished up I grabbed a nap on the couch with my cat Spook. We turned on the fireplace and listened to some Christmas music. I call it Christmas Nappies, and I always used to like taking Christmas Nappies with my dog Sassie. But this will be the first Christmas in a long time without Sassie, so it’ll be…”interesting” to say the least. I stayed up virtually all night working on stuff around the house and doing auditions.
Wednesday the 6th – BUSY BUSY BUSY! – Once again I got up way earlier than I needed to, so I decided to get busy and organize and label various electronics. I found all the remotes I needed for my various DVD players, labeled them and attached velcro to them so I would never lose them again. Then I got ready and headed into NBC for “TTS,” and the music guest was the legendary NEIL DIAMOND! He is always fantastic! After the taping I went off to JoAnn’s Fabrics to buy some white velcro for my Elvis belt buckle that I made, as well as some nifty silver buttons for my navy blue suede jacket. I met up with my computer guy again to finalize some other issues I’ve been having. Little by little we’re getting everything taken care of. It was more Christmas Nappies with Spook on the couch, then I got up and did my auditions. The Michael Crawford bust I bought recently from artist Ryan Bean also came with a companion mask, that was made expressly for that bust. I had it lying in a drawer for a long time, but I decided to finally finish it up. I’ve made countless Phantom masks back in the day when I was performing as The Phantom, so it would be fun to see if I could remember my techniques. I trimmed the mask with an exacto knife, then sanded any rough edges down until they were smooth. Then I got out my spool of piano wire, my Super Glue and something called Zip Kicker. Zip Kicker is a chemical you spray on Super Glue to get it to harden immediately. Last time I tried this, I glued my fingers to my work table. But it went better this time. I laid the piano wire on the inside of the mask’s upper tip, laid a line of glue on it and sprayed it with the Zip Kicker. So far so good. Then I bent the piano wire to the dimensions of the bust’s head, and cut the wire to the perfect dimension. Then I laid the wire on the inside of the mask right by the ear. I hit it with the glue and Zip Kicker and it worked perfectly! I also glued the velcro to the inside of the buckle I made for my Elvis costume. It was a very productive night, but it involved a LOT of glue! I’ll let everything set overnight, and then start the painting of the mask the next day.
Thursday the 8th – MORE CREATIVE CRAFT TIME! – I got a hotline call in the morning from my agent to be at NBC by 2 to record some bits. As I was about to get into the shower I got another call from NBC telling me there was a script in my inbox to record from home. But there was some sort of e-mail trouble and I wasn’t getting the script. It was getting close to the time I needed to leave, so I showered and got ready. When I got out of the shower “TTS” called again and said that they would record the bit when I came in early. Just before I went to NBC I stopped at Vitamin World and bought some supplements, hit Kit Kraft again for more paint supplies, and then Jack In the Box for some quick lunch to go. I stopped by Milt & Edie’s to drop off the buttons I had bought for my navy blue suede blazer. I got to NBC, recorded the comedy bits, hung out until the taping, and then headed home. I started working on some stands for a few new hand puppets I bought. It involved square pieces of flat plastic and plastic rods to support the puppets. And of course the magical Zip Kicker! It worked perfectly! Then I got ready to paint the Phantom mask. I use 4 separate spray cans of paint…white, cream, gray and pink. It’s a fun time painting these masks, but they can be very difficult. But it’s rewarding when it works out well. I grabbed another nap on the couch with Spook curled up by my chest, then woke up to do my auditions, and do even more work around the house.
Friday the 9th – FUN FRIDAY! – I got up early again, switched my Mustang with my Torino and peeled off down the road. I went to Carroll Casting to audition for a Toyota commercial. Then I took the Torino in for a car wash and wax. It looked fantastic when they were through. It was dirty! Then I stopped by my neighborhood Fast Frame to drop off my Hawaii Five-O badge for framing. I couldn’t wait to see how it turned out! I went to Roundtable for a pizza to go, then I headed over to NBC to record a bit. When that was done I went to Kalmenson and Kalmenson casting to do an audition for Chef Boy Ar Dee. I had some time to kill before the taping of “TTS,” so I went to Gun World to check out the guns. I ended up buying a new nickel-plated model 1911 (that fires 38 supers, not .45 ammo) and a used Walther PPK-S. They’re beautiful! I get to pick them up on the 20th. Just a was leaving to go to NBC, a guy walked in with another used Walther PPK to sell to the gun store. I want to buy that one too, because it was one made in Germany! I got to NBC and met up with my friend Angelique and her mom Joyce. They came to the taping that day, and then the plan was to have them come see Planet Wallywood and then go to dinner. The taping went very well, and then I gave Angelique and Joyce a quick tour of the backstage area. We headed off to my house and gave them the tour. Angeliqe was named after the witch character in the old “Dark Shadows” TV series, so Joyce enjoyed seeing my 6 foot tall Barnabas Collins figure. She’s also a Phantom phan, so she enjoyed seeing my 6 foot tall Michael Crawford figure as well. We got dinner at Jerry’s Famous Deli, then I headed home for a quick nap. My pal Brittney Powell came over for a bit. Later in the night I got a text from my pal Chris telling me that a lady at our church had suffered a massive heart attack and was in a coma at the hospital. Sad news to end the day for sure!
Saturday the 10th – SUNNY SATURDAY! – I got up early to bid on an eBay auction that was closing. It was for a few non-working microphones that I needed for my upcoming Robo-Elvis project. I went back to bed for a bit, then got up to let the maids in. I painted my Phantom mask some more, then organized my closet and hung up some clothes. I was proud how busy I had gotten this week. I got a LOT done! Sara and I went to get groceries (I was out of almost everything!) and it was a beautiful day. I cranked up the satellite radio, drove to Milt & Edie’s to get my blazer, got lunch at KFC, and got groceries. When I got home I saw a big fuzzy fat squirrel outside my house and I gave him some nuts. Though it looked like he didn’t really need them. I did some more painting on my Phantom mask. I’ll do a layer of color and then let it dry, and come back to do more later. Adding shading and depth and dimension with the colors over time. I got a quick nap and got up for movie night. We watched Laurel and Hardy’s “Big Business”, a silent film about the boys selling Christmas trees. We also watched “Christmas Story,” “Christmas Vacation,” and “The Johnny Cash 1977 Christmas Special.” What a great line-up! After my guests left I finalized the Phantom mask and lined it with stretch velvet. It was looking VERY good!
Sunday the 11th – OLD PALS! – I got up around 11 for a bowl of cereal, then went back to bed to continue my Sunday Slumber. I managed to get up in time for evening church, then I enjoyed dinner with Sara and some pals from Minnesota…Tony and Amy Horning. Tony’s brother Jon was one of my best friends in the old days. We would collect comics and talk about Laurel and Hardy and James Bond. Unfortunately Jon passed away WAY too early around the age of 40, due to a heart issue. But it’s always great to see Tony and Amy every time they come to town. They came to see another taping of the “Ellen” show. I took them to Jerry’s Famous Deli, but I’m sorry I did. It was VERY loud in there, almost to the point where we couldn’t chat. Plus there were all sorts of high school knuckleheads in there with their pants hanging down below their butts. That is by far the most ridiculous thing I’ve ever seen. Do they actually think that looks cool? I gave Tony a ride to Planet Wallywood in my Torino, which he enjoyed, showed him some of my new acquisitions, then took him back to his hotel. I went home to do my auditions and prepare for a new week.
And how was YOUR week??!!
