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Monday the 28th \u2013 RESIDUAL RIDICULOUSNESS! \u2013<\/span> Since the weather this week is going to be nice, warm and summery, I had planned on picking up the Mustang from my mechanic\u2019s shop today. But I got busy with other stuff so I had to postpone it. I met my pal Sara at Bob\u2019s Big Boy for lunch, and we just happened to run into my pal Daniel Roebuck and his wife Tammy there. Great seeing him! He asked if he could bring some friends by Planet Wallywood on Wednesday for a tour and I told him I\u2019d be delighted! It was a gorgeous afternoon and we fully enjoyed our lunch on the patio. When I got home I checked the mail and I had a large packet of checks from SAG-AFTRA. But I\u2019ve been in this business long enough to not get too excited by the \u201cquantity\u201d of the checks, but rather the \u201cquality\u201d of the checks (ie: the amounts!). Sure enough, after I opened them, I realized that they were for a show I announced many, many years ago \u2013 and each check averaged about 2 cents. In fact, the full packet of checks (which cost SAG-AFTRA a considerable amount to send) totaled up to about 50 cents! Ridiculous! There\u2019s got to be a better way! The amount of work it would take to scan each of them for my records isn\u2019t really worth it, so I may just end up throwing them away. But friends in the industry told me that I should cash them, regardless of the idiocy of the process. I relaxed for a while, then later I did some work around the house. I didn\u2019t have any auditions to record today, so I took my nightly WOG (walk\/jog) and then came back inside to type out Wally\u2019s Week.<\/p>\nTuesday the 29th \u2013 FANTASTIC FORETHOUGHT! \u2013<\/span> For the past several weeks my gal Angi and I had been planning on seeing \u201cThe Fantastic Four\u201d in the theatre. But she just returned from being out of town for several weeks. She had a few days in L.A. to take care of some things, and then by the weekend she would be flying back to New York to spend the entire month of August there. Work is so slow here in Hollyweird, that a lot of young actors are heading to greener pastures in search of work opportunities. We got to the Citywalk at Universal Studios in the mid-afternoon and bought our tickets to the 3D Imax screening at 4:15pm. We had some time for lunch, so I asked her where she\u2019d like to eat. Since it was her birthday a few weeks ago we were going to catch up with a late birthday meal for her. I suggested Bubba Gump, since I know she likes seafood. She\u2019s mostly a vegetarian, but she will eat fish. Personally, the thought of seafood makes me nauseous. First, I think I\u2019m allergic to it. Secondly, I don\u2019t like the taste of it. But it was her birthday, so she got to choose where she wanted to go. The staff came to the table and sang to her and gave her an ice cream cookie cake (which I ended up eating most of), and then I was on my way to Hot Topic to find a \u201cOne Piece\u201d t-shirt for my grandson Elliot. Angi went into Sephora to get her free birthday gift. Then we headed to Cinnabon to get her a dessert that she could smuggle into the movie. Back in May I did a \u201cwalla\u201d session for \u201cThe Fantastic Four,\u201d but I was sworn to secrecy until the movie came out. So I had seen many scenes from the movie and it looked amazing! The definition of \u201cwalla\u201d is basically; background voices that will fill in certain crowd scenes. We were also asked to do a certain amount of \u201cfeatured\u201d voices for news reporters, etc. Since there were 8 of us in the session we had no idea who was going to end up being chosen for which role. I was hoping that I was still in the movie! The session was run by sound genius and actor Matthew Wood. Even though I saw Matthew at our Voices Against Cancer event in June I didn\u2019t get a chance to ask him if I was still in the movie. So watching this film would be a total guessing game. I held my breath through the beginning part of the film with my fingers crossed. Then, it happened. Just as the Silver Surfer appeared you hear a reporter talking about \u2018an anomaly that has entered the Earth\u2019s atmosphere, etc. etc.\u2019 \u2013 and that voice sounded very familiar! It was me! Angi recognized my voice right off, and sensing my relief she leaned over and gave me a kiss. Whew! I\u2019m in \u201cThe Fantastic Four!\u201d Amazing! I\u2019m sure my old junior high comic book pal Jon Horning (who passed away in 2005) was looking down smiling! He loved Fantastic Four comics, as did I, and he\u2019s probably loving the fact that his old buddy is actually in the movie \u2013 albeit in a very small capacity. As the movie went on I also thought it might have been my voice as the \u201cevacuation\u201d announcer. But I could be wrong. Angi and I stayed until the very last frame, and sure enough, at the very end of the credits (just before the list of music that was used in the soundtrack) there were the names of the \u201cadditional voices.\u201d Since they listed them alphabetically, my name was in the very last line\u2026right in the middle! Awesome! I got back home and relaxed for a bit, and then did my daily auditions. I took my nightly WOG, and then came back inside to edit some videos.Wednesday the 30th \u2013 FABULOUS FRIEND DAY! \u2013 As we had arranged on Monday, my pal Dan Roebuck brought some friends over for a tour of Planet Wallywood. It was a great time talking about Andy Kaufman, monsters, Star Trek, James Bond, and more. Then later my pals Scott Sebring and Ben Bentley stopped by so we could go grab a bite. We headed to Paty\u2019s and enjoyed an evening meal as the day came to a close. I got back home and relaxed. Later I recorded my auditions, and then did my nightly WOG. It was a nice night so I spent some time outside after my WOG in the anti-gravity chair. Since we were being inundated by not one but TWO meteor showers, I kept a sharp eye toward the skies. I saw three shooting stars within the course of about 20 minutes! Neat!<\/p>\nThursday the 31st \u2013 TA TA, TREES! \u2013<\/span> It\u2019s been known for a quite while that the driveway that runs behind my unit was going to be redone eventually. Well, it would seem that preparations are being made to that end. Our driveway is next to property owned by the city of L.A., and is separated by a fence. On the other side of the fence are enormous eucalyptus trees that have been there for decades; providing shade and light blockage from the studio across the way. Unfortunately the city of L.A., in all their infinite \u201cwisdom\u201d (correction: stupidity) never maintained the trees. They never trimmed them, so the roots grew exponentially to accommodate the top-heaviness of the trees. The roots of the trees reached under our property and buckled several areas of our driveway. Now that the driveway is going to be redone, it was necessary for the trees to be removed, lest the roots continue to buckle our new throughway. It was very sad to see them go. I loved those trees, and everything they provided. The city started the work early in the morning, and it continued throughout the day \u2013 as the trees are sizable! I headed to Bob\u2019s Big Boy to meet my old pal Amy Hiatt (we used to be DJs on 94.7 The Wave back in the 90s) for lunch. Then I got the Gray Ghost washed. Because I wasn\u2019t sure about the extent of the tree removal that was scheduled, I parked outside overnight in case access out of my garage would be inhibited. Unfortunately, I parked under a tree which a lot of the neighborhood birds consider their outhouse. YUCK! After it was washed up nicely, I drove over to my mechanic\u2019s shop to check on my Mustang. It was GOOD TO GO! Come to find out, all of the time we spent looking for another Brake Actuator was pointless. The mechanic put in the replacement part I brought them, but the problem still existed. He figured out that it wasn\u2019t the part at all, but there was a short in the line! (Check out past Wally\u2019s Week entries to see what the exact problem was, if you\u2019re curious.) So the short was fixed and everything was back to perfection! I drove the Rav to my auxiliary garage and parked it, as I was going to enjoy driving the Mustang around for a few days to enjoy some \u201ctop down\u201d summer weather. When I came back home, it was depressing. All the trees were gone, and it was absolute desolation. Very sad. I know it was work that needed to be done, but still it\u2019s extremely depressing. My pal Mark Fullerton came over in the evening so we could head to Little Toni\u2019s to get some food. Then we came back to Planet Wallywood to watch the Blu-ray of a Roger M00re documentary from the U.K. called \u201cFrom Roger M00re With Love.\u201d It was absolutely delightful! Later I recorded my auditions, and then took my nightly WOG. I spent some time in the anti-grav chair, curious to see what the absence of the trees would be like. Would it provide a more plentiful view of the overhead sky for stargazing? I was curious. But what I experienced was NOT pleasant. There\u2019s a light at the studio across the way that seems to be not only bright, not only extra bright, but SUPER bright. And it\u2019s pointed directly at our complex! WHY? The trees always blocked it out from my view so I never really noticed it before. But now it\u2019s just plain obnoxious! This has got to end! I\u2019ll be calling the management of our complex first thing in the morning and asking him to tell the studio to put some barn doors on that baby and redirect the light away from our complex. Light intrusion is a very serious issue, as it can affect sleep, security cameras, and a whole lot of other things. This light has the power of a thousand suns, and turns nighttime into day time. It\u2019s gotta stop! I feel like I\u2019m in a prison camp with a searchlight honed in on us!<\/p>\nFriday the 1st \u2013 BAD DAD NEWS! \u2013<\/span> Before the maids arrived to clean Planet Wallywood I did some work. My sister phoned me to let me know that my dad was in the hospital. Toward the beginning of the week he was complaining about food poisoning, but after a few days the symptoms were still lingering. She took him to the ER and they admitted him. I thought the stress following my mom\u2019s passing had affected his immune system, and he caught some kind of bug. They did a flurry of tests and found out it was dehydration, a UTI, and on top of all that, he caught a Norovirus. Sheesh. It just never ends. I drove the Mustang over to the car wash to get her shined up. I casually started talking to a guy next to me, and when he answered back I thought his voice sounded familiar. Turned out it was Bill Nye the Science Guy. I guess he needed to get his spaceship polished up. My car was finished, I popped the top, and enjoyed the gorgeous day. It was in the mid 80\u2019s! Perfect! I picked up a few grocery items, and then came home to put everything away and relax. I edited some more videos, and later I took my WOG, I spent some time in the anti-grav chair, but I had to put up a large panel to block the offensive, intrusive light from across the way. It worked, but it wasn\u2019t nearly as effective as those big, beautiful trees.<\/p>\nSaturday the 2nd \u2013 THE FIRST SATURDAY OF THE MONTH MEANS\u2026! \u2013<\/span> Since I was up all night editing videos, I slept very late. Once I got up later in the day I didn\u2019t really have anything planned. I called my pal Chris Malmin to see if he wanted to meet for a late lunch at Paty\u2019s. After a wonderful meal on the patio I headed back home to do some work. I recorded my auditions that were due on Monday, and relaxed. Later I took my WOG, and then spent some time in the anti-grav chair to cool down. Once again I put up my large light shield to try and have some \u201clight-free\u201d relaxation. I sparked up a nice cigar and enjoyed the middle-of-the-night ambience. I came back inside and did some more video editing, and then got ready for my \u201cfirst Saturday of the month\u201d ritual\u2026Laurel & Hardy Theatre. I like to treat myself to a nostalgic celebration of those good times back in the mid 70\u2019s when I was sitting in Aberdeen, South Dakota watching Laurel & Hardy films on TV. My ritual includes making a Chef Boyardee pizza-in-a-box, some popcorn, and enjoying a banana Twinkie and one of my ceramic Laurel & Hardy mugs filled with ice and Diet Pepsi. I have the titles of their 40 short films on slips of paper that I keep in a Sons of the Desert fez, which I call the \u201cForty Shorties Fez.\u201d I draw two films at random from the fez, and I\u2019m now down to the last 16 titles. Later this year \u201cLaurel & Hardy: Year Three\u201d will be out on Blu-ray, so I hope to work that into the program soon. When I run out of shorts to watch, I\u2019ll start in on their features. And then when those are done\u2026I\u2019ll start all over again! Up until recently I used the ceramic Laurel & Hardy mugs my mom made for me back in 1974. They\u2019re still in excellent condition, and they hold a TON of cold beverage. But after her passing I decided to retire them and put them on permanent display. I can\u2019t risk having them damaged during my usual use. So I found some mugs exactly like them (but not with mom\u2019s paint job, of course) and I have two sets that I will start using. The \u201cA\u201d set features a nifty monochrome paint scheme, and they look like they were painted by a professional artist. I recently found a \u201cB\u201d set that I like that are in color, and painted wonderfully. I put the set mom made me in one of the main display cases in the Puppet Room with all of the other Laurel & Hardy collectibles I have. The two films I drew out of the Forty Shorties Fez for the night were \u201cOliver the Eighth,\u201d and \u201cBe Big.\u201d I was very familiar with the former film, but not so much the latter. Once I watched \u201cBe Big\u201d I realized that I really didn\u2019t know that film very well. It was a real treat! It was almost like seeing a Laurel & Hardy film for the first time. The format of the short, filmed in 1931, was a precursor to the format used in \u201cSons of the Desert\u201d in 1933. There\u2019s a bit in it that involves Ollie trying to get a stubborn boot off of his foot, and it\u2019s hysterical. Especially considering that I\u2019ve been in that position before with several boots I\u2019ve worn. It was another fun evening with The Boys!<\/p>\nSunday the 3rd \u2013 A SAD ANNIVERSARY! \u2013<\/span> My youngest daughter Molly sent me an email reminding me that my ex-wife (and Molly\u2019s mother) Jamie passed away on this day 10 years ago. She asked if I had any pictures she could send me, as she was missing her greatly. I told her I had tons of video and pictures that I\u2019m sure she\u2019d love to see all contained on a hard drive that I\u2019d be sending to Lacey this coming week. But in the meantime I emailed her a quick video of her mom and I back in 1991 at Pismo Beach, and in San Diego. I hope she liked them. My sister called to say that it was likely that dad would be released from the hospital soon, as the virus had left his system and he was getting rehydrated sufficiently. We\u2019re all going to have to keep a sharp eye on him in the future. I packaged up some gifts for the grandkids, along with the hard drive for Lacey, and got ready to send them on Monday. I was waiting for one more item; a puppet from my buddy Grant. He is one of the brilliant puppeteers for the \u201cPuppet Up!\u201d shows for Henson, and one of the little girl puppets they sell at the souvenir table is just perfect for my 7 year old granddaughter Natalie. I\u2019ll be meeting with Grant for lunch on Monday and getting the puppet from him, and then it gets put in the box and sent to South Dakota! I scanned checks for a deposit and then headed to bed.<\/p>\nAnd how was YOUR week??!!<\/p>\n
PIX FROM THE WEEK<\/p>\n
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<\/a>You know you’re at Little Toni’s, when they give you two spoons to dish up your pizza!<\/p><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
RANDOM PIC OF THE WEEK The 50th anniversary of “Jaws” is this year, and I just bought tickets to see it in Imax in early September. I can’t wait! I found this BTS shot on-line and it’s delicious! Back in 2016 I did a remake […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":17228,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-17227","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-wallysweek"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.wallyontheweb.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17227","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.wallyontheweb.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.wallyontheweb.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.wallyontheweb.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.wallyontheweb.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=17227"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.wallyontheweb.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17227\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":17231,"href":"https:\/\/www.wallyontheweb.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17227\/revisions\/17231"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.wallyontheweb.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/17228"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.wallyontheweb.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=17227"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.wallyontheweb.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=17227"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.wallyontheweb.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=17227"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
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