motd Thursday Aug 11, 2011

[Guest guest]

FROM THE

GECKO

Thursday, 11 August 2011

I had

such a fun time Tuesday and I have to tell you all about

it. I got to film a commercial for the Geico Insurance

Company! I'm sure you've all seen their commercials

featuring that cute little lizard, the Gecko. Geico is

one of the country's leading insurance companies and

their great commercials, featuring the Gecko, always

make people smile and laugh.

We

filmed the commercial in the penthouse of the beautiful

new W Hotel on Hollywood Boulevard here in Los Angeles.

Everyone who worked on the commercial were all so nice.

And you know me, I posed and took photos with all of

them.

Now let tell you about the director of the commercial.

I'm so proud to tell you that I was directed by Tom

Hooper who won an Academy Award for that great

movie from last year, The King's Speech. (By

the way, if you haven't seen it yet, it's definitely

worth renting from Netflix!)

Now I must admit, I was a little nervous working with an

Academy Award winning director. Plus, I was up for a

role in The King's Speech. But that Geoffrey

Rush got the part instead of me. Okay, just

kidding...LOL.

You might expect someone like Mr. Hooper to be a little

unapproachable. But, I must tell you, he was really

very down to earth. It was a real pleasure working with

him. We talked about what he wanted me to do in the

commercial and I said to him, he was Geppetto and I was

his Pinocchio. I was there to make the commercial fun

and he was, well...my director!

Oh,

Hollywood! I had to do my parts over-and-over again

until I hit my mark, each time, just the way Tom wanted

it. And between takes, I must have sang numbers from at

least 30 big Broadway hits. Hey, I kept everyone

entertained and made them laugh all day long.

Now, I know you all want to know about the Gecko. Well,

first of all, he's much taller in person than you might

think. He's simply adorable and...he's funny, too! We

cracked jokes all afternoon and I told him he had the

prettiest green skin I'd ever seen on any lizard. LOL.

I'll let you know when the commercial begins airing so

you can keep an eye out for it.

I've done several TV commercials over the years and I

have to say, one of my favorites was the one I did for

Citibank Visa years ago. What made that one so much fun

is that my sweet mother, Shirley, was in the commercial

with me. If she ever flubbed a line while we were

filming, I'd walk over to her and say, "Shirley,

come on now...put your heart and soul into this, will

ya'!"

My mother would give me one of her famous Shirley

stares, then say to me, "I love you Dicky.

I'm having so much fun!"

On Tuesday, when I taped the Geico commercial, I could

see my Shirley right there on the set with me. She was

sitting in a big directors chair and cheering me on.

Oh, the Gecko would have just loved her!

Love,