February 4 – February 10 (2013)

RANDOM PIC OF THE WEEK

Of course the photo for this week would be me and my new acquisition working out at the Oak Tree Gun Club. Read Wally’s Week for the full story!

As I was driving to the Oak Tree Gun Club on Saturday afternoon to meet my pal Obi-John Kenobi, one of the off-ramps I needed to take was a street called Roxford. Not only does it always make me think of my dog Roxy (since I used to pass that street all the time when I was heading up north for my weekly visits), but it also made me start humming the theme to the old “Rockford Files” TV show. And while I was never particularly a fan of the show, the theme song by Mike Post was awesome! See if you agree!

Monday the 4th – LOOOOOONG DAY! – I got up early and headed to Warner Brothers studios to do three hours on a new videogame. It’s a character I’ve done before, but since this is a prequel I needed to make him younger. It was quite a challenge. But fun! I’ll post more information about it when I can. After the session I had lunch with my pal James from WB post-production services. It was beef tri-tip day! YUM! I got a call from my agent telling me there was a script for a comedy bit for “The Tonight Show” in my inbox, so I hustled home and recorded it in my home studio and e-mailed it in. But in about 20 minutes they called back and said they wanted the same bit done in a slightly different voice. So I happily complied. I headed off to “TTS” to tape the show, and the guest was Hugh Jackman. He seems like a really cool guy, and it appeared like he was having a ton of fun. After the taping, I headed off to Mai Tai Studio in Burbank to record two TV commercials for Old Navy. I finished up around 8pm and sauntered home. It was a VERY long day, but fun and amazing. It was the end to a near 12 hour day. I got home to walk Roxy, take a dip in the jacuzzi and then took a much needed nap on the couch. Whew! I got up later and did my auditions, made dinner and watched an episode of “Six Million Dollar Man” on DVD just before bed.

Tuesday the 5th – ANOTHER LOOOOOONG DAY! – I got to sleep until noon, and when I woke up Roxy and I cuddled on the bed for awhile. I got a hotline call telling me that there were two scripts in my inbox for “TTS.” So I got up, recorded them and sent them in. Then I continued to do some work on the computer. I got another hotline call to come in early to record some more bits. So I got showered, stopped by Weinerschnitzel to get a couple of chili cheese dogs with sauerkraut, and headed to NBC. I did the bits, then taped the show. My new pal Obi-John Kenobi was at the taping with his friend Brittney. So I met up with them and got them seated, then caught up with them afterwards. I gave them a quick tour, then headed over to Paty’s to meet them for dinner. My pal Edi and her daughter Ems joined us too. When we finished I got home to do some work and get ready for my pal Bob Mitsch who was going to come over and record some stuff with me for an upcoming Dr. Who convention. I was starting to get pretty tired, but we got what we needed and Bob took off. I took the garbage out and promptly went upstairs to hit the hay for the night. Another long, and early day tomorrow!

Wednesday the 6th – OUT OF THE COMA! – It seems like every year it takes longer and longer for the entertainment industry to come out of its “Christmas Coma.” In years past it seemed like by mid-January things were getting back to normal. But for some reason, this year all of January was on the slow side. But almost as if by magic, as soon as February hit it was gangbusters! This week was shaping up to be one of the busiest for me in recent memory. About six months back I did a role on Nickelodeon’s “Winx Club,” and now it was time to do the ADR. (That’s additional dialogue recording). Adam Wylie, one of the other cast members, is as very accomplished magician. So while we waited for our turn to go in to record, he wowed his fellow actors with about an hour of card tricks and rubber band tricks. Fabulous! Then we went into do our ADR and had a blast! Strangely enough, the father character I play in the show also has long hair and a goatee. Coincidence? When we recorded it six months ago we didn’t see any of the animation yet, but now that it’s completed it’s fun to watch! I went to Wendy’s to get some lunch, then headed to Mai Tai Studio again to record a tag for a new Spam TV commercial. I had some time to kill before I was due at “TTS,” so I went to my bank and set up my corporate bank account for my new corporation Planet Wallywood, Inc.! Very exciting! I finished up and headed to NBC to tape the show. Supermodel Bar Rafaelli was on the show (the gal from the famous Super Bowl Go Daddy commercial) and at the beginning of the show Jay asked her if they could recreate the famous kissing commercial. She said yes and told him to close his eyes and pucker up, which he did. While his eyes were closed she brought the curly-haired nerd into the frame, and he kissed Jay! It was hilarious! (The next day it was one of the top searched items on Yahoo!) Bar’s manager was brought into the audio booth to give me the proper pronunciation of her last name. (I was kind of hoping it would have been Bar herself, but no luck!) When the show wrapped I headed home to do some work. My pal Larry came by to pick up a couple of Laurel and Hardy dolls I was giving his daughter Kathy. She comes on movie night with her dad and has been really enjoying the old films. She’s becoming quite a fan! I took a dip in the jacuzzi, ate some veggies from a veggie tray (my favorite new snack) and grabbed a nap on the couch. When I got up I did auditions and watched another episode of “Six Million Dollar Man” on DVD.

Thursday the 7th – TOY DAY! – My hotline rang in the morning to let me know there was a “TTS” script in my inbox to record. I finished it and sent it in, then I got another call to be in early at 2. I had to get moving! I walked Roxy, got in my Gran Torino and headed over to NBC. When I finished the bit I drove over to Toys ‘R’ Us to get a baby gift for my neighbor’s newborn. But while I was there I picked up some cool toys for myself as well! I got a new Captain Action figure, a Thor costume for Captain Action, Cap’s nemesis Dr. Eville, a Spider-Man flashlight, and a What-Not Muppet. This muppet you can make into anything you want (they USED to call them Anything Muppets on “Sesame Street”) so I couldn’t wait to get it home and start creating. I finished my shopping, but I still wasn’t done being a kid. I drove over to Rocket Fizz and bought a bunch of candy and soda. Then it was back to NBC to tape the show. My doctor, Dr. Patt, called to tell me my results had come back from the lab and everything looked good. Except my cholesterol was about 15% too high. So I really need to get exercising to keep it under control! I got home and started unpacking my cool new toys. I did some work, then drove my bike around the neighborhood for a little bit. I enjoyed some more veggies and then hit the jacuzzi. I got a quick nap, then got up to get some groceries. (Shopping’s better in the middle of the night!) I did my auditions, then recorded a few bits for my pal Jimmy Falcon’s internet radio show. I made some dinner for Roxy, walked her, and then made some of my world infamous Buffalo Mac that I could enjoy while watching “Six Million Dollar Man” on DVD before bed!

Friday the 8th – OLD HOME WEEK! – I got a hotline call to be into NBC at 12:45 to record some more comedy bits. It was expected to rain all day and night, so I stopped by my Mustang to get my umbrella. But it wasn’t there! Oh well, a little water isn’t going to hurt me! I got to NBC and did three bits. I looked outside with horror to see it HAILING! Oh no! My Torino is out there! But I figure if Jay has his expensive vintage car outside, my little Torino would be OK. Norah Jones was the musical guest on the show, and her orchestra is conducted by Walter Murphy, the composer for “Family Guy.” I heard from one of the crew that Walter asked about me earlier in the day, so I stopped by his dressing room to say hi. (Walter had the hit “A Fifth of Beethoven” on the “Saturday Night Fever” soundtrack, but my favorite tune of his is “Could It Be The Music,” a little known track I used to play on the radio when I was 17! I remind him of that all the time!) Strangely enough, Seth MacFarlane was also scheduled to be on the show that day! I went to the world famous NBC Commissary to get a salad, and then headed back to tape the show. All went well, and when we wrapped I was getting ready to leave. Seth was standing in the hallway talking to Walter, and he turned to see me and said, HEY!” He smiled and shook my hand and said, “My gosh, it’s old home week!” I don’t think he had seen Walter for awhile either. I hopped in the very wet Torino and headed to my mailbox to pick up some mail. Then I went to the vet’s to pick up some more cat food (or CAT FUD, if you’re a Gary Larson fan) for my cat Spooky. I got home in time to meet up with Melissa who was location scouting my house for a possible TV shoot about collectors. It was raining, so I found my Star Wars light sabre umbrella (it was inside all the time!) and walked her to her car. I came back inside and did some work, stepped outside to enjoy a dip in the jacuzzi, and then my pal Brittney Powell came over so we could go grab some dinner. We enjoyed a late-night “breakfast” at DuPar’s! I came home to nap on the couch for awhile, then got up to feed and walk Roxy. I straightened up the house a little bit, then headed to bed to watch another “Six Million Dollar Man” episode.

Saturday the 9th – OAKTREE! – When I got up around noon to walk Roxy I ran into my old pal Jeff Nimoy on the street. I hadn’t seen him in awhile and when he saw Roxy he said, “Hi Sass! How ya doin’ Sass?” I had to tell him that Sass had died a few years ago and this was Roxy. I also ran into “TTS” writer Mike LaPrite who was out walking with his daughter! Small world! I got inside and cleaned up, then switched cars and took my Mustang to get gassed up. Then I drove up the freeway to The Oaktree Gun Club in Newhall. It’s a marvelous outdoor gun range with several ranges to choose from. There’s the skeet and trap ranges, the handgun range, the shooting gallery, and the new rifle range. I met my pal Obi-John Kenobi there, from whom I just purchased a new AR-16 rifle, who was going to teach me how to shoot it. Unlike handgun practice, shooting an AR is a lot different. Handguns you shoot short distances, but with an AR and a good scope, you can shoot hundreds of yards. In fact, John brought along his binoculars so he spot the areas I shot on the target. Also, he needed to help me focus the sights to accommodate my eyes. The sights were set to his eyes. This place is great! It reminded me a lot of South Dakota. We walked into the restaurant to get lunch, and there were about six doggies running around. I liked it already. The hamburgers were really good! I could have done without some of the decor; lots of dead animals killed during hunts. And there was a video of hunters stalking and killing their prey playing on the TV. But I just talked to John and ignored all that stuff. I’m not really down with the whole ‘killing the animals thing.’ Though I realize there’s probably a purpose for hunting to keep the animal populations manageable. I had three doggies sitting under my table waiting for me to feed them French friends (which I did!) and when we finished we drove up the hill to the gun store so I could get my AR-15. My 10 day waiting period/background check was over, so it was time to load ‘er up and see what she’s all about. I bought a nice, tan softside case, some ammo and we were on our way to the rifle range. Everyone’s so civil and polite at a gun range. Though there arehundredsof loaded weapons around, there’s never any trouble and every one is on their best behavior. It’s very refreshing from real life. Everybody respects everyone else’s space and belongings. Shooting the AR-15 is great. It’s a LOT different than target shooting with handguns, and outdoor ranges are very different from indoor ranges. John and I worked on focusing the scope for quite awhile, and we got it in the ballpark. We’re going to meet again someday and fine tune it even more. When you start shooting over about 200 yards you have to account for “Kentucky Windage” to hit your target. That’s the component of bullet drop and any wind conditions which you take into consideration when aiming at a target. I still have a few questions about it, but next time we meet John will instruct me further on other aspects of its operation. When people ask me, “Why do you need one of those?” I say, “Why not? Why would you need a Lexus when an old beat up Honda would still get you down the road? Why do you care what I need? And why do you ask so many why questions?” Seriously though, if the grid ever goes down this baby would be awesome when foraging for food. But then there’s that whole “killing the animals” thing I don’t dig so much. But we were starting to see our breath and it was getting late in the day, and colder! We decided to pack it up for the day. I shot my last group of shots that were in the magazine and wrapped up. Next time I’m going to bring some handguns to try in the shooting gallery and pistol ranges. I drove home and stopped by Taco Bell for some food. I got a short nap before movie night. It was a full house as it was the very last Laurel and Hardy film from the “Essential Collection” DVD set. We’ve watched every one on the set, and it’s been marvelous! Then we watched the fifth to the last James Bond film “The World is Not Enough.” As the evening ended it was fun chatting with guests. I settled the pets down, fed and walked Roxy, and made myself a salad. I watched a “Six Million Dollar Man” two parter just before bed.

Here’s a video from the firing range

Sunday the 10th – WHY CAN’T THERE BE TWO SUNDAYS? – I slept all the way until 2 in the afternoon, and I got up to walk Roxy and give a treat to her and Spook. Then I went back to bed to rest, while trying to fit a big dog and a cat on the bed with me. Luckily I have a California King, but sometimes Roxy’s a bed hog. I got up in time for evening church, and walked Roxy over for the service. She loves going to church and even knows the word “church.” She gets very excited because she knows she’s going to get lots of attention, pets, hugs, kisses, and leftover bread at the end! When I got back home my friend Amanda was there waiting for me, so we went to Chipotle to grab some food. I picked up a few items at the drug store, and then headed home to start my auditions. I had about 10 of them so it took awhile to get through them. Then I took a quick nap, then got up to feed and walk Roxy. I got prepared for a new week, and looked back on a VERY busy week-that-was! Whew! Yup, the coma is DEFINITELY over!

And how was YOUR week??!!

PIX FROM THE WEEK

At Oaktree Gun Club, many doggies gather around the tables in hopes of snagging a scrap of food or a stray French fry.