Raising Money for a Mystery Machine

I have loved Scooby-Doo ever since I was a kid! I've dreamed for years about owning a Mystery Machine to help raise money for people in need, food for the hungry, help animal shelters and make people happy.

My goal is to do just that! I want to buy or have a custom made Mystery Machine that I can use for fundraising purposes. I have so many ideas of things I could do to help people. I enjoy helping people! It makes me happy to help someone else.

I started a GoFundMe campaign to raise funds so that I can make this dream a reality. Every dollar donated will bring me closer to my goal and allow me to help others in so many ways. For anyone that donates $5.00 or more, I will send you a ScoobyAddicts,com sticker. It's my little way to say thank you. You just have to send me your address, as I won't get that when your donation is made.

I would love to roll this out in 2018 and I have a ton of ideas for 2019 to celebrate Scooby's 50th birthday!

I appreciate any donation and thank you for your support in making this dream come true!

The Last Hours of Casey Kasem

Last night, I watched Autopsy: The Last Hours of Casey Kasem. I had read the articles, seen the press videos (like when Jean threw meat at Kerri...yes, meat!) and followed Kerry Kasem on Twitter as everything unfolded in 2014. Watching this show just broke my heart.

I can somewhat relate to Kerri Kasem. I lost my dad almost 12 years ago to cancer. There was no elder abuse involved with my dad. My mom, siblings and I all had to make the horrible decision to remove him from life support and because he wasn't able to breathe on his own, he passed on.  Losing a parent is horribly painful. I think of my dad every single day and wish he was still here.

While watching this show on Casey Kasem, it made me sick to think that he went through so much abuse in the months before his death. I grew up with Casey Kasem's American Top 40 and his voice as Shaggy. I never met him in person, but I admired him for making his life what he wanted it to be. He worked hard through his life and he deserved to live out the rest of his life in peace with his family.

Instead, Casey was treated like a prisoner, not allowed to see his own kids, his brother and his friends. His wife, Jean Kasem, took his care into her own hands and, not having the proper equipment or experience to care for him, she caused him to be in immense pain and his life to be shortened. She caused Casey to die and then she moved his body, buried him in an unmarked grave in Norway so his older kids cannot find him and an autopsy cannot be performed. Why would she feel the need to hide his body if she didn't think she did anything wrong? Hmmm...

On June 15, 2014, Casey Kasem passed away. Thankfully, his kids - Kerri, Julie and Mike - were by his side. As sad as it was for him to pass on, they got to be by his side.

Sadly, the elder abuse case against Jean Kasem was dismissed because there was insufficient evidence. There is a civil case against Jean Kasem still pending.

I can only imagine how horrible this nightmare has been for Casey's older children. Losing a parent is not easy, but knowing your father is not getting proper care, is being hidden from you and basically held captive is just awful. I wish the courts could have done more to help Kerri Kasem and her family. I would like to see the court force Jean to return his body to Kerri Kasem so an autopsy can be done and Casey can be buried where he truly wanted to rest. I hope someday the family can find peace and Casey can rest in peace.

You should watch the show if you ever get a chance. It's sad, but very informative. You can also check out this article, which details the last weeks of his life.

Want to learn more about how you can help in the fight against elder care? Check out Kasem Cares.

Scooby Costume on the Way!

On November 24, 2016, I placed an order on eBay for a Scooby-Doo costume. The one I purchased, at least based on the picture, looks really good. Here is the picture from the item listing.

This costume is coming from China, of course, so the shipping is taking forever! According to the listing, it should be here no later than January 26th! Once I get the costume, I'll do an unboxing video so everyone can see my excitement! Or disappointment! I have up to 9 days to wait, and the excitement is building! I hope it looks like the picture!!

Scooby-Doo in the new Halifax Commercial

Scooby, Shaggy and the gang are featured in the most recent Halifax commercial, which first aired on January 8, 2017. The ad, which was created by Jonathan John and David Mackersey at Adam & Eve/DDB, was filmed in Halifax's London Hanover branch and included the bank employees as extras. 

The commercial is done in the typical Scooby-Doo fashion...Scooby and Shaggy are chased by the villain, they eat pizza, they run away from the villain and then they catch and unmask the villain. All of this is done in 1 minute, and I think they did a great job with the ad. 

Catherine Kehoe, managing director , group brands and marketing at Halifax, said: "Scooby-Doo is such an iconic character and universally loved - the perfect character to demonstrate how we reward customers who bank with us."

Halifax has also used Top Cat and The Flintstones in previous ads. 

Shaggy and Scooby are voiced by Scott Innes and Velma is voiced by Mindy Cohn.

Another Website Change

I redesigned the website at the beginning of the week to give it a different look, but I didn't like it. It was too green and blah and I wasn't happy with it. I tried to like it, but I couldn't. So I decided to do another redesign today. I don't know that it is that much different than the original site, but at least the colored background is gone.

I think it looks so much better now. It's easier to read, has a more appealing look and it makes me happy! I hope you like it too!!

Gordon Hunt Passed Away at Age 87

Gordon Hunt, Helen Hunt's father, passed away on December 17, 2016 due to complications from Parkinson's Disease.

I had no idea that Gordon Hunt worked on Scooby-Doo! Or maybe I did and just didn't know that he was Helen Hunt's father. Either way, I feel like this went under the radar so I decided to post about it. 

Gordon has worked on many animated shows and movies! I'm going to focus on what he did for Scooby-Doo, but you can find a full list of projects he's done on BehindTheVoiceActors.com. 

Mr. Hunt worked on several Scooby-Doo shows and movies. He was the voice director of the Scooby-Doo and Scrappy-Doo Show, The New Scooby-Doo Mysteries, The 13 Ghosts of Scooby-Doo, A Pup Named Scooby-Doo, Scooby-Doo Meets the Boo Brothers, Scooby-Doo and the Ghoul School, Scooby-Doo and the Reluctant Werewolf, and Scooby-Doo in Arabian Nights. 

He was also married to B.J. Ward, who voiced Velma in The Scooby-Doo Project, Scooby-Doo on Zombie Island, Scooby-Doo and the Witch's Ghost, Scooby-Doo and the Alien Invaders and Scooby-Doo and the Cyber Chase, as well as the video games Scooby-Doo: Night of 100 Frights and Scooby-Doo: Classic Creep Capers.

That is quite a connection to Scooby-Doo! May he RIP and his family find peace. 

EXHIBITION OPENING EVENT: Hanna-Barbera: The Architects of Saturday Morning

On November 12^th, my family and I drove 3 ½ hours to get to the Norman Rockwell Museum in Stockbridge, MA to check out the opening of the Hanna-Barbera exhibit. I had been looking forward to this since Jesse Kowalski, Curator of Exhibitions at the Norman Rockwell Museum, tweeted me about it on August 8, 2016!

We pulled into the parking lot around 2:30pm and realized we had better grab some lunch before we go into the museum. So we left to go find something to eat in town. We stumbled on this quaint little café called the Main Street Café. It was a little eatery that had an extensive menu that allowed all 4 of us to find something we would be willing to eat. My husband and I got the turkey sweet potato wrap, which was absolutely amazing!! Glad we found this place!

At 3:30pm, we were back at the museum and ready to hear Jerry Beck, animation historian and author of The Hanna-Barbera Treasury, talk about HB. He started off his speech as if we were all recovering Hanna-Barbera addicts at an HB anonymous meeting. It was quite funny! I knew from that point on, his talk was going to be great! He had a wonderful slide show, with some very interesting pictures of Joe Barbera and William Hanna, other HB employees, old toys and storyboards, and so on. It was amazing to see all of these great creations and hear some fascinating stories! Did you know Jack Nicholson was an intern for HB? Jerry showed a drawing of the whole HB staff, which included Jack!

After Jerry spoke, we headed upstairs to the exhibit. They were setting up food in the lobby area with these cute little signs that said Shaggy Sandwiches, Jetson’s Freeze Dried Onion Dip, Yogi Chips, Velma’s Lasagna, and Scooby Snacks. Everything was set up so nice!

We had to go through a couple of rooms to get to the exhibit. You could tell you were in the right spot when you saw the big Hanna-Barbera sign on the brightly colored walls. It was great to see that sign! Finally, someone is giving HB the credit they deserve!

The exhibit is filled with storyboards, cells, drawings and collectibles of the greatest HB characters – Scooby-Doo, The Flintstones, The Jetson’s, Tom & Jerry, Yogi Bear, Speed Buggy, Captain Caveman, Space Ghost, The Smurfs, Snagglepuss, and so many more! Everything hanging up really popped on the vibrant blue, green and yellow painted walls. The display cases were filled with HB characters, thanks to Dave Nimitz, who has a very extensive collection of HB merchandise! (Oh, to have his Scooby collection!!) At one point, a little boy went over and hugged the display case. It was the cutest thing! I wish I got a picture of it.

Of course, my favorite part of the exhibit involved Scooby and the gang! There were original storyboards, an original script, cells, and a lot of Dave’s collectibles. He had some amazing merchandise from the 70’s and 80’s. Even a Scrappy, which is pretty rare to find Scrappy merchandise. I was in heaven in the Scooby section! It was great of Jesse to work so hard to get WB to allow him to use some of these pieces in the exhibit.

Around 6:15pm, Jesse Kowalski, Exhibition Curator, and special guest TonyBenedict, a Hanna-Barbera Writer, talked about HB and how it has impacted their lives. It was very interesting to hear them talk about the history of cartoons. HB and some anecdotes about working with Joe and Bill. Tony Benedict got to work with Joe and Bill…how cool is that!!! (I regret not getting a picture with him.)

After their talk, who do I see out in the lobby? SCOOBY-DOO!!!!!!! Oh, my dreams have come true! I’m at a Hanna-Barbera exhibit and Scooby is there! YES! So I asked for a picture. Scooby, well the human behind the mask, was so nice! She loved my ScoobyAddicts.com shirt and introduced me to Jeremy Clowe, Manager of Media Services at the museum, and also a fellow Scooby lover! He had on 2 Scooby pins to show his support for the greatest Great Dane in the world! Jeremy did an interview with me, which may or may not have been good haha! I do not work well under pressure and am not good when I am put on the spot. It’s going to take a lot of editing to make that work! Good luck Jeremy! Scooby and I had a great time during the interview though. We got to do a slow-mo hug scene. Although the same kid that was hugging the display case gave Scooby a huge hug and he looked so much cuter than me with Scooby.

After the interview, I got to talk to Dave Nimitz for a bit. He has worked at WB, DreamWorks and Duncan Studios. I very much enjoyed talking to him and learning more about his collection. Be on the lookout for his toy book, hopefully coming out next year!

The night ended around 7:45pm. On the way out, I picked up the catalog and a poster.  As people left the museum, you could hear the bell at the end of the walkway, the bell that guests of the museum ring if they had a good time. We rang the bell a few times!!

If you are able to, you have to check out this exhibit! It is totally worth it! Here is a list of everyone affiliated with this exhibit. These people made it possible! A million thanks to all of them!

The exhibit runs through May 29, 2017 at the Normal Rockwell Museum, 9 Glendale Rd / Rte 183,

Stockbridge, MA 01262. You have plenty of time to plan a family vacation or just take a road trip! You will not be disappointed! If you are a fan of any Hanna-Barbera cartoon, this is the place to go! You will be amazed by everything they have on display!

Norman Rockwell Museum:     Website     Facebook      Twitter

Check out my photos from the exhibit!!