RANDOM PIC OF THE WEEK
While at Don Con this past weekend, I found a shirt that literally made me laugh out loud. Since I’ve been feverishly working on these new Michael Myers masks, I thought it was quite appropriate.
When my pal Sergio Lopez is over working on the hair for my new Michael Myers masks, he likes to work to 70’s music. So I turn on the satellite and let ‘er rip! We heard TONS of great 70’s oldies and we were laughing and telling stories when certain songs came on. But I was totally jammin’ out when Curtis Mayfield’s “Move On Up” came on. As a bonus, they played the EXTENDED version which I had no idea existed. I immediately downloaded it from iTunes and now I have the 8 minute version of the song, which you’ll hear here. It brings back not only good memories of life in the 70’s, but it also brings back more recent pleasant memories. “The Tonight Show” band would play this during commercial breaks from time to time. When I heard them go into the song, I would dash out into the studio and listen to them perform it. There’s nothing like hearing it live with the driving beat of the congas and the bossy brass. Amazing!
Monday the 2nd – MONDAY IS FUNDAY! – Shortly after I woke up at noon I hopped on my bike and headed to Voice Trax West to do some voice tracks for American Airlines. Then I came back home and jumped in my car to go get some crepe hair aka crepe wool for the hair on my Michael Myers masks. (For details on the ongoing process of these new masks, refer back to previous installations of Wally’s Week) I got several packs of the hair I needed and then I headed home to do some work and record some auditions. My pal Brittney Powell was in the area doing some auditions and she decided to stop by and say hi. But it had started to rain a bit so the traffic over to my place was awful. My effects guy Jim Ojala came over with the freshly repainted Michael Myers masks. There had been a little damage to the paint after we had to remove the other crop of hair. But they all looked good as new. I spent the evening working on my computer and doing auditions. Several of the auditions involved singing to tracks, and those auditions always take a little longer. I eventually turned in for the day, made some dinner and watched an episode of “The Girl From U.N.C.L.E.” As the episodes are winding down to the end, they’re getting worse and worse. Too bad. It started out so great.
Tuesday the 3rd – HAIR TODAY…AND GONE TOMORROW! – It was an early morning for me, as I had to be over to a production company in Burbank to narrate a new NBC reality show. The narrations I did will be edited into the first two episodes and then test marketed. If the testing goes well, I’ll get hired on to do the remaining episodes. If not (for example, the testing may lean toward a female Voice Over Artist) then I’ll still get paid for the session I did, but I won’t be used for the remaining 6 episodes. That’s how it works, folks. But I think it went pretty well. The original plan was to just have me narrate one episode, but the producer was digging it so much he had me record a narration for a second episode. I stopped by my box to pick up my mail, and then it was off to McDonald’s on the way home for lunch. When I got home I met up with my contract Electric Bob to give him a check for all the bathroom remodeling he did a few weeks back. My hair guy Sergio Lopez also came by to start work re-hairing the Michael Myers masks. While Sergio worked I sat down and wrote Wally’s Week. Later that night I met my assistant Sara for dinner at Ernie’s Taco House; I was craving Mexican food. I came home to grab a nap, and then got up for my nightly auditions. I made some spaghetti and watched another “Girl From U.N.C.L.E.” episode.
Wednesday the 4th – HAIR’S SOMETHING WRONG HERE! – Sergio came back to continue the hairing process on the masks, but we ran out of hair! I thought I had bought at least twice what I would need, but not the case. Off we went to the beauty supply company to get more. There wasn’t any parking available, so I double parked and waited for Sergio to finish up inside. We got home and realized with horror that the hair wasn’t the same color as the hair we had already laid on the masks! Even though the package was identical and had the exact same control number! Somebody goofed. We didn’t take a color sample with us because we had the package with the name of the shade as well as the inventory control number. We figured that would be enough. But somebody put darker hair in the wrong package. So off we went back to the store to get more. To be safe, I bought the remaining seven packages of hair that they had. Thank God they had the right color. I’d have hated to have to remove the hair a SECOND time and start all over again! We got back home and continued the hairing process. When Sergio left I grabbed a nap, and when I awoke I scanned some checks for a deposit and did my auditions. I made some sloppy joe’s and watched “Girl From U.N.C.L.E.”
Thursday the 5th – R.I.P. GEORGE BARRIS! – Early afternoon I met with my friend Genta for lunch at Paty’s in Toluca Lake. She brought her dogs Brutus and Ruby, and I brought Roxy along. My old pal Johnny Green was in town and gave me a call. He said he was coming over to my area to meet up with George Barris, the world famous car customizer who had created automobiles for The Munsters, The Monkees and Batman. I told him Paty’s was right down the street from Barris’ shop, and he should come over to say hi. But when he got to Barris Kustom Industries he sent me an e-mail saying that George had passed away earlier that morning. He was 89. Of all the weird things. So Johnny came over to join us as we raised a glass to George’s memory. I mailed some stuff at the Post Office, stopped by my box to get my mail, and then went home to drop Roxy off. Then I went to the bank to drop off some checks, picked up a prescription at CVS, got a few groceries, and then headed home. I took a dip in the Jacuzzi to relax, and later I turned on the fireplace (the first time this fall!) and napped on the couch. I got up later and did my auditions, worked on the computer, and then made some hot dogs on the grill and watched “The Girl From U.N.C.L.E.” I only have a handful of episodes to go before it’s time to move on to another show for my nightly “TV Time” viewing.
Friday the 6th – BOND! JAMES BOND! – As planned, I woke up at noon. What wasn’t planned was that I would wake up to the theme for the James Bond movie “You Only Live Twice,” which just happened to pop up on my iPod on my alarm clock when noon rolled around. I figured it was a sign. So I let my maids in so they could work. When they left around 1:30 I made plans to check out the 3:30 screening of the new Bond film “Spectre” at the local theatre. By going on-line I saw that all of the evening screenings were virtually sold out. But a matinee would be easy pickins…and I could do it because I had the afternoon free. As a last minute thought, I texted my friend Bob who is a die-hard Bond to see if he wanted to meet me there. He lives in the area so I knew it would be a possibility. He texted back that he would meet me at the theatre. I got out the door at 3:00 and made it to the theatre by 3:20. It was just enough time to get my popcorn, a hot dog, candy and soda. I was ready! But so far…no Bob. His friend Kevin came by to meet us, but Bob didn’t make it. So Kevin and I went in and found our seats figuring that Bob would pull in just after the previews ended. But no such luck. Bob never did make it. The movie is terrific, and quite a callback to the great Bond films of the past. It seems that this is the first “real” Bond film Daniel Craig has been in. The previous three seem more like Jason Bourne films. But this is all Bond. In fact, the only weak spots were the occasional super thick accent, which made some of the dialogue hard to hear, and the simply AWFUL theme song. It has to be the absolute worst Bond theme in history. It’s definitely no “Live and Let Die!” The opening credit visuals are stunning, but I was wishing that the projectionist would have turned the audio off during the opening. It would have been better watching them in silence, than to listen to that horrible, screechy warbling that passed for an opening theme. Yuk! But after you get through that absolutely painful…no TORTUROUS four minutes, the rest of the movie is amazing! And be on the lookout, Bond fans, for TONS of Easter Eggs! When the movie ended I came home to grab a nap. Then I got up to do some work around the house. I went out to Denny’s to get some food to go, and watched “The Girl From U.N.C.L.E.” before bed.
Saturday the 7th – DON CON 2015! – My pal Dan Roebuck, famous character actor, staged a convention for fans of the legendary Don Post mask studios. He’s a voracious collector of the vintage masks, and I even have a few in my collection. As a kid I would have loved to have had more, but I simply couldn’t afford $40 back them! That was a LOT of money to a kid! It was a gorgeous day so I hopped into the Gran Torino and headed to Burbank for the convention. It was a fun time, and the company behind the affair had a brand new book out called “The Illustrated History of Don Post Studios.” I picked up my copy and had it signed by Don Post Jr. I also bought a gorgeous (?) mask of a Zombie; the figurehead and face of the 1980 movie “Zombie.” It was fun seeing a bunch of pals who are into the same thing I am. Around 4:30 I drove home to straighten up before movie night. I grabbed a quick nap, and then got up to screen “Jurassic World” for my friends at the weekly Planet Wallywood movie night. It was a fun movie, but I still prefer the amazement I felt when I saw the very first one. The later movies are too “green screeny” and rely far too much on CGI. After everyone left I worked on the computer for a bit, and then made my Super Saturday Night Salad and watched “The Persuaders.” The episode was toward the end of the series, and I could tell they were struggling for ideas. It’s a sure thing that the writers are dry when they have the lead actors dressing up as their character’s relatives (both male and female) and that’s what happened in this episode. But it was still enjoyable to watch.
Sunday the 8th – WHERE DID THE WEEK GO??!! – It’s hard to believe another week has flown by. I got up at 2 and walked Roxy, then laid down for a little bit more. But we made it to evening church. On the walk over I kept laughing to myself about the old Yogi Berra line, “It gets late early out here.” I put a glow stick on Roxy’s collar so any on-coming traffic that we may encounter would see her. The service was great, and our Pastor mentioned the book “The Giving Tree” by Shel Silverstein; a beautiful story about unconditional love. I’ve gotta get it for my collection! An elderly lady named Shirley lives close to me, so the Pastor asked if I could walk her home to make sure she got home alright in the dark. I said that Roxy and I would be glad to help her out. The little flashlight I brought along really helped out, as I could light the path ahead for Shirley to make sure she didn’t trip and fall. I came home and napped, then got up to do some work, a few auditions, and then watch some more “Girl From U.N.C.L.E.”
And how was YOUR week??!!
PIX FROM THE WEEK
At Don Con (a tribute convention to the legacy of the Don Post mask company) I saw one of the original Frankenstein masks that I used to covet as a kid. I need to get me one of these someday!
I also saw a re-release of the William Shatner mask from back in 1998. Not quite as stunning as the original Captain Kirk mask from 1974, but fun to see nonetheless.
Here’s a mask of the Salt Vampire from “Star Trek,” a mask the Don Post company released back in the 70’s.
Here’s master mask maker Justin Mabry at his table representing his company Trick Or Treat studios.
And this is one of my proud purchases of the day. Justin sculpted this mask and sells it through his company. It’s the main Zombie from the 1980 movie “Zombie,” a character that has always given me nightmares.
The passing of King car customizer George Barris this week inspired my pal Ian to send me this shot of George and I at Adam West Hollywood Walk of Fame star ceremony from a few years back. It may well be the last shot George and I took together. He’ll be missed, but his work will live on forever.
