I was in one of my favorite stores this week called ‘It’s a Wrap’ on the Westside of L.A., and in the store they were playing this amazing music. I asked what it was and they said it was a group called Camera Obscura from Scotland. I liked one particular song, though all the songs I heard were memorable. So when I got home I immediately went to i-tunes and purchased “Tears for Affairs.” I hope you find it as catchy as I do!
Monday the 8th – THIS WEEK IS GONNA ROCK! – I knew this was going to be a very busy week, so I made a point of sleeping in as much as I could. I got to “The Tonight Show” at a later time because the taping was going to be 15 minutes later than usual. I also went out to find my friend Gil’s wife Sira, who was there with her nephew Keith. We made contact, then did the taping. After the show was over, we all met at Paty’s in Toluca Lake for dinner. Then I went home to rest up for the busy week. How busy you say….????
Tuesday the 9th – ON THE :MOVE! – I went to a studio called North Hollywood Sound in the morning to do some more lines for a videogame that I initially voiced back in May of last year. Sometimes it takes these games awhile to prepare for release, even so much as a year or more. And word had it I would be back this May for more stuff. So it promises to be a totally kick-ass game! Unfortunately, I’m forbidden from speaking about it in a public forum, but I’ll let you know what it is as soon as I’m able. After the three hour session, I went to my box to pick up some packages, then I got ready for “Tonight.” Joan Jett was going to be on the show that day so everyone was excited. We did the taping and Joan was fantastic! Afterwards I went to Best Buy to find a DVD copy of “Barnaby Jones,” but as usual, Best Buy let me down. So…I think I’m officially finished with Best Buy as a DVD source. I’m going to stick with Amazon. I also picked up a few grocery items and headed home for another busy day.
Wednesday the 10th – MAKE-UP DAY! – Tuesday the 9th all of the planets aligned, and “Avengers” and “Garfield” both needed me for recording sessions. But I already was booked on that videogame, so “Avengers” and “Garfield” had to pick me up on another day. Today was “Garfield’s” turn. I got in to Buzzy’s Recording around 10am and did about an hour’s worth of recording. It went quickly since it was only my lines. Frank, Gregg, Jason and the rest of the cast recorded the previous day without me. Then I moved into another studio to do a couple of quick commercials for HH Gregg. They were nice enough to book time at Buzzy’s so I didn’t have to run across town to a different studio. It made it really handy. When I got done, I had to visit my dentist. I’m seeing a new dentist in Toluca Lake, which is closer to my house in Hollywood, and on the way to NBC. He noticed that the back tooth on my lower right side looked funny, and probably needed to be prepped for a crown. Luckily, he didn’t think that it went to the nerve, so it looks like I saved it from needing a root canal just in time. If I had let it go a few months down the road, I most likely would have needed a root canal. Though Dr. A couldn’t guarantee that it didn’t need one, he said it most likely wouldn’t be necessary. YAAAY! Finally some good news when it came to my dental history. If you recall, last year I needed to have not one but TWO root canals. The first one went alright, but the second one had complications with the crown. As I get older, our old fillings develop cracks and crevices that allows decay to get underneath them. So it’s imperative to stay on top of them. When I finished there I stopped home quickly and then went to NBC for “Tonight.” I didn’t make it to evening church that night because I was exhausted. But I did manage to have dinner with my friend Sara that evening.
Thursday the 11th – AVENGER ASSEMBLE! – Normally it’s called out “AvengerS Assemble,” but apparently the rest of the Avengers recorded without me on the previous Tuesday. Again, I had to miss the session because I was doing that videogame. In this business, whoever books first gets the actor’s time. In this case it was the videogame. “Garfield” and “Avengers” also needed to book that day, but had to pick alternate days to record. I recorded the lines for Dr. Hank Pym in an episode that’s sure to be utterly fantastic! It features guest appearances by two of my other favorite Marvel characters, but I’m not telling! After that was over, I did some ADR (additional dialogue recording) for some of the previous episodes of “Avengers” that had just come back from the animation house. Folks, when I say this series is going to be historic, I really don’t think I’m exaggerating! This show looks utterly amazing! It was a lot of fun, but the four hour session was tiring. I went over to Round Table to grab some lunch, then got home to walk Sassie, then headed to NBC for the taping of “The Tonight Show.” WHEW! That night my friend Georgette came by to have dinner and watch movies.
Friday the 12th – SLEEP IN? NOT! – It was Friday at last, and I was excited because it was my chance to sleep in. I didn’t have anything scheduled until “The Tonight Show” taping in the late afternoon. AAAAAHHHHH! However that was not to be. I got a call on the hotline in the morning from one of my agents telling me that HH Gregg needed me to record some more commercials. They wanted to know if today or Monday would be better. Since I was now already awake, I said now would be preferable. So I got up, and headed to Voice Trax West in Studio City and did 5 new spots for HH Gregg. Since I was up and at ’em, I invited my friend Fred Westbrook, Sara and Chuck McCann to have lunch with me at Panera. It’s great because Panera allows doggies on their patio when you dine there. I saw a Sheltie dog that looked like a shrunken version of my collie Sassie. Blaze was his name, and he was beautiful! We had a great lunch sitting outside on a beautiful BEAUTIFUL day. Chuck was heading out of town to do one of his stage shows with Tim Conway, so it would be the last I would see him for awhile. But I got so behind in time that I spaced on my appointment with my chiropractor Dr. Carletta. So I called and rescheduled for Monday. Then I did the “Tonight” show taping, and headed home. I had to hit the hay early because I had to be up super early the next morning.
Saturday the 13th – SUPER SATURDAY! – I was up VERY early to attend my final elder’s meeting at church. This is the meeting where the elders are thanked for their three year service, and the new elders are introduced. We had a nice breakfast, a nice meeting talking about what our three year term taught us, and then we went on our way to let the new elders discuss the business at hand. I got cleaned up and headed to west L.A. with my friend Sara. I went to see my M.D. Dr. Patt in Santa Monica about my vocal cords and to get a general exam. We’re going to look into treating any possible allergies I have. When I was done there, Sara and I went to Robinson Beautilities to see if there were any more costume pieces I wanted to purchase. There were a few things I was interested in, but I figured I’d go back another time. Then we went to Laser Blazer, my favorite DVD store. If this store was closer to my house, I would buy stuff there all the time instead of Amazon. But because I hardly get down there I have to order on Amazon instead. I begged them to open a branch in the Burbank area! Then we went to It’s a Wrap in Beverly Hills. I ended up getting a LOT of clothes there. I bought three great jackets, a shirt, some jeans, and a few dresses for Sara. JACKPOT! There were so many great clothes there, and the leather jacket I bought was HALF PRICE from its previous price! I got home and didn’t’ have enough time to grab a nap before Blu Ray Trek night with my friends. So I figured I’d rough it. And I did pretty well. I stayed awake through the entire evening, even long enough to screen a few scenes from Monty Python’s “The Meaning of Life” after “Star Trek” was over. By the time I got to bed I realized I had been up nearly 22 hours straight! Then I realized I was going to lose another hour of sleep doing that STUPID STUPID STUPID Daylight Savings Time! UGH! There oughtta be a law against that. It’s the dumbest thing I’ve ever heard and I can’t believe we’re still adhering to that antiquated, silly, stupid law.
Sunday the 14th – EX-HAUSTED! – I got up fairly early again (early for me on a Sunday, anyway) to speak at the Pastor’s Class at church. I told them about voice-over and how my faith and belief system affects the work that I do. But my voice was shot because of all the work I had done the previous week, so I wasn’t able to do many voices for them. But it was a great discussion! I got some Taco Bell afterwards and headed home to rest. But I ended up sleeping for five hours! That’s how tired I was, catching up from the previous week’s activities! I even missed evening church. That evening I met Sara and Fred for dinner at Little Toni’s in North Hollywood for dinner, did some auditions, then enjoyed watching some episodes of “Get Smart” on DVD. The forthcoming week promised to be a lot more relaxed that this one had been!
And how was YOUR week??!!!
