RANDOM PIC OF THE WEEK
SENSATIONAL 70’s SUMMER! Here’s an old pic my folks sent me that really takes me back. We’re in our backyard in Aberdeen, South Dakota roasting marshmallows after grilling steaks and burgers. I’m with my little sisters Bonnie (left) and Peggy (right) and a friend of Peggy’s. Notice my Starsky hair, t-shirt, jeans and shoes. At that point in my life it was all about the Starsk-man!
Sometimes when I’m sitting down, my dog Roxy likes to come stand right in front of me; her head at my left knee and her tail at my right. So I’ll start playing her back like a keyboard and singing. She absolutely loves that. Her favorite song for me to “play” on her back is “Lady Madonna” by the Beatles. Now that I’m feeling better, we’ve gotten back to our mini concerts, starring me on doggie keyboard!
Monday the 8th – STILL RECUPERATING! – As I continue to recuperate from my 2 week battle with pneumonia, I got up at 2 to start my day. My assistant Sara came over to see if I needed anything. I switched my Gran Torino with my Mustang and drove that over to the local CVS to pick up some much stronger cough medicine. The stuff my Ear, Nose and Throat doctor prescribed me is powerful but it’s an expectorant, and not very good at stopping the cough. I needed the stuff that stops my cough dead in its tracks. I would be emceeing the Larry Storch comedy tribute on stage at the world-famous Comedy Store on Thursday night, and I didn’t want to cough on stage. This cough medicine is good for knocking the cough out completely for a period of time. Then I can go back to using the expectorant so the junk in my lungs can loosen up and come out once and for all. I stopped by the post office to mail some bills, and then I went over to Panera to get some lunch. It was an absolutely beautiful afternoon and I really enjoyed sitting on the patio having a leisurely meal, watching the people go by. It was good to be back out in the real world again after being housebound for so long. It was cloudy and humid, but still very pleasant out. I got some grocery items after lunch, and then went home to unload all the goods. I took some medicine and settled into bed to watch another episode of the old British “Avengers” series. I ended up sleeping until midnight. When I got up I took Roxy out for a stroll and we got to see the huge midnight super moon overhead. A nice, bright full moon! Stunning! I went inside to struggle through a few auditions (my voice was just starting to come back as all the coughing was starting to subside) but I still had breathing problems. But I managed. I wrote Wally’s Week and then hit the hay to watch another “Avengers” episode. I like that old show much more than I thought I would!
Tuesday the 9th – FLOODING THE SYSTEM! – When I got up at noon I got a call from one of the producers of the Cher concert. They wanted to add another line to the Ringleader’s part in the concert, so we sat on the phone while I recorded on my end, and we hammered out 25 takes of the additional line. Then I e-mailed everything to her so it could be put into the show. Though my voice is better, it’s still not up to 100% yet. I decided to flood my system with water. Whenever I do a vocally stressful Voice-Over session, I am constantly drinking water to lubricate my vocal cords. This keeps them from stressing and creating hoarseness. I figured the same would be true for coughing. So my new policy is, when I cough I take three large swallows of water right after it. I also am hoping that flooding my system with hydration will dilute the phlegm in my lungs which will make it easier to be expelled. The only downside is you have to go to the bathroom a LOT more than usual. But, it’s the price you pay. As the day went on my voice got better, and my cough got better. I think all the water was really working! When I finished up the Cher session I showered up and headed to my seamstress’ studio to check up on how the Dorothy of Oz bust was coming along. She had the costume cut and laid out on the mannequin bust and was getting ready to finish it up. It looked fabulous! I also picked up my freshly pressed Phantom of the Opera cape, and Karyn surprised me with the new little tuxedo jacket for my 12” Tony Clifton doll. (It’s a doll that I customized to look like Tony Clifton from a Mod Hair Ken doll from the 70’s.) I was going to be interviewed for a new Andy Kaufman documentary that evening, and I wanted to have the Clifton figure on hand to show on camera. When I got home I put the cape on the Phantom and it looked amazing. He looks much more authentic and elegant now. I put the new jacket on the Clifton figure and it too looked amazing. I took a short nap in the Puppet Room then got up to get ready for the Kaufman documentary. John and his crew arrived on time at 7 and we got my home theater lit and ready to shoot. I was still having coughing and voice issues, so I kept a cup of hot tea near me to take drinks between takes. The documentary will be called “Kaufman Lives” and it examines the legend of Andy Kaufman supposedly faking his own death. We had a lot of fun and the interview went very well. After the guys left I laid down on the couch for a short nap, and then I got up to do a ton of auditions. I walked Roxy on our late-night stroll. Thursday night would be a big night at the Comedy Store, so all day Wednesday I had planned complete voice rest, and to continue to flood my system with water. The auditions went well, and my voice is now almost completely back. If I can just minimize the coughing, ie: vocal cord stress…I think I’ll be alright. But the persistent tickle in my trachea is very annoying.
Wednesday the 10th – CAT IN THE CLINIC! – Sara came by at 1 to pick up Spook for his annual physical. He was NOT happy about it, but I want to make sure that he stays in good physical condition. He’s now 9 years old and as he continues to advance in years I want to make sure he stays as healthy as possible. I did some work around the house but continued my voice rest. When Sara returned she said the vet suggested that Spooky get his teeth cleaned, as there were some problem areas around his teeth with gingivitis. Next week I’ll need to send him back to have some bloodwork done, and then if everything is good, he’ll have to be put under for a little while to have his teeth cleaned. Eeek. I’m NOT looking forward to that. When Sara returned we went to Paty’s to have lunch on the patio. Then I came home to relax. I did a few auditions, watched another episode of “The Avengers,” and took a nap. I got up later that night to do some more auditions, some laundry, and did some planning for the Thursday night Larry Storch comedy tribute that I would be hosting.
Thursday the 11th – STORCH! – When I got up at 1 I was a little nervous. I don’t get nervous before a show normally, but because of my cough and my recent voice problems, I was praying that all would go well with that evening’s comedy tribute to Larry Storch at the Comedy Store. I did a few auditions, and then got a call from Matt, Larry’s manager. He wanted to meet for lunch at his hotel so we could go over the show’s timeline. I got cleaned up and headed to the Burbank Marriott and the Daily Grill so we could have lunch. The show looked like it was going to be very easy and fun. A huge relief! Then we went upstairs to Larry’s room so I could say hi. Larry was resting up for the busy evening ahead. He just turned 91 years old, so it was good he was getting his rest. I chatted with Larry for a bit, and then I headed home to type up all of the intros for the evening on big index cards. Around 5:30 I drove to the Comedy Store on Sunset Blvd and met up with the gang. We got seated and as we waited for the rest of the audience to be brought in, I quietly went over my intro cards to rehearse in my head. The show went seamlessly and it was an amazing experience to be on the legendary Comedy Store stage! It was a great evening and wonderful tribute to Larry. I came home, still high from the experience, and did some auditions. I prepped for the next day’s session and made a pizza to eat before bed.
Friday the 12th – FIRST SESSION SINCE…! – It was the first session I had done at an outside studio since I contracted pneumonia. I was praying it would go alright. I took some of my “cough-stopping” medicine before I went into the Robot Chicken studios in Burbank. I did several announcer takes for a commercial project they’re working on. It was a lot of fun and though I had to cough a few times, it didn’t seem to interfere with my voice work. We wrapped up around 11am, I signed my paperwork and went off to McDonald’s to have lunch. It felt great to be out and about again working and enjoying life. Since it was the first day for It’s a Wrap’s annual Halloween sale (is it THAT time of year again already??!) I stopped by the store to see what they had to offer. In the past several years their Halloween selection has been fairly scarce. But about four or five years ago it was filled with so much treasure my car (and closet) could barely contain it all! The only thing I found of interest this year was a black leather gun belt with two large pouches on it. I came home to relax for an hour, and then I drove to Burbank to meet with my new M.D. Since my favorite M.D. is down in Santa Monica (a LONG ways from my house) it has become difficult to see him when I’m sick. Which is one of the reasons my bronchitis turned into pneumonia. I delayed going to the doctor and just took medical advice over the phone. I was on the wrong anti-biotic for about five days before I finally had to go in and see my Ear, Nose and Throat doctor in Burbank. To mitigate that from happening again, I asked my ENT to recommend a good local M.D. that I could see on a moment’s notice. So he referred me to Dr. Alinsod whose office is right down the hall from him! Dr. A and I chatted for quite a while and we had a nice conversation. He said anytime I wasn’t feeling well to call and he’d see me immediately. That’s a good feeling to know I have that option. I never want what happened to me a few weeks ago to happen again. But granted, it was my fault for not going to Urgent Care to get treated. But I just felt so badly it was difficult to get motivated to leave the house! I picked up the mail at my box on the way home, and I got my new Halloween Kid mannequin in. When I got home I dressed him in my vintage Scarecrow of Romney Marsh Halloween costume that I recently got on eBay. Although I had purchased a mannequin for it awhile back, it was too large for the costume. The size of this new mannequin was much closely suited to the size of the costume and it looked much better. I also put a box of candy cigarettes in his right hand, and a pack of Beeman’s chewing gum in his left. Both were staples of every fun Halloween night I’ve ever known. I took a nap on the couch for a few hours, then got up and showered and headed to Son of Monsterpalooza in Burbank. I saw lots of great friends and had a lot of fun chatting. My friend Kassandra was there with her brother who was visiting from Ireland. After I wrapped up my business at S.O.M., I got some food to go at Denny’s, and headed home to relax, eat my dinner, and watch another “Avengers” episode. I fed and walked Roxy, then retired for the evening. What a day!
Saturday the 13th – SON OF MONSTER! – For some odd reason my eyes snapped open at 9:30am! What? That NEVER happens! So I got up and started doing stuff around the house. I walked Roxy and got ready for day 2 of Son of Monsterpalooza. I picked up Sara on my way and we made it to the convention. It was packed full of people but it was a great time! I bought a Wild Tiger figure from one of the booths there. I walked by one booth that had all sorts of famous ventriloquist dummies from popular movies that featured puppets of that sort in their stories. I saw a “Fats” from the 70’s movie “Magic.” Ever since I saw that movie I wanted one. Best of all, the head from this figure was cast from the original head used in the movie! I also met a lady that’s darn near the girl of my dreams. She’s tall, blonde with intense green eyes, and when I met her the left half of her face was torn away revealing her skull underneath. Obviously it was make-up, but we started talking about make-up, horror movies and the genre. Though the job she did on her prosthetic was worth of a professional, she told me she wasn’t a make-up artist professional, but instead was a personal trainer. Her name is Chanel and we had a great time discussing our favorite horror movies. She’s more into the “implied” horror…or “anticipation horror,” as she called it. While I’m more into the monsters like Michael Myers, Freddy, Frankenstein, etc. She said her favorite horror movie is “Poltergeist” because of all the anticipated tension. It was great talking to her. I gave her my card and we parted ways. But inside my head I was mentally willing her to contact me for another get-together. She was really something. And even though half her face was ripped off, I could tell that under the make-up she was stunningly pretty! It was a fun afternoon, but the more I conversed the worse my cough seemed to get. I guess the more air that’s pumped through my lungs as I converse, the worse the cough gets. I took a lozenge and continued on, though I’m sure some people thought I was stricken with the plague when they heard my barking cough. I hope I didn’t scare Chanel away for good! I saw Larry Storch at his table, and where they had him was extremely warm. The A/C didn’t seem to be working very well in that area, and Larry’s manager Matt was very uncomfortable. After all it was about 96 degrees outside! But when we went outside it was almost cooler than it was inside that area of the building! Weird! It was a wonderful convention with lots of great make-ups, costumes and monster fans. After a quick lunch at the Daily Grill with my friend Scott Zillner and my assistant Sara, I went home and got cleaned up for movie night. I took a short nap and then got up to welcome my guests. I hadn’t had movie night for the past two Saturdays due to my pneumonia, but it was good to be back at it again. I had really missed it. I’m glad life is returning to a somewhat normal state again. We watched “Muppets Most Wanted” on Blu Ray and we had a lot of fun. Since it was Saturday night, I made myself a huge salad when my guests left, and I headed to bed to watch another “Avengers” episode. I’m really loving this show!
Sunday the 14th – MINTY FRESH! – As is normal with Sundays, I slept most of the day. It was good to get some good, solid rest. I got up for evening church and it was great to be back. I had missed three weeks of church during my illness and it was great to see everybody again. Since it was about 103 out I didn’t take Roxy with me. I’ll take her when it cools off. I had really missed church! When I told everyone that I had been laid low with pneumonia they asked why I hadn’t contacted them. I told them all I wanted to do was lay in my bed and not move. But I appreciated their concerns. Pastor Louise is a master at the Healing Hands protocols. So she laid hands on my chest and back and prayed. She had me put some peppermint oil on my hands and rub it together. WOW! A few drops of that stuff go a LONG way! It was amazing! I breathed it in deeply and it permeated my entire sinus area, as well as my lungs. VERY refreshing. I loved it so much that she actually gave me the entire bottle to use at home. On the way home I got some Taco Bell, then went home to get into bed, eat my dinner and watch another “Avengers” episode. The problem with binge viewing like this is, I’m going to run out of episodes soon! I grabbed a nap, and then got up later in the evening to do a ton of auditions. The voice was working pretty well, and though I needed to cut a few coughs out of the voice track here and there, it all worked pretty well. Since I’m trying to get back into normalcy as much as possible, I decided to switch back to watching “Magnum; p.i.” before bed again. But lo and behold, the episode that was next was one called “Holmes Is Where The Heart Is,” guest starring Patrick Macnee…star of the “Avengers” TV series! Of course the “Magnum” episode was shot in 1985, a full 20 years after his work in “Avengers,” but clearly the producers of “Magnum” were “Avengers” fans. The first time you see Patrick on-screen in the “Magnum” episode, he’s striking the famous John Steed pose, complete with bowler hat and umbrella! It tickled me beyond belief, and it was a great episode! I remember hanging out with Mr. Macnee back in 2002. His son Rupert was a producer at PAX-TV, where I was working as the network voice from 2000 to 2003. He introduced me to his father, who I introduced to my Voice-Over agent. I thought Patrick Macnee should be doing a ton of voice work. Here’s a shot of myself with Mr. Macnee during our fun afternoon.
And how was YOUR week??!!
PIX FROM THE WEEK
My Phantom figure has a much more elegant look now that he has his custom-made hat (thank you Baron Hats!) and his spangled cape!
I found a much more suitable mannequin for my vintage Scarecrow of Romney Marsh Halloween costume. He’s now holding a pack of candy cigarettes and a pack of Beeman’s chewing gum, two staples of my childhood. He looks right at home standing next to his more screen-accurate counterpart!
After the filming of my interview for the “Kaufman Lives” documentary, the Andy puppet and I clown around.
Though I didn’t manage to get any shots of myself on the legendary Comedy Store stage, I did get some great shots of the guest speakers! Marion Ross, Hank Garrett, Ted Lange, Bernie Kopell, Jackie Joseph, Ken Berry and Peter Marshall all gave rousing and hilarious tributes to the great Larry Storch!
The legendary Larry Storch takes to the stage for his final time in L.A.!
Since Larry Storch’s busy schedule in L.A. didn’t allow him time to come by and see my pets, we made him a little video that I showed to him on my i-Pad at Monsterpalooza.
At the Son of Monsterpalooza convention over the weekend, we saw some amazing sights!
Here’s the replica of the “Fats” ventriloquist dummy from the amazing movie “Magic.”
This take on the Frankenstein monster shows what he would have looked like had he aged 50 years. Interesting!
This take on the Frankenstein monster shows what he would have looked like had he signed on to play a show in Vegas!
Not every sight at “Son of Monsterpalooza” was horrifying. Some were quite pleasant!
As a charity project, artists from all aspects of the art world were asked to do their variation on a theme…The Bride of Frankenstein. Here are some of my favorites…
This animatronic gnome was the hit of Monsterpalooza!
At the Bride of Frankenstein exhibit, a few standout entries really caught my eye!
Taking the pattern we had created for the replica Tony Clifton tuxedo jacket fabric, I had my pal Scott Sebring shrink the pattern to 1:6 scale and had some fabric printed for my Tony Clifton figure’s new jacket. Amazing how it turned out!
