RANDOM PIC OF THE WEEK
Recently I was watching a Donald Trump speech and his demeanor seemed very familiar to me. Then it hit me! I know who he REALLY is! It’s Tony Cliftrump!
While passing through the channels on DirecTV the other day, I settled on the Zen music channel (channel 857) and heard this song. It’s “Red Dust” by a versatile group called Zero 7. I bought the song and it immediately went on my Palm Springs playlist on my iPad. It’s the playlist I like to listen to while stargazing in the desert.
Tuesday the 8th – VIVID VISUAL! – My neighbors asked if I could walk their greyhound Abby at noon, but when I got up just before 12 I had received a text saying they didn’t need me after all. I always love hanging out with Abby. She’s a bit skittish, but a very friendly, gorgeous doggie. So I just decided to do some stuff around the house and prep for the new week. I showered and stopped by my mailbox to pick up my packages. Then I met with my pal Jim Pierson for lunch at Prosecco in Toluca Lake. Jim has all sorts of things planned for the 50th anniversary of “Dark Shadows,” a TV show from the 60’s that he single-handedly has kept alive amongst the fanbase all these years. We chatted so long that the rest of the lunch crowd had disappeared; so it was only us in the restaurant for a few hours. They stopped serving at 2 but we didn’t finish up until about 3:30 or 4. Luckily, the staff said they had to stay there anyway to do some work to get ready for the dinner crowd. I drove by my church to hand over the donation money I had collected the previous weekend at the SacAnime convention for our Food Pantry. But the head of the Pantry wasn’t there. But I got a chance to chat with my old pal Pastor Bob for a bit. I got home an fed Roxy and Spook, checked some e-mails, and then grabbed a nap. When I got up later I did my daily auditions, finished up some more work around the house, and made some sloppy joes to enjoy before bed while watching a few “Munster” episodes. While watching the show, the strangest thing happened. This has only happened one other time to my recollection. In one of the episodes, Herman Munster fell backwards off the couch and his head got caught in the strings of a large harp. A little spark of remembrance went off inside my head. I REMEMBERED THAT VISUAL FROM CHILDHOOD! I would’ve only been 3 going on 4 when that episode aired in 1965! Our family watched “The Munsters” all the time when I was a kid, and it was Eddie Munster who made me want to get into acting! (I always thought people on TV were doing it for the fun of it, but when somebody told me that Eddie Munster got paid for doing that, I knew I was on the right track!) Part of me thought that I may have been remembering it from a rerun years later, but then I remember the follow-up thought I had when the scene occurred. My childlike mind thought about how much getting caught in harp strings would hurt; a thought I wouldn’t have had later in life when I realized it was just a prop harp. Nope! I was convinced that it was definitely something I was calling back up from 51 years ago! The only other time that happened was when I was watching a “Batman” TV episode, and I saw the visual of Bruce Wayne strapped to a conveyor belt and heading into a furnace. The same spark of remembrance went off inside me when I realized what an indelible impact that visual had on my childhood psyche. When that episode aired I would have been 5 or 6 initially. Amazing!
Wednesday the 9th – A STUDY IN LEAD! – It was one of those early morning sessions for “Sonic Boom” again. What fun it was to hang out with the entire cast and record two cartoons for a few hours. It was a pretty hot day, as summer seems to have come late in the year. After the session I stopped at the car wash to get my Mustang cleaned. (When it cools down I’m going to address my Gran Torino’s dead battery issue and get it back on the road.) While they washed it I went across the street to get a sandwich at Dino’s Pizza. I got home and napped on the couch for about 45 minutes. Then I sprang awake and headed to Firing Line in Burbank to meet up with my friend Amanda for some target shooting. Amanda is a top notch Voice Director who has to direct actors in gunplay battles all the time for videogames and cartoons. She asked me at a session if I would take her shooting someday so she could experience first-hand what it was like. That way she would know how to realistically direct actors in gun battles. She did pretty darn good! We started with a compact .380 Sig Sauer, which she seemed to like because it fit nicely in her hand. Then we moved to a .357 revolver, which she said was too heavy for her. We finished up with a .45 caliber model 1911. By the time we ended up she had learned a lot and had become quite accomplished! She took her target home to show her husband and kids that mom’s NOT to be messed with! When we finished I stopped by Wendy’s to get some dinner to go. Then I stopped by a store to get some groceries, but they didn’t have the dog food I needed for Roxy. I get her Burt Ward’s (he was Robin in the “Batman” TV series) Gentle Giants food. So I went to another store and they had it! I stopped by the pharmacy to pick up a refill of my allergy prescription, which had been working pretty well in reducing the amount of sinus drainage that had been making my life hell. Then I got home and fed the pets, albeit a few hours later than normal. It was still really hot out, even though the sun had set. I took a dip in the pool and the Jacuzzi, napped for a bit, and then got up for auditions. It was the first night of the year that I left the AC on all night. There are normally about 5 or 6 nights during the year when I have to do that, and this was the first so far. I’m sure there will be more to come before we’re into fall entirely. After picking up some food to go at Denny’s, I came back and watched 3 “Munsters” episodes.
Thursday the 10th – TWO YEARS FROM NOW! – Since it was another beastly hot day, I decided to sleep in until 2. I got up and headed to Bang Zoom studios in Burbank to work on Project X from 3 to 6pm. As I had mentioned before, I’m not at liberty to say anything about the details of this project, but it’s very similar to the work I had done for US Airways and American Airlines; a very interactive voice project. The director Kevin said that we’ll be working on it off and on through June of 2016, and that it’s unlikely that it will be ready to be unveiled to the public for another couple of years!!! Wow! I guess this technology takes a while to perfect and input. When the session was over I went to Jersey Mike’s to pick up a giant #13 to go. I also got a sandwich for my assistant Sara who was just coming back my way after an afternoon job. Sara stopped by to enjoy her sandwich, and then I took a swim and a dip in the Jacuzzi. After a quick, refreshing nap, I got up and tackled my daily auditions. Then it was back in bed for another couple of “Munsters” episodes. Before I went to sleep I changed between the two news channels to watch their tributes to 9/11. It was 14 years ago, but I still remember it like it was yesterday. Horrible!
Friday the 11th – LONG, HOT FRIDAY! – After getting up around 10 my first stop of the day was my church to drop off the cash donation for the North Hollywood Interfaith Food Pantry. It was cash I collected the previous weekend at SacAnime which will be donated to help feed the hungry all throughout North Hollywood. The attendees at the convention were kind enough to donate over $200 for the Pantry, and this was the morning I’d be delivering it to Luis Oliart, the head of the NHIFP. Every Friday morning the volunteer staff is up bright and early to serve the hundreds of people who come by to get a sack of food to get them through the week. It’s a very efficient group composed of 15 churches and synagogues in our area. It was another hot day, so I was dressed only in a ratty tank top, shorts and sandals. With a pocketful of money, I walked up to the Food Pantry to find Luis. One of the associates there greeted me, “Good morning!” I said, “Good morning!” Before I could utter another word the associate said, “Can we put a bag together for you?” I wasn’t sure what he meant right away, and then I realized…he thought I was there to get a sack of food. At first it was funny, because I was dressed very sloppily so it would be an easy mistake. But I had a wad of cash in my pocket for the donation and I thought the dichotomy was funny. I told him, “Thank you very much, but I’m actually here to make a donation.” He pointed me toward Luis and as I walked over I was struck by something. The associate didn’t ask my name, ask any questions or make me jump through any hoops. He was willing to hand over food without any question simply because he thought I was in need. I got very emotional about that. He was there to help, and not make any judgments. And I really appreciated that. I knew this money was going to the right place! I happily handed over the $225.98 in cash to Luis, met the kind volunteer staff of the Food Pantry, and told them to keep up the good work. On the drive to Taco Bell to get lunch, I remembered a story I used to hear about my Grandpa Joe. He and my grandma never spent much of their money, so they always had plenty on hand. As survivors of the Great Depression (what was so “great” about it?) they maintained their thrifty lifestyle until the day they died. But my grandpa was very charitable. He would go to the Salvation Army (a charity he was quite fond of) and ask for help. My dad thinks he was just joking around, but I think he was testing them to see what it was like to be a recipient of the charitable benefits, and to make sure his money was going to the right place. The parallel between what had happened to me earlier, and the story I heard about Grandpa Joe struck me with great impact. As I munched my tacos I headed to Guns Direct to have Kyle clean about four of my guns. The three I shot with my friend Amanda a few days ago definitely needed cleaning, as did an old Colt .45 1911 that had become gummy. I bought it as a used gun quite a while ago, and I’m not sure if ever did get a really good cleaning. I stopped by It’s a Wrap to check out the first day of their big Halloween sale. I found 3 really nice nylon gun belts and holsters for $15 each! They were like new and used in “One Life to Live.” Finding good condition tactical stuff like this can be expensive, so I snapped them up! They had a holster with a spring-loaded flap, a strap that attached around your thigh to anchor the weapon, and a compartment for 2 extra magazines. I got back home just in time to meet up with my maids, and as they started cleaning Planet Wallywood I put Roxy in the car and headed to Rusty’s to get her bathed. (It was much too hot to walk her over) Then I hit the hardware store to buy some little metal plates, about 2 inches wide by 1 inch high. I needed them for my poster frames on my video cabinet. Then I went over to Kit Kraft, a neighborhood craft store, and bought 8 high powered magnetic discs, about an inch across. These magnets were so strong that you were in danger of pinching yourself if you weren’t careful. If your finger is between two of these discs, and they get close enough to be attracted to each other, they would snap together lightning fast! I’m getting tired of having to take tape off my vintage movie posters whenever I hang them in the frames. So I’m devising a magnetic system to do away with tape. I came back home and the maids were just finishing up. Then I sped off to Voice Trax West to do an hour for US Airways aka American Airlines. When we finished I headed back to Guns Direct to pick up my freshly cleaned guns. Kyle and I were talking about his gameplay on “Arkham Knight” so I brought him a signed Riddler pic. Across the street from the store is Alfonso’s leather. He makes all sorts of custom saddles, holsters and other leather goods. I figured it was worth a stop in to ask about making Starsky & Hutch replica badge holders. He already has the templates for all sorts of badge holders for certain law enforcement agencies, so perhaps a few of those could be adapted for my purposes. I’m going to bring him pictures so he can see what they’re like. I should be getting my the replica Starsky & Hutch badges I’m having made up toward the end of the month. While I was in Burbank I took delight in stopping by Roundtable pizza to get a large pepperoni to go. That pizza is insanely delicious, but I’m hardly ever over that way. I hadn’t had one in about a year and it tasted amazing! Then I sped off to get Roxy at the groomer and pick up some dog food. It seemed like the heatwave was ending. It was nice to be home and relax. After a short nap I got up and did some bookkeeping work, balanced my corporate checkbook and account, paid some bills, and went through my receipts from my Sacramento trip and file them. Then I ate some cold Roundtable pizza (YUMMM!!) and watched a few episodes of “The Munsters!”
Saturday the 12th – SEDATE SATURDAY! – Mid-afternoon I went to the store to get some grocery items for that evening’s movie night. It had cooled off a bit, but was still cloudy and humid. I wish it would just rain and get it over with. I stopped by my box to get the DVD of the South Dakota Rock and Roll Hall of Fame ceremony filmed last April. I got home and did some work, and around 7 my guests started arriving to take a swim before dinner and movie night. My friend Larry and his family brought over their new little dog named Emmie. She was very cute and extremely well-behaved! It was fun meeting her! We watched “Zoolander” on Blu Ray, and I had forgotten how funny that movie is. When my guests left I grabbed a quick nap on the couch, and then stayed up all night designing signs for a few new exhibits I’m planning for Planet Wallywood. I finally figured out how to display the Jim Carrey Tony Clifton jacket and pants I won at an auction several years ago. So I made up a sign for it, submitted the artwork to Fast Signs for printing, and ordered the mannequin that I would need for the display. Then I made my huge, traditional Saturday night salad, and watched another episode of the old “Persuaders” TV show with Roger Moore and Tony Curtis. I’m halfway through the series, and when it ends I’m going to be very sad.
Sunday the 13th – A GLORIOUS END TO A SHORT WEEK! – I got up at 4 and got ready for evening church. It was cool enough that I could walk Roxy over with me. The band sounded great and it was a terrific service. And the walk home was very warm, still and peaceful. I sat at the computer and did some work while I ate some reheated goulash that I bought from the grocery store a few days earlier. I love this stuff, but they stopped making it for a while. I’m glad it’s back! After a short nap I got up and did my auditions, and spent a few hours doing some more work around the house. I made some soup and a sandwich and watched 3 “Munsters” episodes in bed. But just before I went to sleep, I checked my e-mail and saw a few auditions had come in. (By this time it was 9am Monday morning!) So I did them, e-mailed them over to my agent, walked Roxy one last time before bed, and came back inside to go to sleep around 10am!
And how was YOUR week??!!
PIX FROM THE WEEK
Here I am with Luis Oliart handing over the $225.98 in donations I received from the kind attendees at the Sac Anime convention in Sacramento. This money will be used to buy food to feed the hungry in Hollywood through the North Hollywood Interfaith Food Pantry.
Here is the magnet set up I installed in the inside of my movie poster frames. I glued on little metal plates, and when the glue was set I put the poster up. Then to attach the poster to the frame, I laid the high powered magnets over the metal plates. This will work out MUCH better than tearing tape off the poster every time I change it out!
These are the replica Starsky & Hutch ID cards I made up to go with the badges I have on order. I’m pretty happy with how they turned out! My pal Scott Sebring did some of the graphics work on these and they look absolutely authentic!
