Tag: Walt Jaschek on Camera

Walt “calls in” to St. Louis Media Hall of Fame Ceremony

The St. Louis Media History Foundation asked Walt to add some comedy to its 2021 Hall of Fame video. This “Zoom call” is the result.

Congratulations to the new honorees in the St. Louis Media Hall of Fame, which due to The Current Situation is a video celebration only, archived on YouTube.

Ken Ohlemeyer Jr., producer of this year’s Hall of Fame presentation, reached out to ask if I, as a past honoree, would record a PSA for the St. Louis Media History Foundation. I was happy to do so! I concocted a “Zoom call,” in which a clueless me, channeling Fred Willard, confidently thanks the Ken for my new induction. He kindly “corrects” me, and reminded me I was honored way back in 2018. This clueless “mistake” on my part allows me to tick off some copy points about the foundation. Copy points in which I believe! St. Louis is truly lucky to have a dedicated media history foundation.

Here’s the video.

Here’s the script for our bit, which one person in the chat called “Nice shtick!” Shtick it is, proudly…

[Zoom call commences]

KEN:  Well, hey it’s Walt Jaschek…what do I owe the pleasure of this Zoom call to, Walt? What is going on?

WALT:  Hi, Ken. I just want to pop in here and say what an honor it is to be a new inductee into the St. Louis Media Hall of Fame in the category of Advertising and Public Rela…

KEN:  Walt, Walt, wait, wait, wait, wait!

WALT:  What?

KEN:  I have to stop you right there and correct you.

WALT:  How so?

KEN:  Walt, you are not being inducted in this year’s St. Louis Media Hall of Fame.

WALT:  I’m not?

KEN:  You were already inducted in 2018.

WALT:  2018?

KEN:  Along with Paul Fey, your partner as Paul & Walt Worldwide. You two were inducted for your award-winning radio work and contributions to St. Louis advertising…You don’t remember?

WALT (searching for the memory):  I remember a big ceremony downtown… some well-dressed people… open bar…

KEN:  That was it!

WALT:  That was the St. Louis Media Hall of Fame?

KEN:  Yes! You and Paul gave an acceptance speech…played a funny reel of your ads…wowed the crowd with stories…

WALT: It was in The Before Times.

KEN: Definitely The Before Times… [wistfully continues] You thanked clients, family…

WALT:  Oh, yes! But I don’t think I adequately thanked the St. Louis Media Foundation itself.

KEN:  You didn’t?

WALT:  No. I shoulda said what an honor it is to be an inductee.

KEN:  “Was.” “Was” an inductee.

WALT:  I shoulda said St. Louis is lucky to have the St. Louis Media History Foundation that saves, preserves, and celebrates our rich, diverse, and memorable media history. I shouda said everybody should donate to the foundation to help create these memories alive.

KEN:  Well, that woulda been nice… yea, I guess you shoulda said those things.

WALT:  I shoulda!

KEN:  That’s OK, you’re saying them now, though.

WALT:   Help me remember that ceremony more… there were tables and chairs, and people gathered?

KEN [resigned]:  There were. Lots of them.

Walt sits back, lost in memory.

WALT:  Wow. Remember “people gathered?”

KEN:  We’ll get there again.

Walt leans back into camera with mock seriousness.

WALT:  From your lips, Ken. From your lips…

Cut to black

Walt Jaschek IS Dr. D’abo IN “Sons of the Saddle” (1995) B-Western Movie Parody

It’s 1899 and Dr. Devlin D’Abo (Walt Jaschek) believes he alone can lead the United State of America into the Twentieth Century. To help him take control of the federal government, D’Abo creates a weapon that will make his arm of desperadoes invisible. Only the Sons of the Saddle (Don Secrease, Rick Burchett, Bill Lux) stand between the mad doctor and his plan to unite western hemisphere under one supreme leader… D’Abo himself!

— From the DVD jacket for “Sons of the Saddle: The Invisible Rayders: Chapter 4: Doorway to Doom”

Writer/director Don Secrease (working under pseudonyms Sean Ryan and Manny Handz) was the creative force behind this amateur film and B-Western movie parody made by enthusiastic B-movie fans. As backstory, Don wrote the below…

Abbreviated Backstory

This serial chapter of Sons of the Saddle’s “The Invisible Rayders” (chapter 4 “Doorway to Doom”) was made by a group of B-movie/serial fans for fun, to be shared by friends and family.

It was the summer of ’95, a few of us were discussing fan-made, straight-to-video movies, comparing good to bad, FX, etc., produced by Skeleton Creek Prod., W.A.V.E. Prod., B. Black’s Nightveil Media (its contemporary name.) These films were viewed, discussed, admired for their ingenuity and enthusiastic presentations.

Our ragtag team of B-movie aficionados decided to gather friends and family and create our own movie-making inadequacy.

We selected characters from our daily gag comic strip, “Sons of the Saddle,” wrote a 12-chapter serialized story, picked a random chapter, scripted it – then started rounding up the usual suspects – not to mention costuming, horses and tack.

All fell into place once we scouted our locations. Our major battles filming that summer: a Missouri heatwave, reliable video cameras and, finally, appropriate music. Since this was made for private amusement (or condemnation) and nor for sale, we picked background music from a few public-domain serials & B-westerns.

Enjoy!