July 21 – July 27 (2014) – Wally On The Web

RANDOM PIC OF THE WEEK

It’s a doggie slumber party! Roxy entertains some of her canine pals on her favorite blanket!

While cruising through the night last Saturday, tooling up the 5 freeway at top speed to beat the Comic Con traffic home, my wonderful iPod played this ditty from the amazing William Orbit called “Time Stood Still.” It created quite a mood as we drove through the cool night by the moonlit Pacific ocean at 1am. Magical!

Monday the 21st – JUST ‘LION’ AROUND! – Right at noon I sprang awake and let my hair guy Sergio in to continue working on the Lion of Oz bust. It’s turning out really great, and will end up being one of Sergio’s masterpieces. He’s done hair on several of my life-size mannequin figures – James Bond, Barnabas Collins, Phantom of the Opera, Laurel and Hardy, Elvis, Andy Kaufman, etc. But the Cowardly Lion may be the best yet. I hopped in my Gran Torino and headed to Warner Brothers studios to have lunch with my friend James, who works in post-production. The folks at Warner loved seeing the Torino spinning around the lot. The guard at the gate loved seeing it, and when I parked it a guy walked by and said, “Engine sounds great! There are lots of people on this lot who would love to record that sound.” I said I was open to the proposition if anyone contacted me about it. But he didn’t get my contact info, so I guess he was just making conversation. When James and I finished lunch it was time for my 2pm session for a videogame. I headed over to see the fine folks in ADR 6 and we worked for an hour and a half doing voice tracks for the game (which I can’t mention here because of secrecy issues). I took some curtains from the Puppet Room to the cleaners because they were filthy. They’re thick blackout curtains that came with the house, and I honestly don’t think they’ve been cleaned since I bought the house in 2000. But since I’m ordering a set of curtains for my new Oz display in green velvet, I’ll use the blackout curtains behind them. I picked up some mail at my box, and then headed to McDonald’s to get an ice cream cone for dessert. By the time I got home Sergio had made some major progress on the Lion. I sat down to write Wally’s Week, sent some e-mails, fed Spook, and then grabbed a nap on the couch while Sergio continued working. I got up around 9 to finish up Wally’s Week, do some auditions and e-mail them into my agents, and did some work around the house. I made soup and a sandwich and hit the hay to watch a few episodes of “The Twilight Zone” on Blu Ray. I’m really enjoying the third season quite a bit. The first two seasons were good, but the third seems to have the best episodes of all. I’m glad that “TTZ” didn’t suffer the same third season fate as “Batman,” “The Bionic Woman,” and “Wonder Woman” with an overwhelming offering of weak episodes.

Tuesday the 22nd – ‘HAIR’ WE GO AGAIN! – For the second day in a row Sergio returned to do more work on the Lion bust. He slaved away while I worked on the computer. We decided to hop in the Torino and visit a local wig shop to purchase a few more wigs for the Lion’s mane. While we were there we also bought the wig we’ll be using on the Dorothy bust. I got home and did some work around the house while Sergio continued working. I walked Roxy, made some phone calls and around 6 Sergio wrapped up his work for the day and split. I recorded a bunch of auditions that were in my inbox, and then I grabbed a short nap. It would be a very busy night and I had lots to do before heading off to San Diego for the 2014 Comic Con the next day. When I awoke I switched the Torino with the Mustang, got the Mustang gassed up and ready to go, recorded a few more auditions, then organized and packed for the trip. I went to Denny’s to get some food to go and I enjoyed a few more “Twilight Zone” episodes.

Wednesday the 23rd – OFF 2 S.D.! – Right at 11am I sprang awake and started throwing my luggage into the Mustang. My pal Brittney Powell came over, put her car in my garage, threw her bags into the Mustang and we hit the road shortly after noon. In years past leaving for San Diego around noon was a safe bet. After all, it was right between the morning and afternoon drive times. But once we got on to the 5 freeway I knew it that standard logic would no longer apply. The traffic was horrible virtually all the way to San Diego! As is my Comic Con tradition, I stopped at the Dairy Queen at Oso Parkway in Mission Viejo for lunch. My pals Mark and James were several miles behind us, so I texted them a warning about the horrible traffic conditions. Our original plan was to get to the hotel around 3, take a cab to the convention center to get our badges for the week, then get back to the hotel to clean up for a 6:30 dinner with an old friend of mine. But it was looking like we’d barely make it there in time for dinner! Luckily we made it to the hotel at 4. Not including the half hour stop for lunch, the trip took us about 3.5 hours. Thankfully this gave us time to dump the luggage before dinner. I even had the chance to grab a shower. An old pal from Aberdeen, South Dakota lives in the San Diego area, and e-mailed me about getting together for dinner while I was there for Comic Con. I thought it was a great idea, so retired Naval Captain Tim Pence and I arranged to meet at Ruth’s Chris Steakhouse for dinner. James and his wife Cynthia, Mark and his girlfriend Connie, Brittney and I met up with him at the restaurant and had a wonderful time. On the drive to San Diego that afternoon, I was explaining to Brittney about my friend Captain Tim Pence. But apparently the music was too loud in the car and she thought I was saying “Captain Tinpants.” We laughed about that all the way down the freeway. When I brought it up at dinner our group thought it was a great new name for him, so now it’s stuck. Captain Tinpants will live in infamy! The food was amazing and they seated us next to a huge window where we could watch a beautiful sunset over the Pacific Ocean. This is livin’! When dinner was finished we headed back to our hotels to prepare for the next day’s activities, which were sure to be numerous and exhausting!

Thursday the 24th – COMIC CON DAY 1 – At 10:30 we were in the cab heading to the San Diego Convention Center. You don’t want to drive to the Convention Center because parking will take you an additional hour and a half. So once the Mustang was parked in hotel parking we cabbed it almost everywhere. We got checked in, got our badges and started walking around. I wasn’t lucky enough to get a cool 1966 Batman bag from the start, but later I went back and a very nice gal slipped me one. This is the second year in a row that Adam West and Burt Ward have graced the giveaway bags that Comic Con supplies when you receive your badges. This year there were several styles featuring different shows (the majority of which I could not have cared less about) so I’m glad I got a cool Batman bag. My pal Brian arrived with my friend Alex. She didn’t have a ride to the convention, so I hooked her up with Brian and they carpooled down together that morning. I saw my friend Scott Sebring and we strolled around while I purchased a few items. We ran into Ed Catto, entrepreneur who revitalized the old Captain Action franchise, who was on the floor in search of goodies. I had planned on meeting Ed at the Marriott next door at 1pm, but this gave us a chance to refine our plans. We met up with him for lunch at the Marriott Marquis next door. Ed and I were joined by Mark, James, Brian, Alex and Brittney. Ed and I went over the bullet points for the upcoming Captain Action panel I’d be emceeing at 3:30. When lunch was finished we all went our separate ways, and I took off to do some shopping. The time came for the panel and it went very well. We all got some photos and I hightailed it over to Hall H for the 1966 Batman DVD panel, featuring Adam West, Julie Newmar and Burt Ward. This was the main reason I came to Comic Con this year! Because I was involved with the Captain Action panel, I wasn’t able to line up to obtain admission. But luckily my pal, and fellow Batfan, Ralph Garman got me a Reserved Seating badge for the panel. Ralph moderated the panel and did a great job! The crowd of 6500 fans cheered when Julie came on stage, they were elated when Burt took the stage, but the crowd lost it when Adam West strolled out, looking as debonair and classy as ever. All 6500 people sprang to their feet and gave him a standing ovation that rocked the rafters of the building. It was a very proud, but emotional moment for me. I first met Adam in 1980 when nobody really cared much about him. But I have always maintained with unwavering vehemence that he is an underrated comedic genius. I went all through the 80’s and 90’s with the general populace of Batfans poo-pooing the 1966 Batman TV series as being stupid and a disgrace to the Batman franchise. But I steadfastly maintained that someday it would all come full circle. The deafening applause from all 6500 fans standing up to welcome Adam West confirmed my long-held beliefs that not only is Adam significant, but I dare say that he may be the main reason Batman has lasted all these years. He helped drive a moderate franchise into icon status for generations to come. Hearing the applause and looking around at the enormous group in Hall H was satisfying – almost as if I was screaming to the world “I TOLD YOU SO!” It was a magical hour! The DVD release looks fabulous, and the restoration they’ve done on the episodes is top notch. At last this series was getting its just reward! When the panel got out I saw my friend Eric Jacobsen, Muppeteer extraordinaire! He is also a Batfan, and like me, he finagled himself a Reserved Seating pass at the last minute. We chatted for a bit as we walked over to the Marriott Marquis so I could reconvene with my gang. But they were nowhere in sight. I lost track of Brittney, Alex and Brian. So I just decided to cab it back to my hotel in Old Town San Diego and relax. My pal Mike Schrimmer from Chicago had just landed so we met up at the hotel to go to dinner. It was perfect timing! We walked around Old Town San Diego and settled upon Café Coyote for some good Mexican food. I found out that Old Town San Diego was the very first town in what is now known as California. It has an amazing history. We walked back to the hotel and reconnected with Brittney. I checked my e-mail and got ready for Day 2 of the convention. It’s a heckuva lotta people, but I wanted to be here for the 1966 Batman stuff. Next year I may not go, but I just had to be here this year! One of the two elevators in our smaller, older hotel had become inoperative. It was feeling a bit sluggish earlier in the day, and now it had given up the ghost. So the entire sold out hotel was forced to use the single elevator left. Gee, what could go wrong there?! I headed back to my room, showered up and passed out in my bed.

Friday the 25th – COMIC CON-FUSION – We got to the convention around 11 just in time to meet up with my friends Tony and Crystal. We were at the Tweeterhead booth in time to see Adam West unveil the new Batman collectible figure. It was great seeing Adam again, as he thrust his hand over the velvet rope and said, “How are you, Wally?” We talked about how great the panel turned out and how amazing the resurgence of interest in the ’66 series was. When we finished up with that we continued strolling along the aisles. I happened upon one of my favorite Batman comic book artists of all time. I’ve always enjoyed the artwork of Neal Adams in the 70’s. I felt that he maintained some charm of the Batman character without making him too overly dark. It was a pleasure to meet Neal and I just had to purchase a custom commission! It would be ready for pick up by Saturday afternoon! Brittney, Tony, Crystal and I engaged in another Comic Con tradition – The Old Spaghetti Factory! We marched across the street, darting and weaving in and out of the immense crowds, to finally enter the doors of one of my favorite restaurants. It didn’t take us very long to get seated at a booth, and we had a great lunch, chatting and laughing all the while. When we got back to the convention Tony and Crystal had some things they wanted to see, so we parted company with the agreement to meet at the Marriott Marquis at 7:15. This year the convention added something new. “Hall Monitors” who kept admonishing you to “keep moving by order of the Fire Marshall.” You couldn’t stand in one place for too long or you’d be yelled at. You also couldn’t sit anywhere or lean against a wall. This was very annoying and I started wondering what they’d do if I said “no.” I’m going to sit here for a while to rest and you can’t move me. They can’t physically touch you, and before they have the police come in to remove you, you’d be gone anyway. But it struck me that, while they were very good at telling you where you COULDN’T sit and stand, they were woefully remiss in telling you where you COULD sit and stand. This needs work, Comic Con folks! Poor planning to be sure. I caught up with Scott Sebring in his Batman costume again, and I finally ran into my pal James dressed as Thor. But his famous hammer was in need of repair so he was walking the floor without it. The epoxy was curing in one of the booths, so while he waited he posed for photos. We went over to the Sideshow Toys booth and hung out there for a bit. Scott’s wife Vickie had her Cookie Monster Muppet with her and she was posing for photos with fans. But she ran into a couple that had a set of Kermit and Fozzie Muppets, so they had a great time on the floor posing for group photos. I heard a familiar voice behind me and it was my old pal Zack Sherman! I hadn’t seen him in years! Back in the late 80’s he and I made a fair amount of money appearing as Batman and Robin at parties. He’s now writing his own comic book and doing quite well. It was great seeing him and catching up. I did some more shopping and bought a really cool Riddler shirt (old school Riddler, not Arkham) and a set of 1966 Batman bendies. I also bought a cool Mark Hamill Simpsons figure from their 25 Greatest Guest-Star line. We shopped until the convention closed at 7pm, and we went outside through the Hall G doors. That meant we had to walk on the sidewalk the entire length of the Convention Center to make it to the western-most part of the building where we’d be meeting Tony and Crystal at the Marriott. We should have stayed inside the Convention Center the entire length until we could leave from Hall A. And here’s why. The sidewalk was packed with thousands of people moving east and west to get to their destinations. It was wall to wall people. But the foot traffic was moving, albeit slowly. All was going fairly well until we got halfway down the length of the Convention Center, where the sidewalk narrowed. Not only did it narrow, but at that very spot the buses stopped to pick up passengers to take them back to their hotels. So there was a huge mob of people stopped dead, blocking the foot traffic from moving east or west. Good planning, Comic Con. Everybody was stopped cold. Nothing was moving. The increasingly aggravated crowd began complaining, pushing and shoving. These folks were hot and tired and were in no mood for this craziness. There were two cops on the street forbidding anyone from walking on the street. “Stay on the sidewalk!” they kept yelling. But if you have locked doors to your left, and screaming cops on your right, and you’re stopped dead…well golly…what could go wrong there? And the bottleneck was getting worse. The pressure was building with no sign of relief. We begged the guards inside the Convention Center to open the doors to alleviate some of the pressure. That way those who were heading east and west could go inside, walk around the waiting group of bus riders, and leave through another exit. Logical right? Apparently too logical for the security “professionals” in the hallway to comprehend. They threw up their hands and said there wasn’t anything they could do. We told them that people were liable to get injured (or worse) unless something was done. Even several First Aid responders who were inside did nothing to help. I couldn’t believe my eyes! Something bad was going to happen and nobody was doing a thing to alleviate the problem! Brittney said, “Where’s that Fire Marshall when you need him?” I agreed. They were pretty good at yelling at you for standing around too long INSIDE, but outside they didn’t seem to care much that a crush of people were amassing outside. Injuries or death, I felt, were imminent. I honestly have never really seen a more useless group of people than the security workers, the first aid workers, and even the cops who were on site. They were so focused on keeping people off the street; they were missing the potentially life-threatening situation that was brewing underneath their very noses! I feel it was a miracle that nobody was injured. Later I reflected on the irony that, at a convention that celebrated all sorts of “fictional” heroes, not one “professional” security person in that scenario took a chance to stand up and alleviate people’s misery – and become a “real-life” hero. I was utterly disgusted at what I saw. I’m really hoping that Comic Con will make a concerted effort to mitigate this type of thing from happening ever again. After the pleas to open the doors went unanswered, the line loosened up a bit so we could squeeze through to the underground parking garage. I’m assuming that some people disregarded the cops’ orders to stay off the street, and they moved aside long enough to let those who wanted to pass continue on their way. It was ugly. I told Brittney that if I ever mentioned an interest in going to next year’s Comic Con, she had strict orders to slap me and do me bodily harm until I came to my senses. It was the general consensus of most everybody I spoke with that Comic Con is out of control with all the people. One friend (a popular writer) summed it up this way…”an utterly joyless experience.” I was beginning to concur. If Comic Con is trying to alienate people from their event, they’re doing a mighty good job. In fact, though I’ve been coming to Comic Con since 1994, I have never heard more complaints than I have this year. We said goodbye to Tony and Crystal and getting in that cab to escape the madness felt really good. All I wanted to do was to get back to the hotel, take a dip in the Jacuzzi, order a pizza in my room, and relax. But apparently my miserable experience wasn’t quite complete. The Jacuzzi was nice enough, and we met some really nice people poolside, but the pizza we ordered was by far the worst I’ve ever eaten. It was almost inedible! But we were so hungry we really had no other choice. I’ve always said that “pizza is like sex. Even when it’s bad it’s still pretty good.” But I think in light of my dining experience of that evening, I may have to change my tune. This pizza was just plain awful. I went downstairs to check my e-mail and then head to bed. After only two days I was ready to go home, and I wasn’t planning on spending that much time at the convention on Saturday – the busiest day at Comic Con. Incidentally, though we had been promised that the elevator would be operational again that morning, it was still out of order. Hmmm…

Saturday the 26th – HOTEL HELL – Brittney and I went downstairs in the only operating elevator in the hotel and caught our cab. (Yup, three days later and the elevator STILL had not been fixed!) I was expecting my friend Alex to meet us at the convention around 11. But she texted me that, even though she left at 8:30am, she was still stuck in traffic! She most likely wouldn’t be there until 2pm or after! I warned her about the Saturday traffic to San Diego from L.A. and urged her to take the Amtrak, but she didn’t. So now she was looking at a six hour road trip that should have only taken two hours. We continued shopping, but the three days on my feet was giving me lower back pains that could stop a horse! James (aka Thor) had had enough of conventioning, so he didn’t even show up. Our friend Mark was there taking photos of sexy con girls, so we met up with him and escaped next door to the Marriott Marquis for lunch. As we enjoyed our quiet lunch and cozy chairs, we started reminiscing about Lappert’s Ice Cream in Palm Springs. I asked Mark to correct me if I was wrong, but I was certain that the owner of Lappert’s in Palm Springs mentioned a location in San Diego. The reason I was so interested? DOLE WHIP! That creamy, frosty, pineapple-y treat I had become obsessed with in Palm Springs! We checked on-line and sure enough! It was only 19 miles away in Poway! Though Mark decided to stay at the convention, I texted Mike and told him about the road trip we were hatching. He agreed to meet us at the hotel in Old Town at 3:30 and he would go along. Finally! The prospect for a happy ending to the Comic Con madness! We went back to the convention (were we nuts or just sadistic?!) to do some final shopping. I picked up my finished Neal Adams artwork (which was stunning!) and we prepared to leave the building, vowing to never return to this “hell on Earth” as long as we lived. But on our way out the last people we saw was Scott Sebring and his ’66 Batman clan. So how could we resist getting a quick shot or two before we left? We got back to the room and met up with Mike. We had a nice relaxing drive to Poway and I enjoyed not one but TWO Dole Whips. But unlike the store in Palm Springs, they don’t offer you the embellishments of pineapple chunks or coconut shavings. Oh well, Dole Whip in the raw is good too! Next door to the ice cream store was a Jersey Mike’s sandwich store. I had become addicted when my pal Pete Tassler (Co-Producer on “Hawaii Five-O”) turned me on to their sandwiches at a location near his house. Mike had never had a Jersey Mike’s, so we got some sandwiches to go so we could enjoy them poolside later that night. The drive back was pleasant. A nice trip with fun friends. It even sprinkled a bit as we drove. We got to the pool and ate our sandwiches, having a nice, quiet conversation. Mike was sick of the convention too, and he was trying to get an earlier flight back to Chicago. I told him Brittney and I were planning on heading back at midnight after I grabbed a short nap. (I LOVE driving at night, but I hate driving at night when I’m tired.) I napped from 8:30 to 10:30 – and I sprang awake to start packing up all my stuff to load into the car. With my arms full of luggage I entered the hotel hallway. I couldn’t believe my eyes! The SECOND of the two hotel elevators was not inoperative! There were signs pointing to the stairways! I was on the third floor, and my car was parked in the lower level parking garage. I loaded up my first group of bags and went upstairs to the front desk. At 11pm all you’re going to see is a night clerk with no power to do anything. So I asked for the night manager. He said there wasn’t one. So I asked him to please call the head manager so I could speak with him. I told him with no operational elevators this hotel was in violation of the Americans with Disabilities Act, and one phone call to the right agency would force an immediate shutdown of his hotel. He got the manager on the phone right away. From what the clerk said, I ascertained that the manager was home in his comfortable bed, sleeping soundly. I thought that was odd, considering that the hotel was sold out and packed with people constantly coming and going with all sorts of luggage and parcels. I inquired why he wasn’t on site, apologizing to the guests, buying them drinks and free pizza. (Remember, though I’m not naming the hotel here, it is a VERY big name in the hotel industry!) He danced around with several excuses and said a repairman was on site to fix the problem in an hour. I reminded him that the other elevator had been down for three days. I had endured enough. Sweating profusely, I lugged the rest of the luggage and packages up and down the four flights of stairs about seven times before all of the stuff was packed. I had thought about calling a governmental agency and reporting their violation of the ADA, but that would mean the poor guests would have to relocate to another hotel, when all of the area hotels were already at capacity. But I did manage to get them to remove one of the night’s stays from my bill. I was really glad to be going home. Needless to say I will never stay at that glorified “motel” again, nor will I stay at any other hotel in that chain. Soaked with sweat, we headed down the freeway at midnight and got back to my house at 2am. A quick 2 hour trip at top speeds with no traffic! It was GREAT to be home!

Sunday the 27th – WAS IT ALL A BAD DREAM!? – It was great to wake up in my own bed and the only crowd around me was made up of my cuddly dog and affectionate cat! We got up at 2 to take a quick walk and relax. I checked my e-mails, did a little catching up, did some photo editing and walked to evening church. Then Roxy and I got into the Mustang, popped the top and drove by Jim Pierson’s house to pick up a CD copy of the audio drama “Dark Shadows: The Darkest Shadow.” Then Sara joined Roxy and I for dinner on the patio at Paty’s in Toluca Lake. I made it back home to nap for a few hours, and when I got up I did some more catching up, recorded my auditions, and made some spaghetti to enjoy while watching a few more “Twilight Zone” episodes!

And how was YOUR week??!!

PIX FROM THE WEEK

Beautiful view. Beautiful friends. Beautiful evening.

Capt. Tinpants and I say our goodbyes until October.

Here are some of the Captain Action panelists from last Thursday’s panel…Ed, Marv, Tom, Michael and me!

At the Captain Action panel, Ed Catto shows us another amazing customization job on a classic Captain Action figure!

My pal Rachel arrives at the Captain Action panel dressed as Eddie Nashton from the “Arkham Origins” game.

Clearly I am amazed at the stunning detail of the new Lady Action figure!

Off we go down the escalator to another event!

At the Batman 1966 panel, the ever debonair Adam West marvels at the standing ovation given him from 6500 ardent fans!

Adam and Julie Newmar share one of the many laughs from the evening.

Adam gets ready to reveal the new Batman ’66 figure by Tweeterhead.

Voila! Adam makes the reveal!

Upon first glance of this amazing figure, I rush to grab my credit card to pre-order one of my own!

Adam seems generally pleased by his effigy!

Scott Sebring is on-hand in costume to brighten the festivities.

My pal Tony Mei closely inspects the new life-size Darth Vader figure from Sideshow.

Vickie Sebring and friends enjoy some Muppet-play on the convention floor.

My pal James as Thor, in search of that rascally Mjolnir!

A stunning diorama of Darth Vader and a legion of Stormtroopers awaiting the Emperor’s transport.

Here’s a cross-over you’re only likely to see on the Comic Con convention floor.

It appears that Wonder Woman has “hammer” envy!

Where’s Thor’s hammer? The guilty look on Cookie Monster’s face tells it all. He ate it!

Brittney goes corset shopping…

…but settles on a nifty Norse helmet instead!

Because of the new “Comic Con no fly zone” established over San Diego, Thor is forced to wait for public transportation.

A young lad is not quite sure what to think of an in-person meeting with the god of thunder!

The 1966 Batman crew take over the convention floor!

How many Riddlers can you fit in one photo?

I receive my amazing commission from the legendary artist Neal Adams!

A perfect end to an amazing trip…an ice cold Coke in a glass bottle and a Dole Whip!

Sergio has completed the right shoulder of the Cowardly Lion of Oz bust…

…which includes a painstaking layer-by-layer process of laying rows of different colored hair on to the base fur. Then the hair is cut and textured to look like real lion hair! The result will be spectacularly realistic!