With the passing of my pal Leonard Stone this past week, I got to thinking about the role that won him a Tony nomination on Broadway in 1959. Here’s his song from the Bob Fosse production “The Redhead”….it’s called “The Uncle Sam Rag!” RIP Leonard!
Tuesday the 1st – THE TUESDAY THAT FELT LIKE A MONDAY! – I was still exhausted from an amazing Halloween weekend so I slept as long as I could. I got up in the afternoon and headed over to Voice Trax West for another US Airways session. They said the next large phase of recording for the IVR (Interactive Voice Response) system will begin in January. When I finished the session I went to Subway for a tuna sandwich. I went home for awhile to check e-mails, then it was off to “The Tonight Show” to tape the show. After that I headed home to meet up with my friend Brittney Powell, and we headed off to Jerry’s Famous Deli to meet up with my assistant Sara and my pal Alex for dinner. Then I headed home for a nap. I got up later and recorded my auditions in my home studio to e-mail to my agents, did some miscellaneous work around the house and then hit the hay for real.
Wednesday the 2nd – HAPPY THEN SAD! – I got a call on my hotline from my agent to be at NBC for an early bit. I headed over to “TTS” and did the bit, then drove off to Burger King for some quick lunch. Then I went to It’s a Wrap to do some shopping and kill some time before I was due at NBC for the taping. But as I was shopping I got an urgent call from the Assistant Director asking me to come in and meet with Taylor Lautner’s manager so they could give me the proper pronunciation of his name. So I got into the car and headed to NBC. When I got there I was needed for a pick-up line for a bit, then I met with Taylor’s manager and he told me it was pronounced “LAHT-nur.” This was in response to several other pronunciations of his last name in the past…”LOUT-nur,” or “LAUT-nur.” It’s important to have the exact pronunciations so I don’t sound like a knucklehead on the opening “Tonight Show” announcement. Plus it’s a show of respect for the guest. But after the show it was a dream come true for me. I’ve been a fan of the Muppets since “Sesame Street” started when I was in the third grade. I’ve always loved puppets, but when the Muppets came along a whole new world opened up! Kermit and Miss Piggy came by after the taping to pre-tape their entrances. It was amazing for me to watch the process as these superstars graced “The Tonight Show” stage! I had met Kermit in the early 2000s in New Orleans, but I had never seen Miss Piggy in person, and she’s just as lovely in person as she is on screen! But my euphoria was short-lived. When I got home I received a phone message that my old friend, actor Leonard Stone had passed away at the age of 87 (one day before his 88th birthday) at 5:07 pm. I knew he had been sick with lung cancer, and I had gotten to talk to him on Saturday to tell him how much his friendship meant to me, and I knew the end was near then. So I can’t say the phone call wasn’t unexpected, but it’s still sad when you get the call. There’s been too much death this year for my taste. But, it’s all part of life. My masseuse came over and gave me a massage. I had been lifting a lot of heavy boxes last Saturday at my Halloween party, so I had a lot of kinks to work out. After the massage Emily, Sara and I went to DuPar’s for dinner and to talk about Leonard and our memories of him. I got home and grabbed a nap, then got up for my auditions and did some work around the house. Sara came over later to watch another classic episode of “Hawaii Five-O” with me.
Thursday the 3rd – WHERE DID THE WEEK GO?! – I got another hotline call from my agent telling me that a bit for “TTS” was waiting for me to record in my inbox. I recorded it, sent it over and then got ready to go run errands. I went to Fed Ex to overnight my “Mission Impossible Dossier” book to Leonard Nimoy. Quite a few years back, I went to an estate sale for Max Hodge, the TV writer who wrote for “Batman” and other great shows. In his collection was this book and I bought it. It was my goal to have it signed by as many of the actors who performed on the show as possible. I had the inside front cover signed by everybody who played a regular character on the show except for 1) Leonard Nimoy, and 2) Greg Morris. I hadn’t run into Mr. Nimoy at an autograph show or convention that was convenient lately, and Mr. Morris had passed away several years ago. But Peter Graves, Barbara Bain, Martin Landau and my pal Peter Lupus had all signed it. Recently I found out that Leonard Nimoy had retired from convention appearances, so my chances to have the book signed by him was close to nil. However I ran into my old pal Jeff Nimoy, Leonard’s cousin, and Jeff said he would see what he could do. Mr. Nimoy agreed to sign the book, so I Fed Ex’d it to his office. Fingers crossed! I went to CVS to get some cough medicine. Though the little bug I caught coming out of Chicago was long gone, the tickle in my lungs was lingering. It was making my life difficult, particularly when doing voice-over jobs. I grabbed a quick bite at Del Taco, then headed to NBC for the taping of “TTS.” When I got home my pal Edi came by to help me organize my computer files including all the photos that had come in from my Halloween party. What a great time that was! All the work was well worth it! I grabbed a nap, and then got up for my auditions and did some stuff around the house. Once again, Sara came over to watch another classic episode of “Hawaii Five-O.”
Friday the 4th – MUPPET MANIA! – I woke up to a beautiful rainy day with my hotline beeping. I had to be at NBC early to do a bit for my old pal Jim Wise. I’ve known Jim since the old days of the Culter Comedy Network, and he’s been a writer on “TTS” for years. It’s always fun to work with Jim and talk about the old days. He always notes that we’re doing the same stuff we did back then, but for a “slightly” larger audience. I recorded Jim’s bit, then another quick bit, and it was time to get ready for the taping. I met up with my pal Paul Dini, producer of the “Batman Animated Series” and the “Batman Arkham Asylum” game series. Like me he’s a huge Muppet fan, and he wanted to come watch Miss Piggy on the show. After the taping I brought Paul backstage for the tour and we ran into Brian, Miss Piggy’s “handler and bodyguard.” I introduced myself to him and he said he was aware of my work. He said he goes on the 1966 Batman Message Board from time to time to check things out, and Paul said he goes on the Muppet Message Boards from time to time. Who knew that the Muppets and Batman were so intertwined! Brian’s a good guy and I hope we keep in touch. I got an e-mail from Leonard Stone’s daughter which included the address for Leonard’s memorial on Saturday afternoon in Encinitas. I also needed to be at Glamourcon in Long Beach for a bit on Saturday, so I decided to book a room at the Glamourcon host hotel for that night so I could get a head start to Leonard’s memorial on Saturday afternoon. I packed up a bag and headed down the road to Long Beach. I checked into my room and relaxed for the evening.
Saturday the 5th – MEMORIALIZING A SWELL GUY! – I got up in the morning and was one of the first in line for Glamourcon at the Long Beach Hilton. I had 7 autographs in my Playboy Playmate book I needed to get, and I was hoping that the gals would be there on time. If they were late it would hold me back from hitting the road in a timely manner and making Leonard’s memorial service. I spoke with Corrine Harney, one of the 7 I needed, and she’s a delightful gal! We talked about losing elders that we loved, and losing our beloved pets. Within just an hour, I got 6 of the 7 autographs I needed, so I decided not to wait for the 7th, since there was no sign that she would be making an appearance any time soon. I hit the road about 12:15 and headed to Encinitas. I got to Leonard’s memorial around 1:45, just in time to hear his family speak. I greeted his wife Carol and gave her a big kiss and a hug. After the family spoke, Carol said a few words and told the family how grateful she was that I drove down from L.A. and that Leonard cared a great deal for me. At that point all I could do was hang my head, as my eyes were getting very teary. His family was very welcoming and wonderful, and I realized that even though he had a stellar body of acting work, his greatest work in life was that which he did with his family. I met up with my friend Christine and her sister and mom. Christine accompanied Leonard to a trip we made to New York several years back for an autograph show. So they showed up to pay their respects as well. The family played a DVD interview that they had recorded with Leonard a few months back, where he spoke about his life and memories. It was a happy, yet sad occasion to commemorate such a stellar guy. On the way back home traffic was a breeze until I hit the area near Disneyland. Then it was slow all the way back home. My pal and webmaster Scott Sebring phone me and said he was near my house, so I had him go inside and wait for me to get home. I gave him the combination for my key box, and he let himself in. But just as I was giving him the code to deactivate the alarm, my stupid cell phone cut out and he didn’t get the full code. If the code isn’t punched in within 60 seconds of the door being opened the alarm will sound. So all of a sudden the alarm started blaring. Scott had to go outside to get a good signal and hear the code. Luckily he got inside and punched in the code and deactivated the alarm. When I got home I set up for movie night. We watched “Pee-Wee’s Big Adventure” and “The Pee-Wee Herman Show on Broadway,” both on Blu Ray. I’ve always loved “Pee-Wee’s Big Adventure” and seeing it on Blu Ray was great! It’s still just as hilarious as it was when it was released in 1985. I had seen the Pee-Wee stage show at Club Nokia here in L.A. back in 2010, so it was interesting seeing his Broadway show on Blu Ray. There were some similarities, but there were also some improvements. It was rapid-fire, hilarious fun! After everyone left I did some work around the house, set the clocks back an hour for daylight savings time and watched another “Hawaii Five-O” episode on DVD. I got to sleep around 4:30am, I mean…5:30 am. Oh brother! There oughtta be a law against Daylight Savings Time. It’s SO stupid!
Sunday the 6th – CRAZY CLOCKS! – Like every Daylight Savings Time, I usually sleep all day. I got up in time for evening church and then took Sara to Panera for dinner afterwards. I got home and started working on stuff, did my auditions in my home studio and sent them to my agents, and then started watching “The Bionic Woman” Season 1 on DVD!
And how was YOUR week??!!!
A Leonard Stone tribute in pictures…
