Episodes
Dennis is joined via Zoom by television writer Stan Zimmerman to talk about his memoir The Girls: From Golden to Gilmore, which documents his career working on such iconic shows as Roseanne, The Golden Girls and Gilmore Girls as well as The Brady Bunch Movie and A Very Brady Sequel. In this first part of a two-part interview, Stan talks about his midwest upbringing and how his mother bought him the ballet shoes he wanted behind his father's back. He also talks about meeting his longtime...
Published 10/03/24
Dennis is joined via Zoom by actors Michael Sturgis & Sean Luc Rogers from the Echo Theater Company's production of Samuel D. Hunter's play Clarkston, which is playing at the Atwater Village Theatre in LA through October 21. Here's the synopsis: "Welcome to Clarkston, Washington, where Jake (Michael) and Chris (Sean) meet working the night shift at Costco. Jake, a middle-class, educated new hire who’s a distant relative of explorer William Clark, has fled his privileged life in...
Published 09/26/24
Dennis is joined via Zoom by actor-singer-dancer-influencer Garrett Clayton to discuss his new cabaret show Hero To Villain, which hits LA on September 19 and Palm Springs on September 21st. Garrett talks about the journey of the show, which takes the audience from Garrett's good guy role in Disney's Teen Beach Movie to his more recent stage work, playing villains in shows like It: The Musical and Excorcistic. He also talks about ditching his wholesome Disney image to play real life gay porn...
Published 09/17/24
Dennis is joined via Zoom by filmmaker Michael Selditch to talk about his new documentary Happy Clothes: A Film About Patricia Field, which is all about the iconic stylist behind the clothes on Sex and the City, Emily in Paris, Run the World and The Devil Wears Prada. Michael talks about what inspired him to want to make the movie, how he got Patricia to agree to being documented and what makes her work so singular and fabulous. He also talks about interviewing such Field devotees as Sarah...
Published 09/12/24
Dennis is joined by singer-actor David Burnham to talk about his new cabaret show Burnham Sings Buble, in which he interprets the music of Michael Buble, singing hits like "Home" and "Everything" along with more obscure Buble gems. David also talks about his previous touring show, a tribute Tom Jones, which, in true Tom Jones fashion, featured pants so tight David almost passed out. David also talks about his career in musical theater, from being plucked from nowhere at 19 to take over for...
Published 09/04/24
Dennis is joined by two of the filmmakers of the new documentary Still Working 9 to 5, which is about the classic film comedy from 1980 and the ongoing movement for equality for women that the film depicted. Gary co-directed the film and Larry executive produced it. The twin brothers talk about how they first got the idea to make the documentary, the challenges of landing and scheduling interviews with stars Jane Fonda, Lily Tomlin, Dolly Parton and Dabney Coleman, and how they were able to...
Published 08/29/24
Dennis is joined via Zoom by the filmmakers behind the new gay thriller Ganymede, Colby Holt & Sam Probst. The film is about a high school wrestling star from a strict Christian family who develops feelings for his openly gay classmate, which causes him to be haunted by a terrifying creature. The co-directors, who are also husbands, talk about where the original idea  came from, what it was like to shoot the movie in Colby's hometown in rural Kentucky, how they came to cast the openly gay...
Published 08/22/24
Dennis connects via Zoom with musician Greg O'Connor to talk about his debut album The Place I've Never Been and what it's been like to venture out as a solo artist after decades of writing songs and scores for TV and movies. Greg talks about what inspired him to take such a big swing in his mid-50's, the artists that inspired him like Toto, The Beach Boys, Steely Dan and Bleu, finding collaborators on Facebook and Instagram and posing on a hillside with a piano and live bull for the album's...
Published 08/15/24
Dennis connects via Zoom with Jeffery Bowman who is the founder and co-host of Legendary Bingo, a West Hollywood staple since 1998. Jeffery talks about the event's humble beginnings, how he enlisted the queen Belle Aire early on as his first drag co-host and how the event has raised over $9 million to date for countless local charities. He dishes about all the celebrities that have appeared at Bingo over the years including Molly Shannon, Ed Asner, Paula Abdul, Richard Simmons, Seth Rogan,...
Published 08/08/24
Dennis is joined in person by author A. Ashley Hoff to discuss his new book With Love, Mommie Dearest, his follow-up to Match Game 101, which he discussed on the podcast a few years back. Ashley talks about why he wanted to write this book, what surprised him while he was conducting interviews and doing research and why be believes that Faye Dunaway, who plays screen legend Joan Crawford in the film, is a "sorceress commanding the elements." He also recalls talking with Christina Crawford,...
Published 08/01/24
Dennis is joined via Zoom by L.A. theater director Bart DeLorenzo to talk about his newest production, Noel Coward's Design for Living at the Odyssey Theatre, as well as his career in general. Bart talks about why the 90 year-old play--about three young, struggling artists who can't seem to live without each other--seems so resonant in this moment. He also talks about his directing process, how he reads a play over and over and over again before he starts putting it on his feet and how he...
Published 07/25/24
Dennis is joined via Zoom by Zach Meiners and Elena Joy Thurston, two of the three conversion therapy survivors profiled in the new documentary Conversion, which was also directed by Meiners. (The third survivor profiled is Dustin Rayburn AKA Dusty Ray Bottoms from RuPaul's Drag Race). Zach talks about what inspired him to make the film, why he used detailed miniatures to tell the story visually and how when he was struggling with his sexuality, he always felt like "the worst person in every...
Published 07/18/24
Dennis is joined via Zoom by Argentine-born filmmaker Tomás Gómez Bustillo to talk about his delightful, three-time Indie Spirit Award-nominated film Chronicles of a Wandering Saint, which was first mentioned on this podcast earlier this year when Drew Droege raved about it during our year-end movie wrap-up. The movie is about an elderly woman in a small rural town in Argentina named Rita (Wild Tales Monica Villas) who is so competitive with the other ladies from her church that she fakes a...
Published 07/05/24
Dennis connects via Zoom with two of the people behind the play The Sandwich Ministry; playwright Miranda Rose Hall and Armando Huipe, who is the Executive Director of the Skylight Theatre Company in Los Angeles where the show is running through July 7, 2024. The play is one of the best things Dennis has seen on stage in years. The story concerns three women, two of whom are queer, who gather in a church basement to make sandwiches for people in need after a once-in-lifetime storm hits their...
Published 07/02/24
Dennis is joined via Zoom by film critic Alonso Duralde to discuss his new coffee table book Hollywood Pride: A Celebration of LGBTQ+ Representation and Perseverance In Film. It's a beautifully written and designed book about at the history of queer people in the movies, both in front of the camera and behind the scenes. Alonso talks about the artists and films that weren't on his radar before he began his research and shares insights about some of the films in the book like including Prick...
Published 06/27/24
Dennis is joined via Zoom by actor Bryan Terrell Clark who plays a gay teacher "Mr. Tea" on the BET+ mystery-comedy series Diarra From Detroit. Bryan talks about how he knew the show's creator and star Diarra Kilpatrick for years before working with her and how thrilled he was to learn she was writing the role of Mr. Tea with him in mind. He also talks about how he sees Mr. Tea as the Bea Arthur-esque truthteller of the ensemble and how gratifying it is to play the type of gay character he...
Published 06/20/24
Dennis is joined via Zoom by Christian McLaughin, author of the novels Glamourpuss and Sex Toys of the Gods, to talk about his newest project; the play Trumpery, which is having its world premier at the LA Fringe Festival through June 28th. Here's the shows not-so-implausible premise: Ex-President Trump (Austin Walker) is running from the law on a yacht with his wife Melania (Lauren Howard Hayes), daughter Tiffani (John Cantwell AKA Love Connie) daughter Ivanka (Tatjana Vujovic), son-in-law...
Published 06/13/24
Dennis is joined via Zoom from London by K Anderson, host of the podcast Lost Spaces. On its surface, the show is about lost queer spaces like bars and bookstores, but on a deeper level it about queer people discovering who they really are, often on a dance floor. K talks about how he first got the idea for the podcast, how doing it has changed his life, the workload of doing a podcast and why so many gay bars have shame-based names like Alibis and Incognito. He also talks about his own lost...
Published 06/06/24
Dennis is joined by author Carl Siciliano for Part 2 of their conversation about Carl's new book Marking Room and his decades-long career, fighting to protect the lives of LGBTQ youth in New York City. Carl talks about the most difficult part of writing the book; reliving the murder of his young friend Ali Forney. He also talks about the big themes he wrestles with in Making Room, specifically humans seeming need to humiliate each other and Americans need to believe that they're always the...
Published 05/30/24
Dennis is joined via Zoom by author Carl Siciliano to discuss his new book Making Room: Three Decades of Fighting for Beds, Belonging and a Safe Space for LGBT Youth, which documents his founding of the Ali Forney Center in New York City in 2002 as well his many years at the Times Square youth center Safe Space before that. It was at Safe Space in 1994 that Carl met Ali Forney, a non-binary black young person who had been living on the street since they were 12. The pair developed a unique...
Published 05/23/24
Dennis is joined via Zoom by Capella Fahoome, a film producer who also works as what she calls a "Production Whisperer," which is a consultant who helps sets run more smoothly. Capella talks about how she first got into film, the rookie mistakes she made when she was first starting out and the difference between being a Set Whisperer and a Set Wolf. Dennis also talks to Capella about a Masters Program she completed that Dennis has been interested in; the Masters of Positive Psychology from...
Published 05/16/24
Dennis is joined via Zoom by photographer and director Mike Ruiz to discuss his latest project, Vanessa Williams new music video "Legs," his long friendship with Williams and how he relates to the song's theme of being fabulous at any age. Meanwhile, Dennis recalls how he once asked Vanessa Williams to dance at a Halloween party in 1986 and she said no, she was taking a break. Mike also talks about how he first fell in love with photography in his late 20's after working for years as a...
Published 05/09/24
Dennis is joined via Zoom by Kevin Daniels and Logan Arditty, who co-star in the play Monsters of the American Cinema, which is produced by the Rogue Machine theater company and showing at the Matrix Theatre in Hollywood through May 19th. Dennis caught the play and was struck at the connection between the intergenerational pair who are the only actors in the cast. Here's the play's synopsis: "When his husband dies, Remy Washington (Daniels), a Black man, finds himself both the owner of a...
Published 05/02/24
For the 10th Anniversary of Dennis Anyone, Dennis flips the script and gets interviewed by one of his past guests, filmmaker and longtime Dennis Anyone listener Robert Chandler. This is Part 2 of their interview, in which Dennis recalls some of his most memorable interviews with folks like Leslie Jordan, Kate Flannery, Mitchell Anderson and Dick DeBartolo from Match Game and Mad Magazine fame. They also discuss the guests Dennis would love to get on the show like author and birdwatcher...
Published 04/25/24