RANDOM PIC OF THE WEEK
I saw this on an Instagram account this week and thought it was simply the best!
While I was spending time with my pal Dan Roebuck on Sunday night, he showed me a few artifacts he had in his collection from the movie “Phantom of the Paradise.” It’s an early 70’s horror film loosely based on “The Phantom of the Opera” but with a rock and roll twist. The music was written by the great Paul Williams, and when I met him in 2018 he said that they were working on a “Phantom of the Paradise” Broadway musical. COOL! I started thinking about the song “Special To Me” from the Phantom soundtrack, sung by the character of Phoenix, played by Jessica Harper. Great song!
Monday the 9th – GOOD DEED DAY! – When I got to my physical therapy appointment I noticed a lady in a wheelchair trying to get up an incline to make it to her car. I asked her if she needed help, and after she thought for a second, she said that would be nice. I opened up her driver’s side door and put her purse in the passenger seat, she got out of the chair with her cane and sat down in the driver’s seat. I folded up her wheelchair and put it in her trunk and wished her well. She thanked me and I headed upstairs to my appointment with the warm feeling of having helped somebody. When I got to the lobby of the physical therapist’s office I took a seat across from a nice lady who was also waiting. But they soon informed her that she they didn’t have her on the schedule for that day. That’s happened to me before too, and I joked that there must be a little gnome that comes in at night and deletes people’s names from the schedule. She said that there must have been some mistake, as her doctor told her to come in every Monday for the next several weeks. I was feeling pretty good that day, so I told her she could have my appointment and I’d just come back on Thursday for my next scheduled appointment. She thanked me profusely and I went on my way to my car with more warm feelings of having done a good deed. My dad always says that we should try to do at least one good deed every day; no matter how small. It’s a good policy to follow. Since it was a nice day I decided to drive over to my auxiliary parking and see if my Gran Torino would start. It’s been sitting for a while, because I hardly ever drive it in the summer weather, so I wasn’t sure if it would start or not. Sure enough, it was dead. I dug out my jump starter and that was low on stored power, so it didn’t have enough to turn the car over. Later my pal Joey, who also owns a Torino, told me of a way to take the battery off-line when you’re going to leave the car for a long period. That way the battery doesn’t drain over time. I’ve had the car for over 10 years and that’s the first I’ve heard that, but once I confirmed with my mechanic that it’s a regular practice, it’s now going to be a regular habit. Brilliant! So I covered the Torino back up and hit McDonald’s for dinner. I stopped by my box to pick up my new custom-engraved license plate for the Gray Ghost, and then headed home. I worked throughout the evening updating my Christoween webpage, and then wrote Wally’s Week. I went out for my nightly WOG (walk/jog) and one of the guards told me that he had just spotted a coyote wandering through the complex, and warned me to be careful. When I came back inside I compiled my packing list for my upcoming trip to Chattanooga for the comic con.
Tuesday the 10th – “EYE” HAVE A PROBLEM…” – My puppet seamstress Maggie came over at 2 and we worked all day completing the Count Von Count replica Muppet for this weekend’s Son of Monsterpalooza convention. She brought over the finished head covering, so I had to sit down and glue down the overlaps on the mouth plates. No easy task, and it didn’t go quite as well as I had hoped. But it all worked out eventually. The fabric was fighting me every step of the way. While Maggie stitched the ears onto the puppet I made the eyebrows and put them on the wires that extended out from the back of the nose piece. It took us a little time to create the proper pattern for the “beard pyramid;” a three piece pattern for the Count’s goatee beard. The trick was to give it that proper “jut” so it would point out forward a bit. While she stitched the beard I glued the monocle onto the inside back of the nose piece. Once we got the nose stitched onto the face, which included the eyebrows and the monocle, I realized that the eyepieces I had made for him last week were much too “bulky and bulgy.” This meant that I would somehow have to find some smaller, lower-profile pieces to use as eyes, and fast! I always forget that adding the fleece to puppet pieces always fattens them up and adds extra bulk, but these pieces were also too thick. Angi came over for dinner, so we hit Bob’s Big Boy. But I was too distracted with the eye problem and I apologized for being “lost in thought.” When I got back home I cut a piece of felt for The Count’s tongue and glued it in. I tried to make shapes out of Magic Sculpt, but I’m not sure they’ll work. I found two pinback buttons on an old vintage 80’s jacket that were perfect 1 ¾” pieces! If I could just make a casting of those, they would be perfect! Once the fleece is added, it thickens the pieces up to a perfect 2,” so these would be just what the doctor ordered! I pressed them into a section of Magic Sculpt, and I hope these will make good molds once the epoxy cures. Then I’ll have to coat the finished molds with Vaseline to make sure the NEW lumps of Magic Sculpt doesn’t stick to the molds when they cure. I’ll be seeing Alex’s husband Mike on Wednesday to see if he has any ideas. Hopefully he’ll be able to make a quick silicone mold of the two pinback buttons, but he’s very busy so I’m not holding out much hope. It’s been a very long day, but The Count is getting closer to completion! But it’s going to be right down to the wire! I set up my home studio for a video game session on Wednesday.
Wednesday the 11th – “BRRRRRRKKKKK!” – The day started with a one-hour Voice Over session for a video game in my home studio, and then I hit Paty’s for lunch with my pal Edi. I drove home to do some work, and my friend Sara came over to help out. Then I drove over to Alex In Wonderland’s to meet with her husband Mike to try and figure something out for new Count eyepieces. But he was running late so I just pulled into their parking lot and waited for about a half hour. I went inside and got the body for The Count from Alex, and it looked great! Everything was finished nicely, but I realized that the head I had made was slightly too large. Her husband Mike said he wouldn’t have time to make a mold for new eye pieces because they were on an urgent project. So Alex suggested I just use the pinback buttons themselves as eyepieces. We stripped off the clear coating and the paper design, and got down to the actual metal piece inside. She said I could glue in a piece of thin L200 (a type of rubbery substance) to take up the room in the back so it would glue onto the head nicely. I hated losing those two vintage pinback buttons, but I had no other choice at this stage. She said to sand the metal pieces so the primer and paint would take to them better. I thanked her and headed home to work on them. But as I was pulling out I realized that Mike had parked too close to the Gray Ghost, and it would be tough getting out. As I slowly backed out of the parking space I heard a “BRRRRKKK” sound. That didn’t sound good. I turned off my music so I could hear better and pulled forward again. I backed out slowly again. BRRRRKKKK. That did NOT sound good at all. Mike ran out and checked the rear of my car and said he didn’t see any damage, but he pulled his car more forward to give me more room, and he moved a dumpster out of the way. Once I got home and got the Gray Ghost in the garage, I realized that I had scraped the left rear wheel well guard on that stupid dumpster! Brand new car! I haven’t even had it a full year yet, and already there’s damage! It’s probably an easily replaceable piece, but I’ll have to stop by Toyota and order one. Rats! I sanded and painted the metal buttons, punched out the appropriately-sized pupils from black velvet and assembled the new eyepieces. These would work nicely. I added the fleece eyelids, and the L200 on the back. Later my buddy Sergio came by to style the hair and goatee. The Count is complete, with the exception of his fangs. My buddy Drew Massey will be coming over on Thursday to size him up and sculpt a set of fangs. I told Drew (a REAL puppet performer) that I wanted to have something of his on the puppet. We were supposed to build him together, but Drew’s schedule got crazy busy, so I did most of it myself. I had tons of auditions to record, took my nightly WOG, and then came back inside to finish up the eyepieces and apply them to the puppet. NICE!
Thursday the 12th – FANGS FOR THE MEMORIES! – Drew came over in the early afternoon to take measurements for The Count’s fangs, and then took off to his shop to sculpt a few options out of foam rubber. When Drew’s schedule opens up he and I are going to redo the head of The Count (the body is perfect!) to make it a bit smaller and more in proportion to the body. I’m also going to correct a few mistakes I feel I made during the creation process. Like I always say, “I found a lot of good ways to make the head. But I also found a lot of ways how NOT to make the head.” In addition to being smaller, the next head will have slightly bigger ears, a narrower nose, and a different lower jaw (which creates a little recessed area for the fangs to rest in when the mouth is closed). But this one should do nicely for Son of Monsterpalooza this weekend. Luckily I kept all the patterns for the eyes, nose, goatee, hair and ears – I just need to shrink them a bit. I sped off to Jack in the Box to get lunch, and then ate it in the parking lot of my physical therapist’s office. When I finished with my p.t. I came out of the room and saw a little girl going through an impromptu obstacle course in the hallway. She was picking up marbles from a tray on one side, jumping through the obstacle course down the hallway, and then putting the marble in a jar on the other end. She was also here the last time I was at the office, and it seemed like she was working on her knee and ankle strength. I told one of the office gals that it would be really neat if she happened to find a dollar bill in her marble tray as she was finishing her course! So while she wasn’t looking, I snuck a neatly folded dollar bill under the remaining marbles in her tray. She found it and was elated! She thanked me, but I told her it was the P.T. Fairy who did it instead! The staff laughed, and I think we just created a new character for their office! I took off for home to meet with Drew to see what he had come up with for fangs. Maggie had been wanting to meet him for a while, as she’s a big fan of his puppeteering work, so I told her to come by to meet him later in the afternoon. While she was here she could sew the finished head onto the body, and Count Von Count would be ready to rock! Maggie finally got to meet Drew, the fangs looked terrific, and Maggie began the task of stitching the head to the body. While she worked we listened to a great one-hour podcast with Sid Krofft (of Sid & Marty Krofft fame) called Under the Puppet. Sid talked about his amazing career and it’s fascinating. I’d be moderating the Sid Krofft panel on the evening of Friday the 13th, so I wanted to do some research. Maggie finished up, and The Count was now ready to hit Son of Monsterpalooza! I assembled all my autograph stuff and got set for the first day of the convention. Ola Ray, the cute little gal from the famous Michael Jackson “Thriller” video, would be signing. So I got out my Playboy Centerfold Book to have her sign her page (she was a Playmate in June of 1980), and my vintage, leather Thriller jacket that I bought back in 1983. I’ll tell you the story of that jacket a little later. I also dug out two Sid & Marty Krofft posters I had gotten years ago, and they already had the signatures of the late Chuck McCann (from “Far Out Space Nuts”) and Billie Hayes (from “HR Pufnstuf), as well as Sid’s brother Marty. Adding Sid’s signature to the poster would be amazing! I took my nightly WOG and spent a little time in the anti-gravity chair gazing at the stars.
Friday the 13th – “I NEED YOU!” – The maids arrived just after 1pm, which was fantastic! Normally they arrive much later, but today I was hoping they’d come earlier since I had to get going to Son of Monsterpalooza later in the afternoon. It all worked out. I had dinner scheduled with my Christoween attorney Stephanie, who would be driving up to enjoy the convention and check out all the monster people. She’s totally sold on the fact that there are many monster folks out there who would enjoy the Christoween franchise in the modern marketplace, and I think she’s turning into a bit of a monster fan herself! I packed up some stuff and headed to the Daily Grill to have dinner with Stephanie and get caught up on everything. I literally hadn’t seen her in person for several years! I reported to the Monsterpalooza desk and got my parking pass and wristbands. We were ready to rock! My first stop was to say hi to Sid Krofft and introduce myself as the moderator of his upcoming panel. Then my second stop was to see Ola Ray. Never in my wildest dreams would I have ever thought I’d be meeting the cute gal from Michael Jackson’s “Thriller” video. When it first came out MTV was running it on a loop for 24 hours! I loved the creature effects in it, but I also loved watching Ola! I had such a crush! So when a dead-on leather replica of Michael’s jacket appeared on the rack of the Berman’s Leather store in the Empire Mall in Sioux Falls, South Dakota – I had to figure out how to get it! At first it was marked with a price over $300! Not a wise purchase for a guy with a family who was living on a radio DJ’s salary! Each time I went to the mall I checked on the price, and eventually it went lower, and lower, and lower, and lower. Luckily, being Sioux Falls, South Dakota, nobody in town really had the guts to wear a jacket like that – as the town was considerably more conservative – so it got marked down over time. My patience paid off! Once it was lowered to 30 bucks, I couldn’t resist. I grabbed it! I had a “Thriller” parody song on “The Dr. Demento Show” called “Chiller” (about cold, South Dakota winters) so I used the jacket for some publicity photos to help promote the song. When I moved to L.A. five years later I kept it with me in my stuff. When I got hired to be a background zombie on the movie “Return of the Living Dead; Part 2” I thought it would be funny to wear it to the set one day. Once the production crew spied me in the jacket, they asked me if they could use it in the film for a Michael Jackson parody zombie bit they were doing. They assured me it wouldn’t get damaged and I agreed. To show their appreciation, they said I could sit at the head table with the director and main cast at dinner! I thought that was FANTASTIC! At the time I didn’t know about a thing called a “wardrobe bump,” so I didn’t know enough to ask for monetary compensation. But sitting at the head table was just as cool! The head make-up guy on the film was Kenny Myers, in one of his first major gigs. Today, Kenny and I are good friends and we’ve talked about that day. It was great getting his perspective about how the whole thing transpired. According to Kenny, when they saw me walk on the set with the jacket, they got the idea to do a Michael Jackson bit for the film. At the end when all the zombies get electrocuted, a Michael Jackson Thriller zombie would leap into the scene, vibrate with the electricity coursing through his body, his hair would start on fire (a reference to the famous accident on the Pepsi commercial shoot), “Michael” would do one of his famous spins, and he’d fall down dead. They made up one of their stunt performers as Michael Jackson and called the head production office for permission to do the bit. Of course the legal beagles warned against doing it, as it could result in a lawsuit. But Kenny instructed them to shoot the bit anyway, and they could always cut it out. Kenny said that when the bit got a huge laugh in advance screenings, they decided it was gold. And in the film it remained. But now to add Ola Ray’s signature to it would elevate the importance of this jacket in my life exponentially! The Thriller room they had set up was amazing, with spot-on likenesses of Michael Jackson and some of the other zombies from the film. Then I got to Ola! As we chatted, I laid the jacket face down on the table so she could sign it. I used my hands to flatten out the section where I wanted her to sign. But when she moved her hand in to sign it, I suddenly felt that my hands might be in her way. I removed them and said, “Here, I’ll give you some room.” And Ola said, “No. I need you.” I stopped and drank in her words. I said to the room, “I’ve waited over 40 years to hear Ola Ray say ‘I need you!’ And now it’s finally happened!” Everyone in the room laughed. I told Stephanie to make a note of the day and time, as this day was going down in history! Ola’s mom was at her table as well, and she was a DELIGHTFUL lady with one of the most wonderful laughs I’ve ever heard! My good pal Dan Roebuck was signing in one of the other rooms, so Stephanie wanted to say hi to him again and get a signed “Matlock” photo. Being an attorney, she loved that show! Then we went over to Sid Krofft’s table and had him sign my posters. His assistant Kelly was very nice, so I gave her a Wally magnet (a new promotional hand-out I had made up) and a Christoween promotional card. I told her I’d check back about 15 minutes before the 9pm panel to see how they were doing. Stephanie and I walked around and I got to see some friends, but it was getting close to the time for the panel! I took the stage at 9, but Sid was running late. They were trying to find a wheelchair for him, so I vamped with the audience until he got there. He walked in to a standing ovation, and the next hour was an amazing piece of history. Sid talked all about his beginnings doing marionette shows for tips on the streets as a kid. I was warned beforehand from people who know Sid, that all I really needed to do was introduce Sid and let him go. And that was true! I barely needed to interject anything! Hard to believe he’s 94 years old! He asked me to be on his Instagram show to promote Christoween, and I eagerly agreed! After the panel Stephanie had to go, because she had a long drive ahead of her. But I got to wheel Sid back to his table. I was going purposely slow, because I didn’t want this moment to end! Here I was, wheeling the architect of much of my childhood television fantasies back to his table! I love life! Maggie walked back with us as well, and she was flying high because Sid pointed her out from the stage and told her how much he loved the puppet she was holding. High praise from the master indeed! Eliot Brodsky, the guy who runs Monsterpalooza, had gifted me with a vintage “Man On The Moon” t-shirt. I told him that I hope Tony Clifton could make another appearance at Monsterpalooza soon. (I got to do Tony at the show in the spring of 2022, with Kenny Myers applying the make-up! Talk about dreams coming true!) I didn’t bring The Count because I had my hands full with items to be autographed, plus I wanted to focus solely on the Sid Krofft panel. As I’ve said before, “God is my DJ.” Sure enough, as I pulled out of the parking lot to go home, “Monster Mash” came up randomly on my digital device. And at 11:11pm! WILD! I stopped at the Del Taco drive-thru to get some food after the convention closed, and then I went home to relax. I was much too tired to take my nightly WOG, and it’s the first time I missed it in about two months! I hadn’t taken a night off since I started doing it. But my feet and legs were tired from walking all around the convention. I recorded my nightly auditions, and then hit the hay. Saturday would be Count Von Count day!
Saturday the 14th – MAKIN’ IT ‘COUNT!’ – By the time I got back to Son of Monsterpalooza in Burbank, there was a huge line of people waiting to buy tickets to get in. Not sure why these people don’t buy their tickets on line and just pick them up at Will Call, but oh well. I scoped out the show before I brought The Count in, and I did some shopping and picked up some artwork as a gift for a buddy. But as soon as I got The Count out of the Gray Ghost, people started buzzing and taking photos. I walked past the long line of people waiting to get in, and had The Count start counting them all. What fun! I loved moving around the convention and posing for pictures, but as soon as people found out I could do the voice as well, they started asking for videos. I was more than happy to comply. I’ve said it before, that when I’m doing a puppet I’m at my absolute happiest. As I was improvising with people at the convention, I saw a small pair of blue eyes watching my every move. This young lad and his parents asked for a photo and I got down on one knee to accommodate him. The kid (probably around 7 or 8) mentioned that he was also a puppeteer and could do the voice of Elmo. He did it for me and he was actually pretty darn good! He asked if he could try The Count. I told him that it was pretty sweaty inside, but he said he didn’t care. I kept my left hand in The Count’s left hand, but let him put his right hand in the head. But he also asked if he could do the left hand too, so I pulled my hand out and let him at it. My buddy Dan Roebuck had returned and was in the vicinity, so the kid got a picture with not one, but TWO Counts! (Dan played The Count in the new “Munsters” film by Rob Zombie!) Who knows what that simple act of showing him the puppet may have sparked in that kid. He could be the next Henson, or Krofft! I told his parents if he wanted to start building puppets, that they should visit Foam Mart in Burbank. Just walking into that place will fire his imagination! I hope they pursue it! I took The Count into the room where Ola Ray was, and sat next to her mom for a while. I asked one of the Monsterpalooza volunteers to shoot some video on her phone (I’d love to get this video) of The Count and “Mom” just laughing together. When “Mom” cut loose with that wonderful laugh of hers, The Count would then laugh. It was pretty freakin’ funny! Then I put The Count in the car and did some final shopping. I left the show and drove to the grocery store and picked up some supplies. Then I got home to eat some food and relax. What a great weekend! Later I did some work around the house, and mounted The Count puppet on a make-shift stand. Once I do the new, smaller head, I’ll make him a permanent stand for display. But that could be months. Who knows, as it all depends on Drew’s schedule. I took a WOG and spent some time in the anti-grav chair just meditating and appreciating life. I saw a great shooting star, and saw a screech owl soaring gracefully overhead. I heard him screeching all the while. But it was getting chilly out so I went inside to make my traditional Saturday Night Super Saint Salad and watch an episode of “The Saint” before bed. Then I started thinking about the next project – next weekend’s Chattanooga Comic Con!
Sunday the 15th – BROTHER DANNY! – As is usual, I slept most of the day and enjoyed a lazy Sunday. When I got up in the early evening I had a message from my pal Dan Roebuck inviting me over to his house to hang out. I called him back and headed over. It was fun getting a chance to catch up and hang out without being at a busy convention. He and his wife were heading out of town Tuesday for some traveling and to do some shows, so I probably won’t get to see him again until April. I came back home to work around the house, and did my nightly WOG and spent some time in the anti-grav chair. But it was chilly so I came back inside. I spent some time going through my photo inventory getting set for next weekend’s Chattanooga Comic Con. VERY exciting!
And how was YOUR week??!!
PIX FROM THE WEEK
The Count needs one, two…TWO FANGS!
Maggie works diligently to get the head attached to the body of the puppet.
Once she’s finished she snaps a picture…
…and VOILA! He’s ready for Son of Monsterpalooza!
I’m pretty happy with how he turned out, but I’m also excited to get to work on the second head.
Having the time of my life moderating the Sid Krofft panel. (Note: I’m not that fat! The shirt is VERY blousy!)
Sid signs my Saturday Morning with Sid & Marty Krofft poster!
What a night! Maggie and I with a legend!
Speaking of legends, Danny Roebuck makes Solicitor Stephanie’s night!
Two of the amazing “Thriller” figures done by the incredible Casey Wong!
Courtesy of mageefx comes this picture of Ola Ray with one of the Thriller figures.
Saturday was the day for The Count to come out and play…seen here with Dan Roebuck.
A young puppet fan gets to try on The Count for good measure!
One, two – TWO COUNTS! The Counts and the kid!
y buddy Jay arrives at the show…
…and The Count spies one, two – TWO Elviras!
In fact, the Elvira twins asked for this cool video!
By the way, here I am back in the early 80s with my new 30 dollar Thriller jacket! Best 30 bucks I ever spent!
Like I always say, God is my DJ! This is what came up on my player randomly as I was leaving Son of Monsterpalooza Friday night. And…at 11:11pm! No coincidences in life!
