This year is turning out to be a banner year.  And I’ve had the opportunity to work with some fantastic people.  Here’s the latest….

I just completed filming a new kid’s series tentatively titled ANGEL ON CAMPUS.  We shot 13 episodes over the summer and had a blast.  It’s going to be on The Family Channel in Canada – I’m guessing beginning early next year.

From l. to r. - me, Demetrius Joyette, Jamie Bloch (in front), Sebastian Hearn, Dylan Everette, Brittany Adams, Brian White, and Hannah Lochner

It’ll also air in England and Europe – and, of course, the U.S. – I just don’t know which network yet.  We shot in Toronto – so had access to a wonderful pool of hugely talented actors, some of whom were from The Second City comedy troupe.  The regular cast of the show, other than myself, is:  Dylan Everett, Demetrius Joyette, Brittany Adams, Brian White, Jennifer Robertson, Jamie Bloch, Hannah Lochner, Sebastian Hearn, Steven Morel, and Jenny Parsons.

Dennis - and me, as Dr. Cassabi

Dennis, my raccoon minion, is a puppet operated by two very funny and talented actors/puppeteers named Matt Ficner (who created Dennis, the raccoon) and Mike Petersen (one of the talented team working on the Gemini-nominated PBS Sprout T.V. show THE MIGHTY JUNGLE).  Check out Matt’s work on YouTube by entering ‘Creepy Puppet Project’.  Very creative stuff – and very ‘creepy’….

Here’s an early press release on the show:  ANGEL ON CAMPUS is a live-action comedy series about a devil-may-care, 16 year-old ‘Angel-In-Training’ (Demetrius Joyette from THE LATEST BUZZ and ROXY HUNTER), who has been sent to earth to get his wings.  His assignment:  making down-on-his-luck Carl Montclaire (Gemini-nominated Dylan Everett from HOW TO BE INDIE) the most popular kid at school.  ANGEL ON CAMPUS is created by Frank van Keeken (BILLABLE HOURS).

So I play the head ‘Angel’ who oversees Demetrius Joyette’s character Porter Jackson.  My character’s name is Dr. Cassabi – and I pose as the high school guidance counselor so I can keep a close, watchful eye on my ‘angel-in-training’.  As I mentioned earlier, I have a ‘raccoon minion’, Dennis, who is able to go into ’stealth mode’ – or ‘invisible mode’ and report back to me on his findings.  I enjoyed filming this series very much – but I would have to say my favorite scenes were with Dennis.  The guys who operate Dennis – Matt Ficner and Mike Petersen – consistently cracked me, and the entire crew, up.

A big treat for me was on one of the last episodes we shot.  There was a very funny role of a security guard played by none other than Colin Mochrie.

Colin Mochrie and me

Colin, who has had such wonderful success with WHOSE LINE IS IT ANYWAY?, and many other shows, attended the same theatre school as I did back in the late ’70’s’ and early ’80’s’ – Studio 58 (no, not the dance club in New York).  We did an improv show together with the Vancouver Theatre Sports back in 1984 called SUSPECT – A GAME OF MURDER which was a huge hit.  And over the years, Colin and I have run into each other here and there.  But having Colin on ANGEL ON CAMPUS gave us a chance to really catch up – and what a treat it was.  He is so funny and such a great guy.  In March 2010, he will be starring in The Canadian Stage Company’s production of “ART” directed by Morris Panych – so if you’re in that area, be sure to catch it.  It will, no doubt, be a wonderful production.  I saw the original production of “ART” in New York (and later again in Los Angeles) with Alfred Molina, Victor Garber and Alan Alda.  Great show.

In June, in Los Angeles, I auditioned for a pilot called SINGLE WHITE SPENNY.  In the audition room was the very funny writer/performer Stevie Ray Fromstein and the legendary David Steinberg.

David Steinberg

What a thrill!  I mentioned to David that I auditioned for him once before, years ago, and he asked me if he had hired me then.  I told him ‘no’, but that I was about to give him a second chance.  The audition went well – so I got a callback.  At the callback, I got to read/improvise with the star of the upcoming pilot – Spencer Rice.  Spencer (or Spenny) is a very funny performer who had a huge hit in Canada with a show called KENNY VS. SPENNY.  You can check out scenes from that show on YouTube.  I loved improvising with Spencer and I suppose he felt the same way – cause I booked the job!  Yahoo!!  Within a few days I was in Toronto filming the pilot.  We had certain ‘beats’ we had to hit within a scene, but for the most part we were improvising.  Once something worked, we would try to hold onto it, but there was a lot of freedom on the set to play.

Just before heading off to Toronto, I shot a short film for my daughter’s elementary school.  One of the many joys of living and working in Los Angeles is the caliber of talent available for even the smallest of projects.  The cast in this short film, created by the multi-talented Pete Schwaba, were Paul Ganus, Rick Hall, Michelle O’Neil and yours truly along with many other talented parents and students.

'Mr. Wayne' in the school movie

The film was set in the 70’s – so I thought a big mustache was in order.  I like to call it my ‘macho mustache’ – and everyone was kind enough not to disagree.  It was a very different look for me – and I loved it.

Back in March I recorded two terrific T.V./radio ads for the San Diego Zoo’s new exhibit called ELEPHANT ODYSSEY.  Besides airing on television and radio, they are playing the spots on the San Diego Zoo website at www.SanDiegoZoo.org or directly on YouTube at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kd9R4dsYtGk & http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ze3gvoXPVdw . I loved working on those spots.  First of all I got to work with Joel McCrary – a very funny actor who does a lot of improv in Los Angeles – and is a member of the improv troupe Houseful of Honkeys.

Me, and Joel McCrary, filming the 'Kitty' spot for the San Diego Zoo

And second of all – I got to do the voice of an animated character.  I find that kind of work fascinating.  And even though the final product is animated, they filmed Joel and me doing the moves – so the animators could watch our facial expressions and body movements.  They then used those as a reference for the animation.

One of the earliest jobs I did this year was a T.V. spot for BARONA CASINOS here in Southern California.  We shot that spot at the Casino itself – and talk about a beautiful complex!  Top of the line all the way.  The exterior grounds, and surrounding areas, were gorgeous and the hotel was HUGE.  My call was for 11:00 p.m. the night of the shoot – and we shot until 7:00 a.m. the next morning.  I rarely shoot at night like that – and it took days to recover!  It was like having ‘jet lag’.  Ahhhhh, the joys of becoming an older actor!  I guess the Barona people were happy with the spot – because a month or so later, they called me back to shoot some stills for newspaper ads, magazine ads, their website – and billboards!  How big can my head get??  I mean on a billboard – not in real life!  I have yet to see the billboard – but when I do, I’ll be sure to post it here on my blog.

And last, but by no means least, is the T.V. spot I did for GAIN detergent.  They did such a good job with the spot – and to me it’s one of those ones I don’t get tired of seeing.  The music, the images, the very funny ending make it endlessly watchable.  Take a look and you’ll see what I mean - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mfKik95Jc_c&feature=related My ‘wife’ in the spot was played by Lauri Hendler who used to be a series regular on 80’s GIMME A BREAK!  A very funny lady.  I hope I get to be her ‘husband’ again soon!

OK…there are some jobs to report, but for the most part – it’s the quietest – for the longest period of time – for as long as I can remember.  First it was the writer’s strike…and now it’s the possible actor’s strike. Ugh.  Still, I am blessed with good health and a wonderful family, so that’s all the complaining I’m going to do.

The Great Adventures of Walter Flunn is still alive and well.  As I mentioned in a previous blog entry, a major cable channel bought a pilot – so we are going into production sometime in July for a delivery in August. Very exciting indeed.  

Here’s a pic from a recent mini-shoot we had.  And yes, that is a camera mounted on my head – to film my reactions.  Talk about a pain in the neck!

A month or so ago, I shot a series of spots for OnGuard.gov.  OnGuard.gov is a company that provides practical tips from the federal government and the technology industry to help you be on guard against Internet fraud, secure your computer, and protect your personal information.  I played the guy ‘phishing’ for people’s information.  The time I spent on the prep for the shoot took longer than actual shoot itself.  There was suit shopping, an initial fitting for the ‘phish fin’ that was to stick out of the back of my suit, the final fitting for the fin, and then there was altering the suit to accommodate a huge fin sticking out of the back.  Here are a couple of pics of me at the special effects shop – Flix FX.  They do great work there and are a fun group of people.  

The pic above is me, at the special effects shop, with a couple of large nuts and some well hung bananas.  Insert your own gay porn title here.

Below is the initial fitting for the fish fin.

You can check out the final spots at OnGuard.gov. I think they turned out pretty good.  I’m told they’re going to appear on TV in the next couple of months.

In early May, thanks to a fabulous comedy writer/actor Steve Hibbert, I had the opportunity to work with Mike Myers on the MTV Movie Award promos.  What a blast!  We shot on the back-lot of Warner Bros. in Burbank.  I love working on a back-lot.  It feels like old Hollywood to me.  Mike Myers played an angel (like the angels in the movie WINGS OF DESIRE) who along with doing some good, was also a little mischievous.  Well, a lot mischievous.  He was dressed from ankle to neck in a body suit that made him look ‘cut’.  Over the body suit, he had on a small swimsuit (or were they underpants?) – and sandals with white ankle socks.  To finish the look off, he wore enormous angel wings. 

Lindsay Lohan and Seth Green were also on the shoot.  I didn’t really have a lot to do with Lindsay Lohan, but she came on with her mini entourage – and did her bit.  She seemed nice enough.  To be honest, I didn’t even recognize her.  When I realized who it was, I remember thinking “Is that the same girl from FREAKY FRIDAY?  From HERBIE FULLY LOADED??”  Oh, well.   Seth Green was very funny and very nice.  He played a guy who is innocently walking down the street talking on his cell phone.  Mike Myers, ‘invisible’ as the angel, walks up to him and kicks him in the groin.  Seth Green drops to his knees in pain – and has no idea what has just happened.  Both Mike and Seth were very funny doing this bit, and so professional – slick.  Thankfully they were not recording sound because there was a lot of laughter from people watching this filming.  Hilarious.

I was just ‘on avail’ for a series of Pepto-Bismol spots.  ’On avail’ means that you’ve passed the initial audition – you’ve done the callback (where you meet the director/producer/client) – and they like to enough to have you ‘hold’ the shoot dates and to confirm your availability.  Apparently it was down to three guys.  Hours ago I found out that I was released from ‘avail’.  That means they chose someone else for the role.  Rats!  Oh, well – as my brother-in-law says – that is the nature of our business.  And that it it…

For those of you who read BACKSTAGE WEST – they printed my ‘letter to the editor’ on page 6 of the recent June 12-18, 2008 issue.  If you get a chance, check it out.  I’m sure you can find it online, too.

Till next time…

Three auditions a couple of days ago.  Two today.  On ‘avail’ for a VISA spot.  For everyone I know out there, the last few months have been incredibly slow.  But if the last few days are any indication, things are starting to happen again. Great news on the reality show – THE GREAT ADVENTURES OF WALTER FLUNN front.  A very popular cable channel bought a pilot!!  They are very interested in the show – and if they like what they see with the pilot (which we’re going to shoot this summer), we’ll start shooting some more episodes.  We’re told they will air in the first quarter of 2009!  There’s a lot of ‘ifs’ involved, but at this point – it all seems very, very positive.  Here’s a sampling of some of the art work created after the sell.

Because there is not a lot of new news to report (other than what I’ve discussed above), I thought I’d go back in the ‘vaults’ and tell a few stories of my experiences working on some of shows I’ve been lucky enough to be involved with over the years.  I also want to share some of the behind the scenes photos taken on the set during the shoot for each particular project. The first show that comes to mind is STAR TREK: VOYAGER.  I loved working on that show.  I’m not a science fiction fan myself – and had never seen the show when I auditioned for it.  But I knew it was a popular show – and I also knew that the show was coming to an end.  So, when my agent called me to go in and audition, I was thrilled.  I was up for the role of Zet, a rather nasty character who, along with his side-kick Nar, kidnaps Captain Janeway.  I don’t get to play ‘bad guys’ very often – so this was a wonderful opportunity for me.  Thankfully, I booked the job and reported for work the next week. We shot on the Paramount lot.  Because the show had been running for a few years at this point, the set had a real family feel.  And since the show had two episodes left before it was over completely, everyone seemed that much close– perhaps not wanting the show to come to an end.  For my side-kick I was blessed to be partnered with the hilarious Andy Milder.  I love working with that guy.  As an actor, he offers so much – and is really there with you.  If you are an actor reading this, you’ll know what I mean.   Andy has gone on to do a great job working on WEEDS, but when we worked together on STAR TREK: VOYAGER, WEEDS was no where in sight (and neither was ‘weed’, but I digress).  

The make-up was rather intense.  Our call was 4:30 a.m., since it took so long to get us into make-up.  I think it was about an hour and a half to two hour make-up job.  As you can see, the final result made us look like big potatoes in clothes.  But being so covered up was very freeing as an actor.  I could play the ‘bad guy’ and really get into it because I knew I looked so darn ugly.  I remember Kate Mulgrew couldn’t have been sweeter.  She was so warm and welcoming.  In fact, since we were shooting around the time of St. Patrick’s Day, Kate had organized a big St. Patrick’s Day party on one of the other sound stages.  So as we broke for lunch on St. Patrick’s Day, the entire cast and crew made our way over to the other sound stage which had been all decorated for the big event.  One by one, we were greeted by Kate who handed everyone a bottle of Bushmills Irish Whiskey. And if that wasn’t Irish enough, everyone was then treated to a traditional meal of corned beef and cabbage.  I think that was my favorite St. Patrick’s Day ever.  I was employed on a hit show, and having a great time.  And I had just been given a lovely bottle of Whiskey.  Who could ask for anything more? Another memory of being on that show was that it was very hot being in that make-up and costume.  Every break we had, Andy and I would head out of the sound stage and get some fresh (and cooler) air.  I remember the secret joy of having Paramount backlot tour vans drive by and seeing the excited tourists all snapping pictures as Andy and I stood there pretending not to be as thrilled to be seen as the tourists were to see us. 

• Well, first things first, THE GREAT ADVENTURES OF WALTER FLUNN is being pitched to networks right now (that is, unless you are reading this in the middle of the night.)  It’s a very exciting time.  We have no idea if the show is going to be picked up – but the talk is very good so we’re keeping our fingers crossed.  We went up to iFly at the Universal City Walk a few weeks ago to shoot some additional footage for the teaser.  What a blast!  The iFly folks call it ‘indoor skydiving’.  It is as close as I have ever been to free-falling (but it’s all in a vertical wind tunnel).  Here are a couple of shots of our experience there.  Yikes!  That second shot is more than a little scary.  There really should be a wind joke in here somewhere, but I’m going to leave that up to the reader.  Check out iFly at www.iFlyHollywood.com for yourself.  It really is a lot of fun.   If you ever get a chance to go up to Universal City Walk – you should check it out.  I highly recommend it!
•    
• I’ve also worked on a few industrials lately.  One in which I was a guy recently back from his high-school reunion – with a bad sunburn.  The second one was for a company that protects you against people ‘phishing’ for your information on the internet.  The production company was Aperture Films and talk about a great group of people.  Very professional and just super to work with.  They had a fish ‘fin’ constructed at a wonderful special effects company in North Hollywood.  It fit on me with a kind of harness.  With that fin, we went shopping for a new suit and shirt that in the end had to be tailored to compensate for the enormous fin sticking out of my back.  The final look was very funny in that you couldn’t tell I had a fish fin sticking out of my back when they were filming from the front – but turn into profile and  - WOW – instant clown fish.  The production company and client own all images of me with my ‘fish look’, so I agreed not to show any here – but the whole thing worked like a charm.  When the spots get released on the internet, I’ll put a link on this website.
• I talked with my aunt tonight on the phone.  She is so funny to talk with.  I love her.  She told me that since I always tend to do comedic roles, maybe it’s time to try doing some more dramatic fare.  She went on to say that since she enjoys LAW AND ORDER and the C.S.I. shows…I should really try to get on those.  I told her I’d put in a call to my agent in the a.m. and get right on that.  She also said she’d love to go to the Academy Awards – so while I’m chatting with my agent I’ll be sure to mention that, too.  Funny. 

First of all, happy new year to everyone reading this. May your year be filled with joy, good health, happiness, much love and wonderful adventures. Secondly, as I wrote in a previous blog, I was contacted by a terrific writer named Michael Toole who has written many articles for TCM.com. He wanted to interview me about my experiences playing Oliver Hardy and Roscoe “Fatty” Arbuckle. Well, we did the interview and now you can read it on www.TCM.com. Just click on the following link and it should take you right to the interview www.tcm.com/movienews/index/?cid=189165

Michael is a multi-talented writer, who besides his skills as an interviewer, has a short film he wrote playing the festivals right now. Although it was a couple of years ago now, I had a great experience playing Roscoe “Fatty” Arbuckle in Theatre 40’s world premier of Kathrine Bates’s ROAR OF THE CROWD. I studied his movies, had costumes made identical to his, and even had my hair dyed blonde. I loved every minute of it. Here are a couple of photos from my collection of me as Roscoe “Fatty” Arbuckle compared to the real deal. 

Well, the strike has certainly slowed work down as far as film and television goes, but thankfully, the commercial world just keeps on ticking. That’s it for now. I’m off to another audition.

Hey everyone…this Thursday, December 6th ABC Family channel (channel 311 for Direct TV) is showing two Christmas movies in which I have a lead role.  ONCE UPON A CHRISTMAS and its sequel TWICE UPON A CHRISTMAS.  They are fun family movies starring John Dye and Kathy Ireland.  I play John Dye’s very handsome brother-in-law – OK, I added the handsome part.  I had a great time filming these movies up in Vancouver, Canada.  John and Kathy couldn’t have been nicer to work with.  On my TIVO  it has the first one showing at 4 p.m., but on the ABC Family website, and my TV Guide, it says ONCE starts at 7 p.m. followed by TWICE at 9 p.m…..so check out your local listing or your TV guide and see what it says.  We had our first production meeting today for THE GREAT ADVENTURES OF WALTER FLUNN.  It really is becoming a reality.  We’re teamed with a wonderful production company who is completely behind the show.  It’s a very exciting time.    Much more on later….. 

The last couple of weeks have been pretty busy with auditions. But on a personal note, the best part about this week was that my birthday was on Tuesday, November 6th! I got fabulous cards, e-mails and phone calls throughout my big day. And hearing my 6 year old and my little 2 1/2 year old singing “Happy Birthday Papa!” warmed my heart to no end.
Besides some good commercial auditions recently, I had an audition for the wonderfully funny series UGLY BETTY. What a treat to be brought in for that show! The jury is still out on that one – and with the strike going on, who knows what is happening with all these shows. But I had a great time auditioning for it. Jeff Greenburg’s casting office could not have been friendlier and more helpful. It’s an office that really seem to like actors.
And here’s to the brave writers who are standing up for what they (and I) believe is fair and right. May the strike be successful and over sooner than later for everyone involved.
Michael Toole, a wonderful writer for Turner Classic Movies website, Las Vegas Weekly, along with some very successful short films, contacted me. He wants to write a piece about what it was like for me to play silent movie comedian Roscoe “Fatty” Arbuckle and half of the famous comedy team Laurel and Hardy – namely Oliver Hardy. We had our preliminary meeting today to discuss the piece and will follow it up with another meeting next week. Michael is a terrific guy who is truly a film lover with an encyclopedic knowledge of movies.
The article will appear on the TCM website in the next month or so, and might make its way into the NOW PLAYING monthly magazine from TCM. What an honor for me to be part of one of my favorite channels!! Thanks, Michael.
In preparing for the meeting today, I reviewed some material on Roscoe “Fatty” Arbuckle. First of all, he was such a wonderfully talented comedian. Truly funny and amazingly agile on his feet. If you ever get a chance to watch any of his films on TCM or rent the DVDs, you won’t be disappointed. But his life took such a tragic turn in 1921 with the death of a young ’starlet’ at a party he was hosting. Many considered him guilty of her death (even though he was aquitted after a third trial) and false rumors still persist to this day. If you want to read more about Roscoe and his downfall, my favorite book on the subject is called “The Day The Laughter Stopped” by David Yallop.
More on this later…

I just found out today that the Orkin Pest Control Co. decided to not to bring me back as their spokesman for 2008. They changed advertising agencies a few months ago, so the news wasn’t completely a shock. Every new advertising agency likes to make their mark and throw out the old campaign and start fresh with their own.
I loved working for Orkin and being their spokesman – Ned, The Orkin Man. And it wasn’t just the money. They are a super group of people and Orkin is a great company. We parted on excellent terms and I wish them all the best with their future campaigns.

The folks at Orkin flew me up to Whistler, Canada to make some personal appearances as ‘Ned, The Orkin Man’. They were having their President’s Club celebration, honoring the top employees of Orkin. The Orkin people did a fabulous job organizing this enormous event. I think it’s safe to say all 620 attendees had an outstanding time and the response to me being there as their spokesman, Ned, The Orkin Man, was incredible. Here’s a picture, taken on the last night – on the top of Whistler Mountain, of the line of people waiting for a picture with Ned. The line up was non-stop for over 1 1/2 hours – and then at least another 1 1/2 hours signing pictures. What a thrill for me to be included in this terrific event!

When I wasn’t working, there were endless activities to enjoy. I tried a ‘zip line’ and, although my heart was pounding, loved it. So much so that when my wife joined me in Whistler a few days later, I took her ‘zip lining’. That time we ‘zipped’ on the longest zip line in Canada – 2200 feet! Amazing.

All this week I’m doing personal appearances as Ned, The Orkin Man. The Orkin folks really are the nicest people you’d want to meet. Truly fun to hang out with. And a great company, too!

Last week I worked on the Disney Channel hit – “Hannah Montana”. Wow! The live audience, comprised mostly of young girls and their moms, screamed – and I mean really screamed when the regular cast of the show first appeared (and at the curtain call). It was like watching those old, black and white movies of audiences reacting to The Beatles. I had no idea the show was so popular – but now I know. And Miley Cyrus, who plays Hannah Montana, is a real hard working pro. If she wasn’t getting ready for the next shot, she was rehearsing or shooting. If she wasn’t rehearsing or shooting, she was having people take their pictures with her. A very hard working, talented young woman. And very sweet to work with.

I brought one of my daughter’s, Daisy, to the taping of the show. Although Daisy was new to the “Hannah Montana” phenomenon, she quickly caught on. I think she wanted a playdate with Miley.

I talked with some of the Verizon people today about the campaign I did filmed for them in June of this year. It’s in the final stages of being tweaked and should be everywhere early October. They say the preview audiences are really enjoying it.

“The Great Adventures of Walter Flunn” is going very well. We are in the process of making a deal with a production company right now – so more exciting news on that very soon.