RANDOM PIC OF THE WEEK
I’ve always loved Hanna-Barbera. In fact, Filmation and Hanna-Barbera meant more to me as a kid growing up than either Disney or Warner Brothers cartoons. Established in 1957, Hanna-Barbera is celebrating their 66th anniversary this year!
It looks like the latest incarnation of The Eagles will be touring for one last time very soon. This past week I was humming one of my favorite Eagle songs “I Can’t Tell You Why,” sung by Eagle Timothy B. Schmidt!
Monday the 3rd – BRACE YOURSELF! – After dropping off a package at the post office, I got my packages at my box. I ordered a therapeutic compression wrap that will help the muscles in my lower back heal. The reviews on this product were great! I met my pal Sara for lunch at Paty’s, and then I got home to do some work around the house. Later I wrote Wally’s Week, and made some hot dogs on the grill. On the 4th of July it’s a personal tradition for me to make hot dogs, as I consider this the unofficial start to the summer season. It’s also traditional for me to make hot dogs on Labor Day, as I consider that the unofficial end of the summer season. I managed to down 3 chili cheese dogs while I watched the new movie “Spinning Good.” The hot dogs were delicious and the movie was pretty good. The movie tells the tale about the glory days of the Casablanca record label. This label had Kiss, Donna Summer, the Village People and others on their label. My only problem with the film was some casting choices, but other than that it was enjoyable.
Tuesday the 4th – HAPPY INDEPENDENCE DAY (AND SPOOK’S 18th BIRTHDAY!) – For the better part of the day I just laid around and relaxed my back. I did manage to see some fireworks around 9pm from my bedroom window. One set of fireworks were from the Hollywood Bowl, and I think the other set were from either Dodger Stadium or Pasadena. FUN! People were blowing off fireworks all around the neighborhood until around 3am. Right around then I took a walk through the complex, but it was chilly and overcast. The compression wrap worked very well, though! I made it back inside and made a salad and watched three episodes of “Have Gun – Will Travel.”
Wednesday the 5th – BOND BASE! – After a stop at McDonald’s for a quick lunch at the drive-thru, I headed to the local car wash to eat my lunch while the Rav got bathed. It was FILTHY! I headed to my box to get my packages, which included my vintage Laurel and Hardy marionettes! They’re beautiful, but need some TLC and they need to be restrung. Hopefully my friends at Bob Baker Marionette Theatre can help with this. I also got a navy blue blank baseball cap that I’m going to turn into my Grovercap. With the leftover fur from my Grover replica Muppet, I’m going to basically turn a cap into Grover’s head! I stopped by a local market to buy the last four boxes of Cap’n Crunch All Red Berries! It’s a limited time cereal that’s ONLY red Crunchberries. YUM! Back when I first got married, my ex-wife and I loved getting Cap’n Crunch with Crunchberries and picking out all the red Crunchberries and just eating those. It was a really great treat for us! It’s nice to see that Quaker Oats has finally caught up! I’m not much into the blue and green Crunchberries in the Oops! All Berries cereal, so it’s nice to see the red ones out there. They turn the milk into a wonderful strawberry flavor, much like Strawberry Nestle Quik! I stopped by Staples to get a few office supplies, and then I hit Bed Back and Beyond. Even though they’re going out of business, they’re getting new merchandise every day (most likely from other stores that have closed already). I picked up some great items and my savings were close to $200! In order to make room for a possible new Muppet replica, I cleaned out all of the James Bond figures from the lower half of a cabinet in the Tranquility Zone. The top half of the figure is populated with three replica “Sesame Street” characters; Gleep (aka Green Grover), Prairie Dawn, and Beautiful Day. As I considered adding a replica of The Count to my collection, the only thing holding me back was the available display space. But now that the James Bond collection is moving downstairs, I’ll now have room. There’s a cabinet in my living room that I’ve been doing a lot of work on. A few weeks ago I completely cleaned the base and each 12” figure in my display. The lower half of the case is populated with a lot of sculptures of famous pop culture characters (most of them sculpted by my pal Ruben Procopio). They’re all on the left bottom side of the cabinet. The right bottom side just had a few Groovie Goolie statues and an R2D2 voice command robot. I integrated the Groovie Goolie statues in with the Ruben Procopio statues, and I moved the R2D2 robot to the top of the case. Now I have a full compartment available for my Bond figure collection! I called my pal Joe Pendleton, who helped me fabricate and remodel this display case several years ago. I asked him if he would be interested in making a three-level set of steps for the Bond figures, much like what he did with the top of the case. He said he’d love to! I got busy drawing out the plans for the Bond Base, as well as plotting out where each figure will live on the base. I installed the new LED floodlights that I bought at Bed, Bath and Beyond. It sure brightened up my living room and my work and showcase areas! Later I did my nightly auditions and made a Tombstone pizza.
Thursday the 6th – “COUNT” ON ME! – My old pal Chris Malmin and I met for lunch at Lancers in Burbank, and then we walked over to Foam Mart so I could get a piece of foam cord to use in my Grovercap. We also hit Hobby Lobby, where I picked up a few display pieces that will figure into my new Bond display. I have a few autographed paperback books which I’ll need propped up for display, and these little devices I found at Hobby Lobby will serve the need very well! I stopped by the cleaners and picked up my new Phantom of the Opera figure from Neca! This is the best Lon Chaney Sr. Phantom sculpt of any Phantom figure I’ve ever seen! I went home to do some work, and later my pal Angi came over so we could go to Paty’s for dinner. Later I got home to relax and record my nightly auditions. I worked all night putting stuff away around the house to clear the way for my maids to clean on Friday. I also spent most of the night on the internet researching photos and information about “The Count” so I can make some determinations about my new Muppet replica! I’ve always loved this character because…well…he’s a vampire AND a Muppet! What’s not to love?
Friday the 7th – MOM’S 83RD BIRTHDAY! – My maids came over shortly after noon, and since they were so early, I called my friends Edi and Emily to see if they could meet me for a late lunch at Bob’s Big Boy! It was great! Edi’s getting a new puppy, and Emily’s getting a new job! Lotsa great news! I called my mom to wish her a happy birthday and she sounded in great spirits! Pretty good for 83 years old! On the way home I got some ice cream at Baskin-Robbins, and I got back home to work around the house. Later I did my Voice Over auditions that were due on Monday. I like to get them done and out of the way, so I can relax on Sunday and not worry about them. I made a salad and watched the final two episodes from the fifth and final season of “The Lone Ranger.” It was a great series!
Saturday the 8th – FIRST TIME AT TONI’S! – Mid-afternoon I enjoyed the beautiful weather and walked to my stylist’s salon to get a touch-up on my color. It felt good to be out walking again, even though it was a short distance. I can’t wait to get back on my regular walks again! I got back home and talked to Josh Brame, who’s the Guest Liaison for our Voices Against Cancer event coming up next weekend in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. He said everything was going well, and he asked if I would announce and emcee the event; informing the attendees about which photo ops were happening, and who were signing at their tables. I told him I’d be glad to contribute in that way! I can’t wait! FUN! My friends Officer Mark and Miss Connie came over with their Godson Andrew who was visiting from Maryland. He was a fan of the Arkham video games so we had fun showing him around Planet Wallywood. Then we headed to dinner at Little Toni’s. Come to find out, after all these years, Mark and Connie had NEVER been to Little Toni’s! I was in disbelief, considering that it’s one of my regular haunts! All their plates were cleaned at the end of the meal, so I’m assuming it met with their approval! While we were there we saw your friend Alison Martino, a local TV personality who loves reporting on vintage aspects of Los Angeles. She was with her mother, who had ALSO never been to Little Toni’s! The evening was perfect, because we got a perfect parking spot (not easy at Little Toni’s) and we were seated immediately with no waiting. I think because we were there earlier in the evening (before the rush) it really helped! Later I worked around the house, reconciled some receipts, paid some bills, and made my traditional Saturday Night Super Saint Salad and watched an episode of “The Saint.” In this episode they had the main character Simon Templar (played by future James Bond Roger Moore) working with British Intelligence. This episode DEFINITELY seemed like it was priming the public to someday accept Moore as 007!
Sunday the 9th – TRAVEL PREP! – Most of the day I relaxed and marshalled my energy for the busy week ahead. The days leading up to my trip to South Dakota for the Voices Against Cancer event would be pretty swamped too. I prepped and printed all my travel documents (airline, car rental and hotel) for my trip. But I realized in horror that with everything going on, I HAD FORGOTTEN TO RESERVE A RENTAL CAR! I got on the website of the usual company I use when I travel to Sioux Falls, but they were sold out! RATS! I tried a different company and they had a car. Whew!
And how was YOUR week??!!
PIX FROM THE WEEK
While Sara and I ate on the patio at Paty’s this past week, the wind came up after the sun went down and it got darned chilly! Pretty strange summer weather!
Officer Mark and I pester TV personality Alison Martino like we’re a couple of demented Muppets.
You can tell by the clean plate that Officer Mark approved of Little Toni’s!
Arkham fan Andrew holds the Riddler cane for another fun photo for his L.A. Vacation photo album!
Here’s the fabulous Phantom of the Opera figure by Neca! Amazing sculpt!
This past week, I celebrated a very important personal anniversary. 30 years ago, I was let go from my radio job at 94.7 The Wave in Los Angeles. This gave me the “kick in the rear” I needed to get busy to realize my true dream, and the real reason I moved to Los Angeles. Shortly after my release, I got into Voice Over and never looked back. I posted this clip on my social media accounts. It’s me on the air back then with no idea of the changes that were to come. Sometimes getting booted from one thing opens the door to bigger and better things!
