Well, dear readers, this week has flown by, like a gazelle squeezing the Charmin. Speaking of squeezing the Charmin, and who wasn’t, as those who’ve read There’s Mel, There’s Woody, and There’s You know, back in 1973 after two years of doing guest shots and a pilot, and purposely not doing commercials, I was convinced to get a commercial agent. The first audition I went on was for Charmin, to play “young” Mr. Whipple. I went and I got the job, first time out. It was a fun shoot and I was coached by Mr. Whipple himself, Dick Wilson, who was a lovely man. That little one day job aired for over three years – I literally got a check every single week for three years. And with all the commercials I did over the years, none of them ever came close to that kind of run. Somewhere in the bowels of my storage facility I have a faded 16mm print that I was going to have transferred. But guess what? I found the damn thing on You Tube. Can you believe it? So here for your mental delectation is my very first commercial.
Wasn’t that something? Nice moustache, too. The actress playing my soon to be wife is Susan Blu. Then I found my last commercial, shot in 1993 in the midst of doing the first Michelle Nicastro album. I didn’t even want to go on the audition – I was done with that stuff, but my agent badgered me and I went. It was an Energizer Bunny commercial and I was to audition for a scientist in a lab coat or something like that. I walked in and every single actor there (about forty) was in a lab coat. I was in a t-shirt, as I never dressed in “costume” for any commercial. I went in, met the director, who turned out to be Frank Oz and for the first and only time in my commercial life I got the job without a callback. He later told me that he was so happy that someone WASN’T in a lab coat and that I knew how to be funny in a subtle way, that he wouldn’t even see anyone else after I left. So, I got to go out with a big national spot in which I acted with Rip Torn. And we shot it on the very stage where eighteen years prior we’d shot The First Nudie Musical. So, here it is for your mental delectation.
Wasn’t that fun? Yesterday was kind of fun, too. I only got about six hours of sleep – that wasn’t fun. Then I got up, answered e-mails, had a telephonic conversation, then Sandy and Lanny arrived and we went and had some lunch. Sandy had a veggie burger and the rings of onion, Lanny had nothing, and I had a cup of soup and chicken tenders. Then we came back and sang through the album songs first, then ran the Gershwin show. I didn’t have many notes, just sharpening and honing stuff. It’s very entertaining. Then they left and I did some writing. Then we had to make a packaging change on It’s a Wonderful Life and hopefully that will be approved today and we can get it to the printers. We knew this one was tricky in certain ways, but they did give me permission to announce when we did and they know the timeline. After all that, I finally sat on my couch like so much fish.
Last night, I watched the first two-thirds of a long motion picture on Netflix entitled Downfall, a German film about the last days of Adolph Hitler. It’s really a very well made film with a great performance by Bruno Ganz. There was some criticism from certain quarters about the fact that Hitler is portrayed as a human being, but guess what – he was a human being? Not a good human being, in fact the most evil human being imaginable, but anyone thinking this film attempts to portray him in a human way is a nutcase. He’s portrayed as what he was – delusional, mad, and dangerous. What’s interesting is the attitudes of his inner circle – that they’re losing the war and somehow they’re now the victims, seemingly forgetting all their atrocities and horrors. But that’s what delusional people do. Looking forward to finishing it today.
After that, I did more work on the computer and saw the new version of the packaging, which makes the best of a compromised situation and then I sent that in for what will hopefully be a very quick approval, since they’d already seen and said okay to the text and the credits and all that.
Today, we have our final rehearsal for the Gershwin show, then I’ll relax, do errands and whatnot, eat a snack, hopefully pick up some packages, write, and then later in the evening I’ll be joining Sandy and Doug Haverty for a late-night meal.
Tomorrow is mine all mine and I have no idea what I shall or shall not do. Sunday is our sound check and then show, and next week I have a lot of meetings and meals, a work session for the Kritzerland show (we’ve just added the wonderful Rita McKenzie, star of the LA Ruthless! as a second guest star), and all sorts of other things.
Well, dear readers, I must take the day, I must do the things I do, I must, for example, have a rehearsal, relax, hopefully pick up packages, relax and then have a late-night meal. Today’s topic of discussion: It’s Friday – what is in your CD player and your DVD/Blu and Ray player? I’ll start – CD, who knows? Blu and Ray, next up is The Man from Laramie. Your turn. Let’s have loads of lovely postings, shall we, whilst I hit the road to dreamland after which I would squeeze the Charmin if only I had some Charmin to squeeze. And for a side topic – what are your favorite classic commercials?