RANDOM PIC OF THE WEEK
This past week I learned of the death of an old friend of mine. Special effects/make-up guru and motion picture director Robert Green Hall passed away a few days ago. Though he hadn’t lived in Los Angeles in a while, and we’ve been out of touch since then, I remembered fondly the great times we had. Even the times we dressed up as Austin Powers and Dr. Evil and met John Travolta on Sunset Blvd. in L.A.! Good times indeed. RIP Robert.
While at lunch last Sunday, Michelle and I started playing a game where we tried to name songs that contained girls’ names, and we went through the names alphabetically. We couldn’t think of names for a few of the letters, but we did pretty good. It all started when “Angie” by the Rolling Stones came on the overhead music system. Then of course I mentioned “Brandy,” and then “Sweet Caroline, ” etc. etc. So I’ve been playing the game on Twitter with my followers and have gotten some pretty good responses, containing songs I hadn’t been aware of. But when I got to the letter S, this oldie came up and I had forgotten how great “Oh Sheila” by Ready for the World was. Gosh I miss the 80’s!
Monday the 17th – WIG WONDERS AND DAY OF DELAYS! – Over the past several months, Michelle and I have been working on replica puppets of Prairie Dawn from “Sesame Street.” She’ll have hers that she made, and I’ll have mine that I made. Mine got finished first, so I’m having my hair guy Sergio come over and attach the wig and style it. Sergio was supposed to come over at noon, but he called to say his usual day off from work was changed at the last minute and that he’d have to work that day instead. I told him that Michelle and I could buy the wigs, but if he could come over after work that would be great. I also got a call from my maid service saying they would be delayed until late afternoon. So Michelle and I took off to my usual wig place, only to find that they had moved deep into Van Nuys, which was too far for us to go. Instead, we hit another wig and make-up store called Nigels and found two perfect, matching wigs for our Prairie puppets! The first one was too bright and cartoony, the second one was too dark and realistic-looking, but this third option fit the bill perfectly! We got some lunch at the drive-thru, and headed home to meet the maids. After they cleaned up I set up the Chaney Room for Sergio to work in, and he arrived in the early evening. He’s done all of the hair work on all of the life-size display mannequins in my house. I can always rely on his amazing talent. While he worked I typed out Wally’s Week and Michelle watched Sergio do his magic. She turned out perfectly! For my version of the replica, I wanted to stick with the more “vintage” Prairie Dawn look, as she appeared back in the early days of “Sesame Street” back in 1970. After studying several video clips and stills of her, we determined that her hair was a full-size wig that had been cut down to fit the puppet. Obviously, back in the early days of “Sesame Street” they most likely didn’t have the budget for custom-made puppet wigs, and just utilized what they could get their hands on. This conjecture was further confirmed when we looked at the bulky ‘bump’ on the back of her hair. It’s like the rest of the wig was sewn up underneath the main part, because it was so big. Sergio replicated that look perfectly. He also reproduced her slightly ‘choppy’ haircut, which looked like the puppet staff in 1970 may have cut her hair themselves, as opposed to a professional stylist doing it. We didn’t want it too choppy so it looked distracting, but he did just enough to give it that ‘vintage’ look. As soon as Michelle’s puppet is finished, he’ll come back to do the hair on hers too. I believe she’s going to go with a slightly more ‘modern’ look for her Prairie Dawn replica. I did my auditions at the end of the day. Whew! And it’s only Monday!
Tuesday the 18th – PUPPET PREP! – To start the day, I drove to Voice Trax West for a three hour session. We’re nearing the end of the contract for this particular job (it’s the long-running gig I’ve had for a super-secret client for years) and we only have a few hours left to record. After the session I picked up some groceries, headed home to unload them, and then Michelle and I drove to Denny’s to have breakfast for dinner (including pancakes!). After dinner Michelle and I set up the living room with lighting to shoot her video submission to the Henson Company. They posted a notice a week or so ago that they are looking to train some future puppeteers in the Henson technique, and Michelle is going to try for it. We came up with a funny and unique way to feature my Prairie Dawn replica Muppet, without actually making it Prairie Dawn. We shot the first take and then put it up on the computer to watch it. But she wasn’t confident in it, so we did a second take. We put that one up on the computer too, and we came up with a few different ideas. She had a fair amount of self-doubt and nervousness at first, but the third take was golden! The bit was tight (just over a minute), the quality of the video was good, and it showed off her personality and her talent for voices and puppetry. I think she’d be a GREAT candidate for a Henson workshop, but then again, I’m slightly biased! Have a look for yourself! Michelle Schulman Puppet Demo – YouTube. Michelle headed back home to start work again the next day, and I ended the day with my usual nightly auditions.
Wednesday the 19th – WEDNESDAY WALK! – My pal Brittney came over so we could do a 2 mile walk together and meet our friend Edi for lunch at Chin Chin. After lunch we walked to CVS and I got a few more hang tags printed for my Christoween Stalkings. In order to be compliant with the trademark office’s rules, all of the products we sell have to have certain information on the tags that are attached to the products. We stopped by Kit Kraft to get a few supplies, and then I got home to do some work. I’m still very impressed with my Prairie Dawn replica, but I need the fabricator Alex in Wonderland to do just a few more things. She needs a little more stuffing in the palms of her hands to hide the arm rod (you can see the end of the arm rod underneath the fabric at this point) and I’d like to have more lace added to her dress. But overall she’s gorgeous, and she looks right at home with my other two ‘early Sesame’ monster Muppet replicas. I stitched the hang tags to the Stalkings I picked up from my seamstress last week, did my nightly auditions, and did some work around the house.
Thursday the 20th – POOR UNWELL ROXY! – As I walked downstairs to disarm the house alarm, I stepped in something nasty. Yup, Roxy had been sick overnight and left some poo-poo and pee-pee down by my garage. God bless her, she did it on the marble surface and not on the carpet. So as I cleaned it up I saw her watching me carefully to see if I was going to get agitated at her or not. But I actually praised her for doing it in a good area. She was obviously not feeling well, and she couldn’t help it. Boy is she smart! She knew enough not to do it on the carpet. I was intent on taking her to the vet, but I had a session scheduled in my home studio at 12:30. I just barely got everything cleaned up, and then set up the studio. I connected with the client at 12:30 and we worked until 1. I called the vet and arranged to drop her off at 1:45, just a few minutes before I was due at my session at Voice Trax West at 2:00. I got to the studio and worked 3 hours, and then stopped at the grocery store to pick up a few potatoes for her bland diet. While I was in session, the vet called to tell me about Roxy’s condition. It might have been too many rich foods or treats during Roxy’s birthday week. Now that she’s an elderly gal, I need to limit the number of treats and people food she gets. So from now on, it’s a bland diet of grilled chicken breast and mashed potatoes or rice. I picked Roxy up from the vet’s office, along with her prescriptions, and then headed home. I boiled a potato and gave her a little something to eat. I worked around the house all night, made some chili and hit the hay.
Friday the 21st – FREE STUFF DAY! – Roxy’s vet called and said she has a pretty serious UTI. So I needed to go back over to the vet’s to pick up an antibiotic. UTI’s are a common side effect of diarrhea unfortunately. I’ll be out and about all day, so I’ll call the vet later to see if the prescription is ready for pick-up. I went over to Marc Graue Studios to do a 2 hour session on a video game that I’ve worked on before. This was for a supplemental pack that will be available soon. When I got in, and followed all of the safety protocols mandated by SAG-AFTRA and the county, I went into the studio and set down my stuff. The engineer in the control room told me there was a brand new pair of headphones there for my use. Still in the package! He said every Voice Actor gets a brand new, unused set of headphones. I thought at first it was a bit of overkill, as I would just be happy with having the studio headphones cleaned between actors, but nope. A BRAND NEW set of headphones for every actor was the studio’s new rule! Then I asked what they were going to do with them when I was finished. He said they’d go into a box with all of the others, and he wasn’t sure what would happen to them. I said, “Can I just keep them?” He said I could. Wild! A nice all white pair of headphones just for showing up! Cool! After the session I went to Anawalt Lumber to buy some supplies to make a new puppet stand for my Prairie Dawn replica. The pieces they gave me for the base were scraps they had lying around, so they cut them to size and gave them to me for free. WOW! It was a day of groovy free stuff! I hit the McDonald’s drive-thru for lunch, and then went to the vet’s office to get Roxy’s antibiotics. I went home and fed the kids and gave Roxy her meds. I noticed that my sheets and towels were looking pretty rough. Some of my towels had started fraying on the edges, and some of my favorite sheets were developing holes. Time to stock up on some new ones! I went over to Bed, Bath and Beyond and got 5 new towels (on clearance!) and two new sets of sheets! While I was out I decided to swing by Barone’s to pick up a pizza. I got back home and threw everything in the wash. Then it was time to start relaxing for the weekend! It had been a very busy week, and next week was looking busy too! Later I enjoyed some leftover Barone’s pizza and a few “Lone Ranger” episodes. In an utter act of Hollywood foreshadowing, James Arness played a young deputy sheriff! He had no idea that in a few years, he would be promoted to Marshall and run Dodge City in “Gunsmoke!” My dad, a hardcore “Gunsmoke” fan enjoyed the picture I snapped of a young James Arness. This was also way before he played “The Thing From Another World” in the movie “The Thing.”
Saturday the 22nd – DON’T DISS MY JERRY’S! – Brittney came over to take another brisk 2 mile walk, so we walked over to Art’s Deli. I’ve never been impressed with the food there, as it’s actually pretty tasteless. But since my old haunt Jerry’s Famous Deli is out of business, it’s better than nothing. While we were there I overheard one of their servers talking to a customer and they were dissing Jerry’s. They were talking about how expensive the food was and how lousy the service used to be. I thought to myself, “At least the food was edible, unlike the food at Art’s.” I didn’t like that they were dissing Jerry’s. After some unremarkable soup and a bland ham and cheese sandwich, Brittney and I walked back home. I drove back to Bed, Bath and Beyond to pick up another bath mat. I only bought three the night before for my vanity area, and after laying them all out, I realized I could use one more. Since they were only 9 bucks, I picked up several more just to have for the future. I got back home and stitched the four bath mats together end to end with monofilament. That would keep them all in line so they wouldn’t separate as I walked on them. Later I did the thing I always dread every month. I went through my bank statements to reconcile everything, including my expenses and receipts. Luckily it all worked very well and I was kind of proud of myself. Michelle came over later after she got off work. Her schedule changed a bit for the forthcoming week, so she had different days off than usual.
Sunday the 23rd – PARKING CONUNDRUM! – The guy who owns the parking spot where I park my Gran Torino is moving and is going to rent out his house. So I’ll be losing my usual auxiliary parking spot as of July 1. I’m not having much luck finding alternate parking anywhere; certainly not on the premises here. If I can’t find a place to park her, I’m considering selling her on eBay. I haven’t been driving the Torino as much lately, and I hate to say it, but the bloom has kind of worn off of that rose. The charm of having the Torino has kind of worn off a bit. Maybe it would be better off going to a home where it could get some more attention. I’m consulting with a few other Torino people to get some ideas. I’m still considering what to do. Michelle and I went to Lancer’s to get some lunch, and we had a great time just relaxing. When we got back to the house we started working on Michelle’s Prairie Dawn replica Muppet. I want her to do as much of the work as possible since she wants to learn puppet building. We put primer on the eye pieces and let them sit for a day before painting them white. She also attached the fleece head covering to the underside of the top of the mouth plate. I laid out all of the elements she’ll need to complete the project on Monday while I’m away at a session. I made soup and a sandwich and watched a few more episodes of “The Lone Ranger.”
And how was YOUR week??!!
PIX FROM THE WEEK
My sister and brother-in-law just started their scented candle business Aroma Dakota. Check out their website!
Matt Dillon meets The Lone Ranger!
My folks finally got to meet their new great grand-daughter without their masks on! Fabulous!
Prairie Dawn takes her permanent place in Planet Wallywood, and her monster friends look quite shocked!
My hair guy and good friend Sergio Lopez with his latest celebrity client!
With the news of my friend Robert Hall’s passing this past week, I remembered the time he and I were in my Mustang on a Saturday night on Sunset Blvd, and we were dressed as Austin Powers and Dr. Evil for a party. Robert always had his video camera handy and it’s a good thing. We met John Travolta on the boulevard. Good times. RIP Robert.
