I was so swamped last week that I forgot to mention that I dropped by the gala signing last Wednesday evening for the new Gary Owens book…which, despite what I said here, is not his autobiography. It's a book about how to build a career in the voiceover and announcing business and while it contains many amusing anecdotes, Gary's actual autobiography is actually planned for release some time next year. Anyway, Gary had an overflow crowd of devout fans and friends turn out to buy this book and get it signed, the "friends" including Ruth Buzzi, Jonathan Winters, Fred Travalena, Chuck McCann, Howie Morris, John Rappaport, Steve Landesberg, Thom Sharp, Ronnie Schell, Jo Anne Worley, Jack Riley and quite a few others I'm forgetting.
The formal event was held in the parking lot of Dutton's bookstore in the Valley, which is right next to a Popeye's Fried Chicken stand. For about a half hour there, if you'd gone through the drive-thru at Popeye's, you could have been entertained by those folks as you waited for your jambalaya and biscuits. (Mr. Winters and Mr. Travalena were especially in top form.)
Once again, you can order Gary's new book, which will tell you all about the voice business, by clicking here. Ignore all that humble stuff he put in there about being fortunate and getting lucky breaks and all. I understand why he says such things, him being such a nice, modest guy and all. But the honest truth is that Gary Owens has worked incessantly for more than four decades because he's so good at what he does. This is not to say one cannot learn from him…but it's like if you took putting lessons from Tiger Woods. It helps to remember that much of his success is because he's better at it than just about everyone else.
Also: While I was there, I got to chat with Fred Wostbrock, a top Hollywood agent who represents some of the above-named stars. That impresses me but not as much as his uncanny expertise on the topic of game and quiz shows. Fred was a co-author of The Encyclopedia of TV Game Shows, which is one of those must-have volumes…and he has a new book about to debut, The Ultimate TV Game Show Book. This is a compendium of trivia that I've already ordered. If you've found your way to this website, you're probably the kind of person who'd be interested in this kind of stuff, too.