Gidget, Nickelodeon & Ted Williams

It always amazes me that people let me near children.  Then I realize that most people may not have seen my 80’s Man video.  Good thing.  I like to work.  But before I give you the Nickelodeon tour, let’s feast on some cheese (other than 80’s Man)!

At the beginning of the year everyone in America heard about the homeless man with the golden pipes.  I was so taken with the story I broke my own rule about only prostituting myself on this blog and plugged the employment possibilities of Ted Williams.  Since then, the man has gotten a helluva voiceover career going.  So much so, that I’m just living in his world.  At least when it comes to Kraft’s Macaroni & Cheese.

A few months ago I booked a quick gig as the “legal” announcer on one of their spots.  I didn’t realize Ted Williams was their campaign voice until I saw the video!  Since then, my heart has migrated quietly from compassion to envy, which I know is unhealthy.  But so is eating cheese and noodles and ain’t no way I can stop myself from doing that!  Full disclosure: I have no discipline whatsoever.

So here it is, in it’s internet form. My part will probably get cut out to make it a :30 for TV, though…  Nice gig, Ted. I’m so @%$!& happy for you. 😉

On to kids stuff!

Last week I had the immense pleasure of being married to Gidget!  No, not Sally Field, the new Gidget!  For those who were too busy trying to untangle their leg warmers from their parachute pants in the 80’s, the lovely and talented Caryn Richman played The New Gidget from 1986 – 1988 and stole many hearts.  Caryn and I play the parents of young heart throb Blake (played by Bryan Craig), who recurs as the boyfriend of Kelly, played by Ashley Argota (who is destined to steal many hearts) on the new Nickelodeon show, Bucket & Skinner’s Epic Adventures.  Skinner is played by Dillon Lane and Bucket is played by Taylor Gray – both very gracious guys having a blast on their first series.

Our episode (the 20th and they haven’t even debuted, yet!) is a much cleaner and kid-friendly “Meet The Parents” plot, but still quite fun.  The episode is directed by the gentle and unflappable Roger Christiansen (“Mad About You,” “Friends,” “iCarly,” “Hannah Montanna” and much more).  The show is produced by the Tom Lynch Company, who also brings you “The Troop” on Nickelodeon.

It’s always wise to say the cast and crew were nice when you’re writing about them publicly if you’d like to be hired again (thank you Harriet Greenspan & Susan Putnam). But in this case, it’s more than true. The crew was very warm and supportive (a shout out to 2nd AD Bruce – you rock) and the cast embraced us like family. It’s fun to see young actors being somewhat unaware of how huge they’re going to be once their show starts airing.

Because our scenes involved several sight gags, we pretapped them all the day before the live audience show.  This allowed me to take my mentee (Youth Mentoring Connection) to see his first sitcom taping.  And, lucky for us, after the 3rd hour (yes, these shows take a long time to make 22 minutes of comedy) I was able to save him from Restless Butt Syndrome with my VIP status.  We went back stage and nibbled at the buffet (and pigged-out on the pudding… How I love free sugar) and then settled in the VIP viewing area.

Bryan Craig, Dillon Lane, DC Douglas, Caryn Richman, Taylor Gray and Ashley Argota

At the end of the evening Caryn and I were asked to take a curtain call with the rest of the cast.  It’s a strange experience bowing for a performance you gave a day earlier.  Feels like cheating, but, given my prostitutorial™ nature, I’ll take all the free applause I can get.

“Bucket & Skinner’s Epic Adventures” premieres Friday, July 1st, at 8:00 p.m. on Nickelodeon.  I estimate that our episode will air sometime in September?  Don’t worry, the prostitutorial™ code of conduct requires me to blog about it before, during and after it airs.  You won’t miss it.