June 3 – June 9 (2013) – Wally On The Web

RANDOM PIC OF THE WEEK

My friend Fred is an agent and he comes across all sorts of interesting publicity photos from various projects. He recently purchased a random group of slides and as he was combing through them, he spotted somebody that looked like me. In fact, IT IS ME! This was taken at the “Rocky Horror Picture Show” 15th anniversary celebration at the 20th Century Fox Studios in 1991. You can spot me in the second row sitting next to my old pal Don Kyle. What a night that was!!

Every Saturday night at my Planet Wallywood movie parties, we’ve been finishing the evening with an episode of the anime show“Tiger and Bunny,” in which I voice the character of Wild Tiger. It’s a pretty funny show and I think we’re all enjoying it. We’re up to episode 8, and by now the theme song is starting to stick in my ear for longer and longer periods. Though I can’t understand a word of what they’re singing, the song has a great energy. Check it out!

Monday the 3rd – T&B DAY 1 – My hotline rang late morning with a call from my agent to get up and record a bit for “The Tonight Show” in my home studio and e-mail it in. After I finished that I got ready and drove over to Studiopolis Burbank, with a quick pit stop at Subway to grab a footlong tuna on white. Today was the first day we’d be working on dubbing the “Tiger and Bunny” feature film called “The Beginning.” I’ve been enjoying watching the series on Blu Ray during our Saturday night movie nights. I think we’re up to episode 8. The plot of the movie takes place shortly after Tiger and Bunny meet, so the timeline is roughly between episodes 2 and 3. While at the studio I saw the lovely Kari Walgren, the ever-so-talented Kevin Michael Richardson, and one of my favorite Voice Directors ever…the amazing Collette Sunderman. I dubbed for two hours and then headed over to NBC to tape “TTS.” On the way home I stopped at my local UPS store to return the broken Riddler trophy that arrived last week. They’re sending out a replacement asap. When I got home my agent had a last-minute audition he wanted me to do, so I cranked that out and sent it over. I had a few other auditions to do as well, so I figured while I was at it I’d finish those too. I walked Roxy and then met my assistant Sara, my pal Edi and her daughter Ems for dinner at DuPar’s. Edi’s son Josh just had his graduation ceremony earlier in the day. He stopped by for a quick hello and it was off to party. He was officially a free man! After dinner I was beat, so I went home to grab a quick nap. When I got up I fed and walked Roxy, finished some work on my new office cabinets; organizing and arranging supplies and files, did some laundry and then headed to bed. I was very excited to start the 10-part “Bible” mini-series on Blu Ray.

Tuesday the 4th – BLOODY AWFUL! – I didn’t end up getting to bed until about 7am. Then I woke up at 8:30am for some reason. I’ve had this small wound on my head for a few weeks. I originally thought it may have been from hitting my head on the top frame of the shower door. But now I’m thinking it might be some sort of ingrown hair or something. A few weeks ago I had messed with it too much and it started bleeding like crazy. Well, like an idiot, I messed with it again. I put a small piece of toilet paper on it and went back to sleep. My hotline rang at 11 to tell me to be in a little early to “TTS” to record a bit. I hung up the phone and then realized that I had been bleeding like crazy while I slept. It was everywhere…my hair, my pillow…yuk! So I dashed into the shower and GENTLY washed my hair. I threw my pillow and pillow case in the washing machine. I took a big piece of paper towel and folded it twice and held it to my head. Then I got another call to record a “TTS” bit from home. So while I recorded the bit, I did it while holding the paper towel to my head. And the folks at home watching the show had NO idea! I got to NBC early to record a bit, still bleeding a little, though it had slowed considerably. I recorded the bit, got some lunch at the world-famous NBC Commissary and then hung out for awhile. We taped the show and then I went to get my guest Lynne from Baltimore to come backstage. I had never met Lynne before, but a long time ago I was walking out of Jerry’s Famous Deli wearing my vintage Baltimore Orioles cap, and a couple stopped me. They were from Baltimore, and the husband had formerly worked at Pillsbury. So we had a fun conversation about the Orioles, and how much I loved them when I was 10, and Pillsbury products like Funny Face, Space Food Sticks, and others. They must’ve saved my card, because about a month ago they asked if I could get tickets for their friend Lynne who would be visiting L.A. Funny how life works! She was a very nice gal, and it was her 25th wedding anniversary. She was at the show killing time while her husband was at a Honda sales meeting. I bid Lynne farewell, and then hightailed it over to the NBC Screening room to see a sneak peek at “Man Of Steel.” Needless to say I got home a little later than usual, and my cat Spook was giving me the stink-eye. It was WAY past his dinner time. So I gave him a little extra for the trouble. I walked Roxy and came back home to greet my effects guy Jim Ojala. He brought over the lifesize Beetlejuice figure he had been working on. But once we put it on the bottom half of the mannequin, his eye line wasn’t quite what I wanted. So he took it back to redo the head position. Then I went over to my other garage to fire up the Gran Torino. But no go. It had been sitting for about a month, and there wasn’t any gas in the line. And as I tried to continually start it, it started to run down the battery. So I recovered it and got back in the Mustang to go get some groceries. I came back home, unloaded the groceries, did my auditions, fed and walked Roxy, and then headed to bed to watch “The Bible” episode 2. Whew! Long day!

Wednesday the 5th – T&B DAY 2! – Late morning I got up and hit the road for Kalmenson and Kalmenson casting to audition for a TV commercial. Then I hit the Burger King drive-thru to get a quick lunch, and headed over to Studiopolis for the second dubbing session for the “Tiger and Bunny” movie. I finished up the session and sped off to “TTS.” I recorded a quick bit for one of the writers, then opened the show. On the way home I stopped by my mailbox to pick up some mail. It was a gorgeous day so I had my top down all the way. I got home and took a stroll with Roxy. Then I got a quick nap. My contractor Terry brought over some supplies for the next project he’s doing. He’s creating more storage space under my house in the crawlspace. It’s the ideal location for storing audio and video tapes. We headed off for dinner, but first we stopped by my other garage to see how the Torino was doing. And voila! It started! It just needed to get some gas in the line apparently. I had brought along my little battery charger just in case, but even though the starter was sluggish, it kicked right over. I loaded everyone into the Torino and we went to Jerry’s Famous Deli for dinner. When I got back I did an audition in my home studio and e-mailed it to my agents. Then I continued work on my office cabinets. They’re looking great! I scanned some checks for a deposit, learned how to work my new label maker, and labeled my new cabinets. Each drawer has a label stating what’s inside. Yeah, I’m one of THOSE types. Very organized. I blame my father. The finished product ended up looking perfect. I hit the hay and watched “The Bible” episode 3.

Thursday the 6th – IT’S SUPER, MAN! – I actually got to sleep in a bit today and it felt great. I got up and put on my best Superman shirt, hopped in the Torino and headed to “TTS.” Henry Cavill from “Man of Steel” was going to be the guest, so figuring that Henry wouldn’t be wearing a Superman shirt on the show, I wore mine. That way no one would confuse me for Henry. (That’s a joke, folks!) Before the show, while combing the audience for my assistant Sara, I saw about 8 girls all dressed in matching Superman shirts. They were all there to see Henry, and we chatted for a bit. Some of them were teachers, one was a pre-natal nurse, etc. Fun! Sara didn’t get a seat as close to the stage as she had wanted, but at least she got to see Henry in person. After the show we grabbed a bite to eat at Paty’s. When I got home Sergio came over to work on Beetlejuice’s hair, but Jim hadn’t brought him back over yet. So we waited for Jim to bring Beetlejuice back with the recently changed head position. As Sergio started working with the hair that was on the figure, he realized that the poor quality of hair wasn’t going to give us the look we wanted. So we agreed to meet next week so he could put on new hair. In fact, I think I’m going to cannibalize my old Beetlejuice wig and use that for the figure. It’s only right, considering he’s wearing one of my old costumes from the stage show. Sergio stuck around for a bit to help me with the final tweaks to my Batman and Robin display. He ironed Robin’s vest and mask, while I polished the brass portions of Batman and Robin’s utility belts. When Robin’s costume was ready, Sergio literally stitched the mannequin into the costume. While I was at it, I even gave the Bat Shield a polish. Jim had also brought over the finished, framed Tony Clifton nose, which was a gift from Bob Zmuda’s, Tony’s current “keeper.” I cleaned the frame inside and out, secured the nose inside it, and devised a special hook to hang it up in my Tony Clifton display. I also decided to dress the Beetlejuice figure in the entire costume. It was really coming along nicely. He even talks too! Inside the figure, Jim attached the voice chip from the 18″ Beetlejuice action figure. I did two auditions, then got ready for bed. I was craving some of my world-infamous Buffalo Mac, so I sped off to the bank at 3am to drop some deposits in the night deposit box, and then I went to Denny’s to get an order of Buffalo chicken strips. I whipped up the Buffalo Mac and went to bed to watch “The Bible” episode 4.

Friday the 7th – BIKE ENVY! – I wanted to bike to NBC today, but I got called in early and I didn’t have time to get it all together. I went in to do a comedy bit, and as I was about to walk to the Commissary to get lunch, Russell Crowe rode up through the NBC gate on his mountain bike with three friends. Aw rats! That looked fun! I wish I had been able to ride. It was a perfect day for it too! I got a salad, devoured it and then taped the show. Earlier I had noticed that the metal GRAN TORINO emblem on the right front fender had fallen off my car somewhere. I guess the attachments that hold the emblems on get old at some point and that’s why they fall off. So I spent some time combing eBay looking for suitable replacements during the taping of the show. After the show I went home and was doing some work on the computer. But I got tired so I grabbed a nap. 5 hours later I woke up! I must’ve been really tired! But I stayed up all night doing work around the house, planning my upcoming Sioux Falls, South Dakota and Aberdeen, South Dakota trip, and ripping songs from CDs to put in my i-Pod. I hit the hay to watch “The Bible” part 5, but it’s starting to be very redundant. The producers, in a quest for ratings I guess, focused on the bloody battles. And these battles are BLOODY! Almost kind of unnecessarily so. It seems like every episode is just one massacre after another. Then some dialogue, then another battle. I guess they felt they needed to compete with the likes of “Game of Thrones.” I’ll be glad when all the Old Testament stuff is over, and we can get into the New Testament stories.

Saturday the 8th – ROXY’S FIRST! – I didn’t get to sleep until 9am, and I got up at 1 to let the maids in to clean Planet Wallywood. My pal Bob came over to borrow a few of my Star Trek tunics for a shoot he was doing that afternoon. And then I walked Roxy to the groomer’s for a bath. My contractor Terry came over again to set up the equipment he would need to start the underground storage area project. My friend Edi and her daughter Ems stopped by, so we hopped in the Torino and went to get Roxy, who was finished with her bath. It was the first time Roxy had ever ridden in the Torino. She seems to like it better than the Mustang because of all the extra room in the backseat. We went to Panera to grab a bite on the patio, and then I headed back home to set up for movie night. My pal James, who works at Warner Brothers, had done some work on the old 1992 Captain America film. So we screened that on Blu Ray and had James point out all the scenes in which you could see his hands, or his back, etc. The film’s pretty goofy, but it was fun hearing his stories and seeing some of the pictures he had taken on the set. When everyone left I continued working with my CDs, ripping selected songs into my computer for my i-Pod. I also decided I didn’t like certain things about the Beetlejuice figure. The moss on the neck and forehead really bugged me because it didn’t look very much like the film make-up. So I took great pleasure in ripping off the majority of it. I’ll get it all stripped down and then Jim and Sergio will have to restore it all somewhat so we can start fresh on it. Then I went to bed to watch “The Bible” episode 6. FINALLY it’s the Jesus part.

Sunday the 9th – TONY TALKS! – I slept all day (since I didn’t get to bed until 9am!) but I managed to get up in time for evening church with Roxy. She loves to go to church a lot, and even gets very vocal about her enthusiasm. Here’s a recording I made of her recently that’s absolutely hilarious.What a dog!

I recorded this just before church a few weeks ago to prove to people that Roxy really loves going to church. As you can hear she’s VERY excited!

I had a chat with my pastor’s husband Galen about “The Bible” mini-series. He’s a pastor as well, and he said the producers behind the show had a specific agenda to promote, which is why they chose to focus on the massacres, bloody battles, killings and sacrifices. And not on some of the more sedate stories in the O.T. I only have four more episodes to go, and I’ll be glad to get back to tamer fare like “Hawaii Five-O,” or “Mannix” (or even “Man From Atlantis!”). Jim came over to repaint the areas of the Beetlejuice head that are now exposed after I ripped off a lot of the moss work. He’s a master at matching the texture and color of the original. Fabulous! When he finished up Sara and I went to Little Toni’s to grab a bite to eat. I got back home and did four auditions. Then I continued looking through my old CDs to see if there were any songs on them I wanted to rip to my i-Pod. While digging around I found an old work disc I had made with several clips of Andy Kaufman as Tony Clifton at his famous Carnegie Hall performance. I had always planned to give my Tony Clifton figure some audio enhancement, so now was my chance. I ripped Tony singing “Carolina in the Morning” into my computer, made a 20 second edit of it, and dubbed it over to a digital repeater I have. The repeater used to have audio from Austin Powers on it, the voice message Dr. Evil leaves for Austin just before the Vanessa fembot explodes. I used to have it displayed with my Vanessa fembot piece, the actual fembot figure used in the second Austin Powers film. But I like to change things out and move them around. So it’s Tony’s turn to talk. The repeater has ports for a remote switch and a speaker. So after dubbing in the audio, I connected the switch and speaker, and mounted them behind the curtain in the Tony Clifton display. Now Tony can actually sing for you! I also set up two collectible Elvis figures I got from a guy at work. He had them laying around in his garage for a long time, and the boxes were pretty badly damaged. But I took the figures out, cleaned them up, and mounted them atop one of my new office cabinets. Busy night! All told, I added about 60 new songs from CDs to my i-Pad and i-Pod. And the way I do it is very time consuming. I like to put each song in my audio program so I can tweak the audio levels. That way all the songs on my i-Pod are at the same level and I don’t have to keep turning the volume up and down. Sometimes I’ll even make custom edits of songs, if they’re too long or if there’s a part I like I’ll repeat it a few times. I also have a very specific way of labeling them. So it’s quite an arduous process. But it was a very productive night all in all.

And how was YOUR week??!!

AUDIO , VIDEO and PIX FROM THE WEEK