As the year begins to draw to a close, this song popped into my head. 2011 has been a year of loss like no other in my life. I’m sure there will be worse ones to come as I get older. But this past year has been the worst so far. I started thinking about the loved ones we lost over the course of this year, and it seemed appropriate that “Missing” from Everything But the Girls be posted as the “What’s Wally Humming” song of the week.
Monday the 7th – AND HE COUGHED, MAN! – I slept late until I got a hotline call from my agent telling me to be at NBC early for a few bits for “The Tonight Show.” I did the bits then went to Taco Bell for a quickie lunch. I got back to NBC and my lingering cough was getting worse. I couldn’t figure out why I had this persistent tickle in that little area in the middle of my collarbone. When the show was over, I went home and grabbed a nap. I got up and had a late dinner with my pal Alex at DuPar’s. I felt bad for her because I kept coughing during dinner, though I wasn’t sick or contagious. But it was annoying I’m sure. So when I got to my car I called my Ear Nose and Throat doctor’s voicemail to ask about getting an appointment to see him on Tuesday afternoon. I got home and got on my computer to track my Mission Impossible book. I had sent it to Leonard Nimoy’s office in Beverly Hills to have him sign it. I had signatures from most of the series regulars in my copy of the “Mission Impossible Dossier” book, but I needed Mr. Nimoy’s to complete it. Unfortunately, Greg Morris had passed away many years ago, so getting his signature was a real mission impossible. I heard recently that Leonard Nimoy had retired from doing convention appearances, so my chances of having him sign the book weren’t great. Thanks to my friend Jeff Nimoy, who has directed many episodes of anime cartoons I’ve done, I got Leonard to consent to signing my my book. I Fed Ex’d the book to him the previous week and I was tracking the number on the Fed Ex website to see if Leonard had sent the book back yet. So far, nothing. But it HAS been delivered to his office. So I know it has arrived safely!
Tuesday the 8th – VISITING THE OUTBACK! – I got up early to do some ADR (additional dialogue recording) for a cartoon called “Outback.” I “looped” a character called Bog, originally voiced by Alan Cumming. Alan’s a very busy man, working on a show in New York, as well as a play. So he was unable to come in to do his additional lines, growls, efforts sounds, impact noises, etc. When I got to Anarchy Post in Glendale I was surprised to see my old pal Mark A.Z. Dippe was the director. He directed the “Garfield” cast in three direct-to-DVD films. It was a great time, but the growling was tough on my throat, given the fact that I still had my coughing problems. I brought a lot of lozenges, and my steamer so I could steam during a break. Luckily we finished earlier than we expected , so I headed over to Voice Trax West to do another session for US Airways. We only had a few pages of stuff, so I got home in a timely manner and got ready for my doctor appointment at 2:30. I stopped by KFC for a quick lunch and then headed over to see Dr. Gosh. He told me the tickle in my throat was due to stomach acid that’s propelled into my esophagus during coughing. Since I had just gotten over a mild cold, it made a lot of sense. It’s a chain reaction type of thing. So he prescribed me a cough suppressant, gave me a shot, I did a breathing treatment, and he gave me a prescription strength antacid. He said in a few days I wouldn’t even need the cough medicine because the tickle would go away. Thanks doc! I headed off to NBC to tape “TTS” and brought my steamer in so I could steam before I did my opening announce. The whole acid thing made a lot of sense to me, because that would explain why the tickle went away after I would steam with my steam mask after about 15 minutes. The steam would literally melt away the acid for awhile. Until I would cough and get more acid in my esophagus! As I was bent over my steamer, sucking steam in through the little mask, many of the crew came in and poked fun. They said it looked like I was taking hits off a bong! I suppose it did, but since it’s been about 30 years since I’ve taken a hit off a bong, it didn’t really occur to me. After the taping I headed off to Jerry’s Famous Deli to meet up with an old pal. Back in 1999 I did a show called “Throut and Neck” on the Gameshow Network. The host was Rebecca Grant, who was now anticipating an audition for a new talkshow that dealt with sci-fi. But she’s not a sci-fi fan, so she needed some prompts to help her in the audition. Over Jerry’s amazing chicken noodle soup we came up with some great stuff. It was good seeing her again after all these years, and talking about the old days. I got home and did some auditions and then worked around the house. I scanned some checks for a deposit, took all the garbage out, and made some of my world famous Buffalo Mac! It’s Kraft macaroni and cheese with bits of buffalo chicken and celery thrown in. Just before bed I got on the Fed Ex website again, and the Mission Impossible book is ON ITS WAY!!
Wednesday the 9th – WACKY WEDNESDAY! – I got up early again for another bit for “TTS.” I decided to take the Gran Torino since it was such a beautiful day. I got to NBC, did two bits and then hit the bank to make a deposit. I grabbed lunch and then got back to NBC to record a pick-up for the Jaywalking bit that was airing that day. When the taping was over I got back to the Torino and started her up. I love the fact that, now that we’re back to standard time, it gets dark around the time we get out of work. I love long nights! I stopped by the frame store to have a piece framed. I bought a terrific silk poster of the Riddler from “Arkham City” on eBay. I’m not sure it’s entirely legal, since it came from China, but it sure is nice! I went to my box to pick up my mail (my Mission Impossible book came in signed!) and as I was walking back to the Torino I saw my old pal Fred Westbrook sitting on the patio of a local restaurant. So I stopped in and had a Diet Coke with him and caught up. Chuck McCann came by and joined us later. Of all the weird coincidences! But as we all know, there are no such thing as coincidences, right? I headed home, grabbed a nap and then got up to meet Sara and Edi for a late dinner at Little Toni’s. I went home and recorded my voice-over auditions in my home studio, e-mailed them to my agent, and then watched an episode of “The Bionic Woman” on DVD before bed.
Thursday the 10th – WINDING DOWN THE WEEK! – I got up early again for another “TTS” bit, this time for John Melendez. I got into NBC and did the bit, then went to Staples to get some supplies. I grabbed some lunch at the Wendy’s drive-thru and headed back to NBC. After the taping I went home to grab a nap, and then got up to meet Edi and Sara at DuPar’s for a late dinner. We saw Teller from Penn and Teller eating there with some friends. By the way, in case you think I sleep all the time, due to all the “napping” references in Wally’s Week, I actually don’t. I just prefer to sleep in short shifts. I get about 6-8 hours a day, but it’s broken up into 2 shifts. I may get a 2 or 3 hour nap in the evening, but then I get up and stay up most all night, going to bed around 5am, and then back up around 11am. Just had to clarify that in case you think I spend all my day in bed.
Friday the 11th – HAPPY VETERAN’S DAY…11/11/11! – Once again I was up early for a bit for “TTS,” so I was on my way to NBC. After the bit I got lunch at NBC’s commissary (note to self, don’t get the tuna next time) then we taped the show. When we finished I headed off to get my mail at my box. My Jack Lord stuff arrived! I had recently purchased a “Hawaii Five-O” badge at an auction, and after some considerable research I discovered that it wasn’t an actual screen-used badge as advertised. In fact, it was a replica that had been made within the past few years. So I returned it to the auction house for a refund. But during my research I discovered a guy who bought a ton of REAL Jack Lord stuff from his estate sale a few years back. I bought Jack Lord’s navy blue suit jacket and pants, white shirt, tie, custom-made boots, calling card, Steve McGarrett ID and one of the badges Mr. Lord had in his possession when he passed away. Apparently, Jack had spare badges on hand to give out to dignitaries and friends. Though the badge I got wasn’t an actual screen-used badge, it was one of the few Jack Lord had left in his possession when he died. I got home and anxiously opened all of the boxes and marveled at the vintage wardrobe and props. My friend Brittney Powell came over to visit and checked out all the great new treasures. It was supposed to rain all night and into Saturday, so it was going to be an awesome night! Studying actual wardrobe from the historical television show “Hawaii Five-O” and mannequin shopping on-line. I grabbed another nap and then got up to spend all night working around the house, putting up new displays, cleaning and organizing the Chaney Room, and more studying of the “Hawaii Five-O” props. Jack Lord’s boots were custom-made by DiFabrizio of Los Angeles. He’s a famous bootmaker to the stars whose real gift was disguising lifts in the boots to give the actor a taller stature. Sure enough, hidden inside Jack’s boots, was a lift that gave Jack an additional 1.5 inches of height. Jack’s suit jacket fit me perfectly as did the boots! What fun! Sara came over to enjoy a Tombstone pizza and an episode of “The Bionic Woman.”
Saturday the 12th – ROCKIN’ RAINY DAY! – I got up early to let the maids in to clean Planet Wallywood. I got a call from my ADT security repairman who said he was in the area. I had an appointment scheduled for Monday to have may old keypad replaced, but if the repairman comes today I won’t need to hang out on Monday to wait for him. Perfect! After the maids and repairman left, I took a wonderful nap under cozy blankets on a dreary, rainy afternoon. Later I got groceries so I could stock up for movie night. We watched “Halloween 1” and “Halloween 2” on Blu Ray. It’s great watching these classics back to back to see how much attention John Carpenter and company paid to consistency. After my guests left I worked on my i-Pod for a few hours. Normally, when people put music on their i-Pod it’s a fairly quick process. But I’m more picky. I like to tweak the volume on each song so it’s consistent with the others, and I like to label it a certain way. So it takes me a lot longer than most people. Then it was another episode of “The Bionic Woman” and then off to sleep.
Sunday the 13th – SLEEPY SUNDAY! – I slept most of the day, then got up to do a phone interview with the host of a podcast. I got ready for evening church. When I got home I was a little spaced out. Probably the Mucinex I had been taking. I laid down for a bit and my pal Alex called to see if I wanted to meet at Jerry’s. So Sara and I met her for dinner, but I was still a little “out of it.” I decided to stop taking the Mucinex for awhile and see if my head cleared. After dinner I took a long nap, and when I got up I felt much better…more clear headed. I spent the night doing my auditions, and doing more work with my i-Pod, adding more songs. Then I hit the hay around 5am to watch an episode of ‘The Bionic Woman.”
And how was YOUR week??!!
