This week I haven’t been able to purge “Junk of the Heart (Happy)” from my mind. And if you watch this video, you’ll see why. These guys from the UK have a great sound, and a real retro feel that I love!
Monday the 10th – TORINO ON THE TOWN! – I got a hotline call in the morning from my agent telling me to be at NBC at 2pm to record a comedy bit. After I was finished, I was leaving the studio and saw my friend Mike Schrimmer from Chicago and his friends. I had met Mike just a week before in Chicago at the Hollywood Collector Show, and had arranged VIP tickets for he and his party to see a taping of “The Tonight Show.” Mike and his pals were early, but I was able to get them situated in the Green Room and told them I’d be back. I rushed home to meet up with Scott Sebring, my pal and webmaster, who was going to address some issues with my new computer. I got a new computer installed last week, and it still had a lot of bugs to be worked out. Especially in the recording of audio, which is my lifeblood. I put Scott in charge of chasing out the bugs, and I went back to NBC to tape the show. After the show I took Mike and his wife Chan, his pal Vic and his wife Dee around the stage on a quick tour. They got to meet Jay in the hallway and he couldn’t have been nicer. He’s awesome. Like me, Mike is a collector of Hollywood memorabilia. Though his items are a bit “higher ticket” than mine. I figured a trip to Planet Wallywood would be just the thing, so Mike could check out the collectibles that I had in my collection. Then I brought my Gran Torino over to pick them up, and we all headed to Barone’s to dinner. Now remember, my 1974 Gran Torino is “Starsky-ized,” meaning it’s painted just like the one on the show “Starsky & Hutch” starring Paul Michael Glaser and David Soul. Now Paul is a friend of both mine and Mike’s, and Mike invited him to have dinner with us. Paul arrived before we did and didn’t see me pull up in the car. I hadn’t shown my car to Paul yet because I didn’t want him to think I was a huge fanboy. But tonight he’d be seeing it for sure! We had a terrific dinner with good friends, and when we were finished everyone was watching to see what Paul’s reaction to the car would be. Paul said, “Is this your car?” I hung my head and said a sheepish, “Yeah.” He asked if it was made like the one for the 2004 Ben Stiller movie, which had 4-on-the-floor. I told him it was automatic, but the paint scheme was similar. A group had begun to gather around the car and Paul said, “Anyone want to see me slide across the hood?” We all laughed. Then people started getting pictures of themselves with Paul and the car. Scott suggested I get a shot too, so I walked over to pose with Paul but he said he had a better idea. He spun me around, brought my arms behind my back and bent me over on the hood of my car. I WAS BEING ARRESTED BY STARSKY HIMSELF! As a fan of “Starsky & Hutch” since I was 15 this was one of “those” moments I’d never forget. Special thanks to my pal Alex for getting this great shot on her camera.
Paul said, “Start her up. Let’s hear it.” So I got in and started it up and we all said our goodbyes to each other. Scott went back home with me to continue working on my computer and working out some more bugs. My pal Brittney Powell came over for a bit, and then I recorded some auditions (which were sounding MUCH better now, thanks to Scott’s diligence!) and went to bed. Whew! What a day!
Tuesday the 11th – MORE 70’S MEMORIES! – Old Navy called me in to the amazing Mai Tai Studios in Burbank so I could do a radio commercial for them. The theme of the spot was the 70’s, which I really loved! I did the spot in a few different character voices, and we settled on one that was half 70’s groovy hipster, and half Wolfman Jack. I was a big fan of Wolfman’s back in “the day.” We had a great deal of fun doing the spot, and I was almost a little disappointed when we had to stop “playing.” The spots should be great! I headed home, and then headed over to Voice Trax West to do more voice work for US Airways’ IVR phone system. After the session was over, it was time to do another session for Old Navy. This was for an Old Navy Canadian TV commercial. Then I headed back home for a bit, then sped off to NBC to do a comedy bit for “TTS.” During the taping, Dave Salmoni brought several amazing animals on. I always love seeing the animals and today they had some awesome ones. A baboon, two lion cubs, a pelican and more! After the show I went home to grab a nap, then I got up and met with my friend Alex and her friend Andrew from Arizona (that’s a lot of A words!) at Jerry’s Famous Deli for a late dinner. We saw the amazing actor Jon Voight sitting at the counter. I wanted to talk to him and thank him for all the nice things he says about our troops. But he was eating and reading so I left him alone. But he’s awesome! I headed home to record my auditions and e-mail them to my agent. Then I hit the hay!
Wednesday the 12th – INDIAN SUMMER! – I got up for a session for Purina at Voice Trax West, then I went downstairs afterwards and had spaghetti at Aldente on their patio. I noticed that I was the only one on the patio. Everyone else was inside. Then I started to realize why. It was actually pretty warm! Summer’s over, but the weather gave us one last blast of heat. Even though it was warm, I wasn’t uncomfortable, so I continued enjoying the nice day and some great spaghetti. I got home and changed clothes, then headed to “TTS” for the taping. When we were done I got home and addressed some more computer problems. I have a graphics program called Paintshop Pro (I’ve had it since I got a home computer in the late 90’s) which I discovered to my horror, is INCOMPATIBLE with Windows 7. I’ve had Windows XP for a long time and wished I could keep it, but Microsoft is jamming Windows 7 down everyone’s throats and not giving us a choice. I’m NOT impressed with Windows 7 and find it overstuffed with many superfluous features. Sometimes a hammer just needs to be a hammer. It doesn’t need to be a hammer and a screwdriver, or a hammer and a wrench. Just a hammer. But Microsoft seems to want to give us a hammer/screwdriver/wrench/pliers when all I really need is a hammer. Ugh. It’s not bad enough that Windows 7 shuts down my Paintshop Pro program when I click on certain tools, but it’s not letting me scan anything. Some hammer. It won’t let me pound nails because it’s too bogged down with stuff I don’t need. I took a nap, then got up later and got groceries after I recorded my auditions. At least my stupid new computer let me do THAT!
Thursday the 13th – IS IT ILLEGAL TO BLOW UP MY COMPUTER?! – I got up early for a bit for “TTS” and my computer was at it again. It’s putting stuff where it doesn’t belong, it won’t let me put stuff where I want it, it’s not saving my settings, it tries to overthink and anticipate what it THINKS I want to do, instead of just letting me do it. VERY frustrating! I went off to NBC to meet up with my friend Esme Bianco for lunch at the NBC commissary. She’s British and she’s unaware of some of the things in America that are in legendary status. She said she did some reading on-line about the NBC commissary and she said, “Is this place famous?” I told her back in the day it wasn’t uncommon to see Johnny Carson eating, Freddie Prinze, Bob Hope, and others having lunch! We had a great lunch and I bid her a fond farewell, as she’s heading off across the pond for a few weeks to shoot a few new episodes of “Game of Thrones.” Chik Fil-A was at the studio giving out sandwiches to the audience, and boy are those things good! When the show wrapped I went to It’s a Wrap in Burbank and bought a new black leather jacket which is beautiful. It’s made by Arturo, and they match a pair of pants I bought at It’s a Wrap (also by Arturo) a few years ago. On the way home I was very thirsty (it was another warm day) so I stopped at a local Taco Bell. I saw a BEAUTIFUL Golden Retriever on the sidewalk with four people. I could tell from a distance that this dog was great. She was prancing around like a puppy, even though she was a full grown dog. I stopped my car right in the middle of the driveway and leapt out. I asked if I could see their dog and they said yes. “Gracie” was 6 years old and was a love! She ran right over to me and greeted me with a big happy dog smile. I started petting her neck and shoulders and she started walking through my legs, as if she was a car going through the car wash to be brushed by the roller brushes! That was exactly what Sassie used to do! I called it “going through the tunnel,” and I really missed that. When Grace would go through my legs she’s come back around and do it again. Just like Sassie! She also would wave like Sassie used to do. I loved seeing and petting Grace, as she had a great personality. I got my beverage and headed home, but started getting sad thinking about Sassie. It was going on 4 months since she died and though I hadn’t thought of her recently, the painful memories were coming back. Meeting Gracie really brought back Sassie’s image. After four months I am still really really missing Sassie. I’m wondering when that feeling will go away. One more month? A year? Ten years? I did something I hadn’t done in awhile. I laid down and cried myself to sleep. But when I woke up later I felt a bit better and was thankful for seeing Gracie and having been Sassie’s friend for 9 years. I spent the rest of the night doing stuff around the house and doing my auditions.
Friday the 14th – FINAL FRIDAY! – I got a hotline call to record another bit for “TTS,” so I recorded it, sent it in and went back to bed. Then I got a second hotline call for another bit, so I recorded that, sent it in, and went back to bed again. Then my friend Amanda came over and I got ready and we headed over to NBC. She was going to the taping to see Terry Bradshaw, one of her all-time favorites. I got her checked into Guest Relations and I grabbed a salad at the commissary. This would be our last taping for a week, as we’re on hiatus October 17 through the 21st. In addition to Terry, Rowan Atkinson was a guest. I’ve always considered him the Chaplin of our generation. His physical comedy is throwback to the great silent film comics. Unfortunately he announced that he’s retiring his Mr. Bean character. On the way home I talked to my folks and caught up with them. Amanda went to Orange County to stay with her dad for the evening, and I went home to grab a nap.
Saturday the 15th – ON HIATUS! – It felt good to be on hiatus, even though I still had a very busy week. I was going to use the time off to wrestle with my new computer and try to restore some of the things I screwed up during installation. My maids came over to clean and I continued working. Last April I decided to buy an Olympus digital recording device and make some audio files for my descendants. Just for the record. I would love to have audio of my grandparents telling stories and talking about their lives. I filled up one recording device with hours and hours of audio files. Now it was my responsibility to download those files on to my computer, edit them and organize them, and put them in a folder. I was OK until I got to the files I recorded right around the time Sassie died. It was bringing all the pain back again. Hearing the pain in my voice as I told the story about her passing was difficult to listen to. I started feeling a bit down again. When the maids left I grabbed my friends Sara and Edi, picked them up in my Gran Torino, we headed to CVS to get some supplies, then we went to lunch at Marie Callendar’s. It was a very pleasant. I needed a pick-me-up and driving the Torino always made me happy. We went to The Party Store to pick up some supplies for my costume gala that I’m throwing later this month for my friends. As we were checking out, a nice pregnant lady behind me gave me a $30 off coupon and saved me some money! How nice was that! That made my day! We drove over to Iguana on Ventura Blvd. in Studio City and looked at all the stuff they had to try and get some ideas for the party. I got home and prepared for movie night. Last week we watched Star Wars episodes 1 and 2, and tonight it was episodes 3 and 4. When my friends left I continued working on my historical audio files and finished them up. I watched Hawaii Five-O and hit the hay.
Sunday the 16th – MASK MANIA AUCTION ACTION! – I got up mid-afternoon to get on the computer and buy masks on eBay. I love this time of year, because people start to clean out their attics and you get access to all sorts of great, vintage Halloween masks. I have about 35 of them around my house, hanging on the wall as pop art. The old Ben Cooper masks have such a distinct look, it really takes you back to a certain time in history. That day when, as a child, you would walk into the Woolworth’s five and dime and find that they have just displayed the new Halloween costumes for the season. You look up high and see display after display of all the latest, greatest costumes in full majesty, displayed on cardboard forms. Barnabas Collins, Bozo, Peter Potamus, Spider-Man, Batman, Green Hornet, witches, goblins, secret agents, and tons of your favorite TV characters. I can close my eyes and see it vividly! Those were the days! A guy on eBay was selling a collection of masks, and many of them I didn’t already have. So I staked out the auction and would submit my bid before the auction was over. I got five of the six masks I wanted. I got outbid at the last second by someone else. But I’m adding Space Ghost, The Thing from Fantastic Four, Captain America, Green Lantern and the Flash to my collection soon. When I finished my auction action Amanda and I got ready for evening church and walked over. It was a beautiful night for a walk. After church Amanda and I picked up Sara and my friend Kristy and we had dinner at the Smokehouse. Driving home in a food coma, I stopped for some frozen yogurt at Chill, and then got inside to do my auditions and type Wally’s Week. Even though we’re off from “TTS” this coming week, the first few days are still going to be plenty busy with other sessions and errands I need to run. I may even try to slip off to Palm Springs for a few days.
And how was YOUR week??!!!
