March 19 – March 25 (2012) – Wally On The Web

RANDOM PIC OF THE WEEK

Here’s the rough layout for my Elvis display, which I’ll exhibit next to Robo-Elvis. I took that pic of Elvis June 22, 1977 when I was just 16 years old.

I caught this song on satellite radio this past week while driving around in the Torino. I loved singing along with Barry. “She lost her youth and she lost her Tony, now she’s LOST HER MIND!” Just TRY not to tap your foot as you listen to “Copacabana (At the Copa)!”

Monday the 19th – LET THERE BE LIGHT! – I slept til noon or so, then I got a hotline call to do a voice-over for a comedy bit for “The Tonight Show.” So I recorded it in my home studio, e-mailed it off to the gang and then Electric Bob came over to finish up the installation of my new hall light. The only light leading up the staircase to my upstairs was at the top of the stairs, but I wanted to have a light at the bottom of the stairs too to help illuminate the area. It also served to light up the artwork and displays on the wall. Speaking of displays, I guy e-mailed me about a week or so ago that he had Andy Kaufman’s original Elvis costume. I’m going to buy it from him, in addition to a blue Elvis scarf for my Robo-Elvis exhibit, and a pair of Elvis’ original silver sunglasses with the gold TCB and EP appliques. GREAT! I headed over to NBC for the taping of “TTS,” and had a great time doing it. After the show wrapped I headed over to Taco Bell to get a couple of those delicious Doritos tacos! YUM! Then I went to It’s a Wrap to do some shopping. I got home to finish up Wally’s Week and then grabbed a quick nap. When I got up I did my auditions in my home studio and e-mailed them to my agents. I also prepped for my next day’s session. Then I made a pizza and watched another episode of ‘Kojak: Season 1″ just before bed.

Tuesday the 20th – TRIFECTA! – A busy day planned! I got up early for a session at Voice Trax West about student loans. We finished in about 40 minutes so I headed to Subway to get a tuna sandwich. I got home and got ready to bicycle to my “Bleach” session and “TTS.” It was a beautiful day and I was really looking forward to getting on the bike again. But just before I was ready to “suit up” for my ride, I got a call from my agent telling me to go over to “TTS” for a couple of bits. So I called Studiopolis and arranged to start the “Bleach” session 15 minutes earlier. So I started “Bleach” at 12:45, dashed off to NBC at 1:15. Did comedy bits from 1:30 to 2:00, then hustled back to Studiopolis and finished up “Bleach” from 2:15 to 3:00. I could have never made that schedule on my bicycle. My pal Mark Ackerman was at the taping. It was a good show too! With Ron Paul and Frank Caliendo it was a big one! After we wrapped I headed home to freshen up for dinner with my pal Mina. She’s moving to London soon and she wanted me to look over her CDs to see if I wanted anything. We had a great dinner at Miceli’s and chatted about her upcoming move. I got home and grabbed a nap and then got up for my nightly auditions. I also finalized my cousin’s Flat Stanley presentation. I added some photos, music and finished the narration. I sent everything over to my pal Scott so he could put it all together. Flat Stanley had a GREAT time while he was here in Hollywood!

Wednesday the 21st – HAPPY BIRTHDAY, LACEY! – Hard to believe my daughter Lacey was turning 29 today. Time really flies! I slept late and it felt great! It was another great day for a bike ride. But…WOULD IT HAPPEN??!! YES! It did! And it was fun! It was great to be on my bicycle again. The musical artist Tennis did a great song on the show, and I bought it on i-Tunes as soon as I got home! Later that evening I met up with Robyn Roth, a vocalist who will be singing the lead on my country demo. We had a great dinner at Jerry’s Famous Deli, and then we went home to do some rehearsing on the song. I squeezed in a short nap, and then got up to do some work around the house. I also scanned some checks for a deposit, then watched another “Kojak” episode.

Thursday the 22nd – IT’S ELECTRIFYIN’!! – I got a hotline call telling me there were two “TTS” bits in my inbox. I recorded them and sent them over. Then I called DirecTV about an outage that occurred about two weeks ago in my downstairs system. (That ought to show you how much I watch TV) I was thinking that a technician would have to come figure it out, but after talking it through with the customer service guy, it was a simple matter of static electricity. I unplugged the cable from the box, touched it with my finger to discharge the static electricity, plugged it back in, reset the receiver and VOILA! It worked! I hopped in the Gran Torino and drove over to Naimie’s Beauty Supply to pick up some Sea Breeze. Then I drove to my mailbox to get my mail, and then off to “TTS.” After the show I got home to do stuff, and then met my assistant Sara at Panera for dinner. I picked up a prescription at the CVS pharmacy and then went home for a nap. Then I got up, did my auditions and e-mailed them to my agent, and watched another episode of “Kojak: Season 1” until dawn.

Friday the 23rd – FRIDAYLICIOIUS! – Busy day! I got a hotline call early for a quick “TTS” bit. It was only 3 words, but I did it several different ways to give the writer Anthony a choice. I jumped in the Gran Torino and sped off to Kalmenson and Kalmenson for an audition. Then I went over to Al & Ed’s Auto Sound to see why the satellite radio in my Torino kept losing signal periodically. Apparently the system I have is meant to have the antenna mounted outside the car, but mine is on my dashboard. Having a 3″ X 3″ black antenna thingie on the Torino would ruin the look of the car. So we’re considering other options. I stopped by Guns Direct in Burbank to drop off my 3813, my model 25 and my Taurus .357 for a good cleaning. I got home to meet with Terry my contractor so he could do some painting. But we were starving. We stopped at McDonald’s for a quick lunch, and then went to meet my realtor Randy to see a house. But the realtor representing the seller never showed up, so after 10 minutes of waiting we split. We had a lot to do and no time to waste. The mailman brought some gold adhesive-backed Mylar I had ordered, so I immediately put it on my little metal “flag” that I had on my Adam West light. The ring around the light is gold metallic and I needed the metal flag (something lighting guys use to help direct a light more specifically) to match it. So I applied the Mylar and installed the flag. It looked perfect! Terry finished painting and we started to plan some more for the upcoming Robo-Elvis display. The stage platform is finished and he’s ready to mount the mannequin and run the wires. There are two speakers that will be installed in the platform, and we thought it might be fun to have Elvis’ TCB logo painted on the speaker grilles. I also want to mount a framed display of a photo I took of Elvis at the concert I saw him perform at. I’m also including my ticket stub in the display as well. So I mapped out the layout and headed to Fast Frame before work to get them started on it. I rushed off to NBC and did a comedy bit, then rehearsed the opening and we taped the show. My pal Dan Roebuck had some friends at the taping that day, so I met up with them and gave them the nickel tour backstage. Then I drove them over to Michael’s Bar and Grill in the Torino to meet up with Dan for dinner. I got home and fed Spook and then took a nap. It was going to be a big weekend with a special houseguest, so I wanted to prepare the place. I spent about four hours cleaning up my garage and throwing stuff out. I also made a little bed in the back of my Mustang so I could go to pick up my guest on Saturday. I was hoping she’d be comfortable in the back on the ride to my house!

Saturday the 24th – ROXY ROCKS! – If you’ve been reading Wally’s Week the post couple of weeks you know that I’ve been going to visit a 3 year old collie named Roxy in “Lassieland,” the place in L.A. where they train and raise all of the Lassie dogs. Roxy is part of the Lassie lineage (her great great great great great great great grandfather was Pal, the original Lassie!) and may come to live with me permanently. Since I lost my collie Sassie last June, life without a dog has been strange. So we’re working on the bonding thing through weekly visits. But this was the first weekend where she would spend the night in Planet Wallywood. I got up around noon and got ready to go pick her up. I had her bed made up in the backseat, with a layer of foam rubber, a blanket and a drool towel. (Sometimes dogs pant a lot during car rides as I think they get a little carsick.) I got to Lassieland and hung out for a bit, got some food for her, a leash and her food bowl. Then we loaded up and hit the road. I was hoping all would go well and she would get along with Spook. I knew Spook wouldn’t have any trouble, as he loves most dogs, but I didn’t know how Roxy would react. We stopped by the KFC drive-thru to pick up some food to go (our favorite place) and then I had Sara meet us at my house. I would need her help. I got Roxy out of the car, walked her around the premises to get an idea of the lay of the land. Then I took her in the front door. Spook saw her immediately and had this strange look of familiarity on his face. Roxy physically does resemble Sassie somewhat, but the coloring is different. He came right down to meet her, they touched noses and everything went very well! When Spook’s near her Roxy’s fine, but when Spook runs off Roxy gets into her play mode, her tail wags and she takes off after him. It’s not aggressive, she’s just happy to have someone to play with. My pal Scott came over and was greeted by Roxy at the door. Sara took her car on ahead to meet us at Rusty’s Pets so I could buy some supplies. Scott and I walked Roxy over to the Studio Cafe to meet up with Chuck McCann, who fell in love with her immediately. Then we walked to Rusty’s to get a water bowl, some Pet-Tabs (vitamins), a new bed and a retractable leash. Roxy likes a square pillow bed, as opposed to the oval-shaped beds. So we had her lay on one in the store, and she seemed to like it. Terry, the manager of Rusty’s, brought his collie Rusty into meet Roxy. There are dog biscuits under the front counter in little open boxes. Roxy went by the boxes one by one sampling the biscuits. The ones she liked she would try to extract from the box with her mouth. I grabbed the ones she picked and put them on the counter to pay for them. Terry gave her one free as a welcome gift. We walked back home and got set up for movie night. Roxy was very excited and loved meeting everybody. Maybe a little too much. The people on the floor in the bean bags got plenty of attention from her, especially when the food was delivered. She has to learn manners. I put her up on the couch with me for a bit and she was completely contented. But occasionally she would go lay on her square bed and fall asleep (for short periods) and seemed to act as if she’s always lived here. As everyone was leaving for the night she put her head on my knee, which made everyone exude a collective “awwwwww.” I said, “OK, Roxy. You can stay.” But when it came time to go to bed it was a different story. I didn’t know that she doesn’t normally sleep with people. With eight other dogs at Lassieland, I’m sure not all of them can sleep with human companions. Though I had her bed on the floor next to my bed, she didn’t want to stay put. She wanted to follow me. I would have her lay down on her bed, tell her to stay, and then turn to get into bed. But when I turned back around she was right behind me. Thinking that she might normally be penned up at night, I put a huge piece of cardboard up so she couldn’t go any further than her little area. That seemed to get the message across that it was time for sleep.

Sunday the 25th – ROXY DAY 2! – I didn’t get very restful sleep. I was thinking about Roxy in the back of my mind. I woke up at 8am (Me? Up at 8am on a Sunday??!!) I grabbed Roxy’s leash and we went for a little morning walk under a gloomy sky. She also enjoyed some water and a snack. Then I went back to bed. When I woke up again at 1:00, I grabbed her leash again to go for another walk. But when I opened the front door it was pouring rain out. Roxy looked outside and just plopped right down on the living room floor as if to say, “Not a chance!” But I coaxed her outside to go potty. When we got back inside I had a towel ready to dry her off. I used to make toweling off a game with Sassie, and she came to enjoy it a lot. So I toweled Roxy off, started the fireplace, left the front door open so I could enjoy the smell and sound of the rain, and I laid on the couch. Roxy saw me lay down and she laid down. But as soon as I would stir, she’d be up on her feet immediately to run over to see if I wanted to give her more attention. Later that afternoon we got ready for evening church. I wasn’t sure how she was going to handle it so I stayed toward the back of the room. Most of the folks sit in chairs at the service, but against the back wall are traditional wooden pews. I sat there and kept Roxy on a short leash. She was nervous. Panting, and trying to walk around. She wanted to go explore but the leash was preventing that. I wanted her to sit or lie on the floor but she wouldn’t. She would occasionally put her front paws up on my knees and I would pet her. About three-fourths of the way through the service, I got the idea that she may like laying on the pew. I had my friend Amanda help me get her up on the pew, and BOOM! She was quiet as a mouse. She stopped panting, she was relaxed and happy. She just wanted to be up with us. She didn’t like being down on the floor apparently. After the service was over everyone couldn’t resist coming up to meet her. She loved LOVED the attention and wanted to meet everybody. Then it was back in the car and off to Lassieland. Our sleepover weekend was over already. I told Carol the trainer about her weekend and told her that Roxy needed to learn a few more things. So Carol is going to work with her some more. I’ll get her for weekends for the next 3 weekends, and then after that she’ll probably be ready to make it a permanent thing. But Carol said she wants to work with her some more. Carol’s husband Pat was having a birthday celebration, so we had some cherry pie and then drove back home and had dinner at Denny’s. It was still raining pretty good, after a short respite. I grabbed a nap (I was exhausted!) but then got up for my auditions and another episode of Kojak. I miss Roxy!

And how was (WOOF) your week??!!

PICS FROM THE WEEK

The first picture of Roxy at Planet Wallywood! Sara tries to contain her so I can get a pic of her and Spook in the same general vicinity.