DENNIS ANYONE? with Dennis Hensley
532 episodes - English - Latest episode: 1 day ago - ★★★★★ - 95 ratings"A podcast about making things up and making things happen." L.A.-based writer-performer Dennis Hensley believes that art and creativity make the world go around and make life worth living. Each week, he interviews a different creative person each about what they do, why they do it, and how they manage the ups and downs of a creative life. Some guests are famous, some are less so...all are what Dennis describes as "beautiful strugglers." Past guests have included authors, actors, photographers, musicians, screenwriters, acrobats and one visual artist who makes cartoons centered around dead houseflies.
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Episodes
DENNIS ANYONE 10th ANNIVERSARY INTERVIEW PART 1
April 18, 2024 19:00 - 58 minutes - 26.8 MBFor 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. Dennis recalls the beginning of Dennis Anyone, his first guests, why he does it and how it feels to have done 410 episodes. He also talks about why he likes interviewing people, how he sees interviewing as an art form and how he feels about it the way Katy Perry feels about singing "Firework." Other topics include: D...
I Think I Do FIlmmaker Brian Sloan: "Hey, Do You Know Somebody Named Elaine Stritch?"
April 11, 2024 19:00 - 53 minutes - 24.6 MBDennis is joined via Zoom by filmmaker Brian Sloan whose 1997 gay rom-com I Think I Do is coming to streaming this month in a newly restored version. It's also being celebrated at a Newfest screening and cast reunion on April 15th at the BAM Rose Cinemas in New York City. Brian talks about what originally inspired him to write the movie, the thrill of arriving at set on Day 1 and seeing all those trucks and how hard it was to cast the movie because no agents or managers wanted their clients ...
Transition fiImmakers Jordan Bryon and Monica Villamizar: "Surely I Could Have Found A Nicer Bra To Burn"
April 04, 2024 19:00 - 47 minutes - 21.8 MBDennis is joined via Zoom by filmmakers Monica Villamizar and Jordan Bryon to talk about their new documentary Transition, which Jordan is also the main subject of. Here's the film's synopsis: Australian journalist Jordan Bryon gains incredible access to a Taliban unit during the fall of Afghanistan. The countryʼs transition coincides with his own physical transformation as a trans man. While he and his local videographer, Teddy, embed with the Taliban, Jordan conceals his physiology and is ...
A LOVE LETTER TO XANADU with Alonso Duralde and Dave White from the Linoleum Knife film review podcast
March 28, 2024 07:00 - 57 minutes - 26.5 MBThis is a special crossover episode with the film podcast Linoleum Knife Presents More Linoleum Knife hosting by husbands and film critics Dave White and Alonso Duralde who Dennis has been friends with since the 1990s. They invited Dennis on to talk about one of his favorite movies ever, Xanadu starring Olivia Newton-John, Gene Kelly and Michael Beck. Dennis shares a slew of memories related to the film, like when he watched it in his hometown of Holbrook, AZ and the power went out during th...
Author Abdi Nazemian Part 2 ("Only This Beautiful Moment"): "My Books Aren't About The Fact That They've Been Banned. My Books Are About What They're About"
March 21, 2024 19:00 - 1 hour - 30 MBPart 2 of Dennis's conversation with author Abdi Nazemian focuses on his latest book Only This Beautiful Moment, which recently won the Stonewall Award from Young Adult Literature. Abdi talks about drawing inspiration for the multigenerational story from his own family, how he was able to write scenes set in Iran despite having left there when he was a child and the longing he feels for the country and it's people. He also talks about what it feels like to have his two most recent books bann...
Author Abdi Nazemian ("Like A Love Story"): "The Opposite of Shame Is Madonna"
March 14, 2024 19:00 - 1 hour - 35.7 MBDennis is joined via Zoom by author Abdi Nazemian (Only This Beautiful Moment) to discuss his previous book Like A Love Story, which is about three high schoolers in the late 1980's who are obsessed with Madonna. Dennis first met Abdi at a queer writers mixer and commented on Abdi's Madonna T-shirt. They discovered they were both big fans of Madge so it made sense to talk for the podcast after they had both seen Madonna's current Celebration Tour. Abdi and Dennis compare notes about the tour...
ACMT WORKSHOP REUNION w/ Kristin Dahl, Sherri Fleming, Karole Forman, Dennis Osborne and Jon Thomas
March 07, 2024 20:00 - 55 minutes - 25.4 MBIn this special episode of Dennis Anyone, Dennis is joined by five friends he's known since 1986 when he moved from Arizona to Los Angeles to take part in a 12-week long performing workshop put on by American Center for Musical Theater at held at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion in downtown Los Angeles. This reunion meal happened in 2017 and was held at the Moorpark, CA home of Kristin Dahl and her husband Eric and the other attendees are Sherri Fleming, Karole Forman, Dennis Osborne and Jon Th...
TCM Host and Author Dave Karger (50 Oscar Nights): "Oprah Roses Don't Die"
February 29, 2024 20:00 - 45 minutes - 20.8 MBDennis is joined via Zoom by TCM host Dave Karger to discuss his new book, 50 Oscar Nights: Iconic Stars and Filmmakers On Their Career Defining Wins, which features delicious new interviews with icons like Nicole Kidman, Jane Fonda, Martin Scorsese and Mel Brooks as well as lesser-known winners like Precious screenwriter Geoffrey Fletcher, documentarian Jessica Yu and sound mixer Kevin O'Connell who was nominated 20 times before finally taking home the gold for Heartbreak Ridge. Dave talks ...
THE YEAR IN MOVIES 2023 Part 2 w/ film critic Glenn Gaylord and actor-writer Drew Droege
February 22, 2024 20:00 - 1 hour - 36.5 MBDennis is joined via Zoom by Glenn Gaylord, Senior Film Critic at The Queer Review, and actor-writer-film enthusiast Drew Droege to talk about the movies of last year; their favorites, the moments that have stuck with them and the movies they just weren’t that into. The films discussed include Barbie, Anatomy of a Fall, Dicks: The Musical, A Good Person, Cassandro, Oppenheimer, NYAD, Poor Things, Origin, Passages, The Iron Claw, Past Lives, 80 For Brady, Book Club 2, Rustin, Ferrari, The Tea...
THE YEAR IN MOVIES 2023 Part 1 w/ film critic Glenn Gaylord and actor-writer-film lover Drew Droege
February 15, 2024 20:00 - 1 hour - 29.4 MBDennis is joined via Zoom by Glenn Gaylord, Senior Film Critic at The Queer Review, and actor-writer-film enthusiast Drew Droege to talk about the movies of last year; their favorites, the moments that have stuck with them and the movies they just weren’t that into. The films discussed include The Zone of Interest, American Fiction, M3GAN, Bottoms, All of Us Strangers, Somewhere In Queens, May December, The Holdovers, Fast X, Fallen Leaves and Monster. They also talk about what a great year ...
Playwright & Director Luke Yankee ("Marilyn, Mom & Me"): "My Mother Was Famous For Going 'Fire, Ready, Aim'!"
February 08, 2024 20:00 - 1 hour - 27.8 MBDennis is joined via Zoom by playwright and director Luke Yankee whose new play Marilyn, Mom, and Me will have its World Premier on February 16th at the International City Theatre in Long Beach, CA. The play is about Luke's mother, Oscar-winning actress Eileen Heckart and her close friendship Marilyn Monroe while they were shooting the movie Bus Stop together in the mid-1950's and how that relationship affected Luke's own feelings about his mother. Luke recalls that whenever he would mentio...
Author Curtis Chin ("Everything I Learned, I Learned In A Chinese Restaurant"): "I Live My Life As A Chinese Waiter"
February 01, 2024 20:00 - 1 hour - 33.1 MBDennis is joined via Zoom by author Curtis Chin to discuss his new memoir Everything I Learned, I Learned In A Chinese Restaurant, which is about his upbringing as one of six kids raised by parents who owned a Chinese restaurant in downtown Detroit called Chung's. Curtis talks about what a magical place Chung's was and what it was like to visit it recently when it was sealed up and abandoned. He also recalls how his parents encouraged him to talk to and befriend everyone who came to Chung's ...
Author Tim Murphy ("Speech Team"): "I Don't Even Think I Knew What Mincing Meant"
January 25, 2024 08:00 - 1 hour - 39.8 MBDennis is joined via Zoom by novelist Tim Murphy to discuss his latest novel Speech Team, which he describes as a book about "small T trauma." The book is about four friends in their 40's who were on their high school speech team who reunite and decide to confront the teacher who led the group and said some f-ed up things to each of them back in the 80's. Tim talks about how this is his most autobiographical novel yet and how he actually prefers to write about characters who are less close t...
""ONLY IN WEHO!" The Creators & Stars of the webseries "OPEN TO IT" play YOU DON'T KNOW MY LIFE!
January 18, 2024 20:00 - 55 minutes - 25.4 MBDennis is joined joined via Zoom by the Fab Five from the new gay webseries Open To It, which is about a happy Weho couple named Greg and Cam who decide it might be fun and exciting to open things up sexually,...and hijinks ensue. Playing the game with Dennis are writer-director-EP Frank Arthur Smith who plays Greg, EP-director Greg Wolf, EP-director Matt Hartman, actor Tim Wardell who plays Cam and actor Jason Caceres who plays Princeton the irrepressible twink who shakes things up. The que...
Performer-Writer Adam Sank: "Stop Freakin' Taking My Neosporin"
January 09, 2024 06:06 - 1 hour - 31.6 MBDennis is joined via Zoom by Adam Sank, the star and writer of the one-man show Adam Sank: Bad Dates, which plays Oscar's in Palm Springs on January 11th and 12th. Adam talks about how the show grew out of his stand up act and evolved into a much richer, more theatrical experience than anything he had done previously. He also talks about people always asking him why he's single at 52 and he's come to not care whether or not he's ever in a romantic relationship again. Other topics include: hi...
NEW YEARS IN PALM SPRINGS GAME NIGHT w/ Craig Chester, Jack Kenny, Byron Lane & Terry Ray playing You Don't Know My Life!
January 06, 2024 03:13 - 48 minutes - 22.2 MBFor his first episode of 2024, Dennis is joined via Zoom by his pals actor-writer Craig Chester (Swoon, Adam & Steve), writer-showrunner Jack Kenny (Warehouse 13, The Book of Daniel), author Byron Lane (Big Gay Wedding, A Star Is Bored) & Terry Ray (actor and co-founder of The Bent Theater Company) for a few rollicking rounds of You Don't Know My Life! Apart from all being brilliantly talented and funny, all four guests currently live in Palm Springs so Dennis came up with special Palm Sprin...
Filmmaker Todd Verow & Actor Guillermo Diaz: "It Was Like Summer Camp...With Poppers"
December 28, 2023 20:00 - 1 hour - 27.6 MBFor his final episode of 2023, Dennis is joined by filmmaker Todd Verow and actor Guillermo Diaz from the new gay thriller You Can't Stay Here, which is about a repressed photographer who becomes obsessed with visiting the gay cruising area the Ramble in New York's Central Park. The producing team recall how they first connected over Instagram, with Guillermo sending Todd a message that said "I like your work. Let's do something together." The pair also talk about what it was like to shoot i...
Excerpts from Dennis Hensley's THE MISMATCH GAME: I'll Be Homo For Christmas Edition
December 21, 2023 20:00 - 56 minutes - 26.1 MBIn this special holiday episode, Dennis shares excerpts from the comedy game show Dennis Hensley's The MisMatch Game from December 9th and the LA LGBT Center's Renberg Theatre. The panelists are Nadya Ginsburg (Cher), Dante (Christopher Lloyd), Nicole Parker (Celine Dion), Rebekah Kochan (Jennifer Coolidge), Felix Pire (Silverlake Santa) & Tom Lenk (Heidi Klum). Enjoy questions about celebs that are ripe for the skewering like George Santos, the Trumps, Mariah Carey and Paris Hilton and a go...
Performer & Radio Host John Hill ("Wellness Check"): "I Thought I Had EGOT-ed At Six Flags"
December 13, 2023 20:00 - 1 hour - 29.4 MBDennis is joined via Zoom by writer-performer John Hill to talk about his show Wellness Check, which is a mix of standup comedy and original songs, all overseen by John's chihuahua Pete who sits atop the piano and judges both John and the audience. John talks about the real life events that inspired the show, like getting sober during the pandemic, and the hot mic moment that nearly cost his job as Andy Cohen's daily cohost on Sirius/XM radio. He also recalls one of his earliest performing j...
Holiday Gift Guide 2023 w/ Michael DeMartino, Eddie Shapiro, Dudley Beene & Patrick Marks
December 07, 2023 20:00 - 1 hour - 33.5 MBDennis is joined via Zoom by four different guests, each of whom have products that are perfect for holiday give gifting. First up is Michael DeMartino from Pillow Top, a line of queer-centric pillows and accessories. Michael talks about why he went into pillows, the thrill of having his leather harness pillow featured on Netflix's How To Build a Sex Room and the sexy hunk bowling ball he designed himself. Next up is author Eddie Shapiro whose third book of Broadway interviews Here's To The ...
Author Mark S. King (My Fabulous Disease) Part 2: "I Am, By The Way, A Ginger Daddy And I'm Hanging On To That"
November 30, 2023 20:00 - 36 minutes - 16.9 MBDennis is joined via Zoom by Mark S. King for Part 2 of their conversation about Mark's new book My Fabulous Disease as well as his previous memoir A Place Like This. In Part 2, Mark talks about building massive box kites with his father, how his father encouraged risk-taking in life and how surviving the AIDS crisis prepared him to deal with his father's passing. Mark also talks about one of his most widely-read columns; about the popular 2004 bareback porn film Dawson's 20-Load Weekend and...
Filmmaker Billy Luther ("Frybread Face & Me"): "I Just Knew I Had a Story To Tell"
November 22, 2023 20:00 - 41 minutes - 19.1 MBDennis is joined via Zoom by filmmaker Billy Luther to discuss his film Frybread Face and Me, which comes out in select theaters and on Netflix on the day after Thanksgiving, November 24th. The film is a coming-of-age story set on the Navajo reservation in Northern Arizona and is based on Billy's own experience of going to stay with his grandmother on the reservation when he was about 11. Billy talks about the parts of himself that he put into his lead character of Benny, how he was able to ...
Author Mark S. King (My Fabulous Disease): "I Grew Into My Top-hood"
November 16, 2023 20:00 - 57 minutes - 26.4 MBDennis is joined via Zoom from Atlanta by author Mark S. King to talk about his new book My Fabulous Disease: Chronicles of a Gay Survivor, which he describes as his "greatest hits" from years writing columns for outlets like Poz, Frontiers and Windy City Times. In the interview, Mark expounds on some of the experiences he shares in the book, like the time he won a car on The Price is Right at 18 while his 26-year old boyfriend cheered from the audience and his audacious, loud-and-proud comi...
Mad Magazine & Match Game writer Dick DeBartolo Part 2: "If I Come Up With Something Stupid, I Can Just Put It Up on Facebook"
November 09, 2023 20:00 - 53 minutes - 24.4 MBIn Part 2 of Dennis's interview with Dick DeBartolo, the writer talks about what it was like to juggle two dream jobs; writing for Mad Magazine and The Match Game TV show...at the same time! He also shares story after story of the good will he receives when a stranger finds out he's "Mad's maddest writer." He's gotten everything from airplane upgrades to house seats at a sold-out show. Dick also talks about his current work as a gadget expert on various TV shows as well as his own podcast Th...
Mad Magazine & Match Game Writer Dick DeBartolo: "Yes, Alfed E. Neuman Is Running For President"
November 02, 2023 19:00 - 59 minutes - 27 MBDennis is joined via Zoom by one of his heroes, comedy writer Dick DeBartolo who worked for both Mad Magazine and The Match Game TV show...at the same time! Dick talks about how he landed both jobs, how they actually complimented each other and what it was like to go back and forth between the two offices in Manhattan. Recalling Match Game, Dick describes how dry the questions were when he started and how it was his idea to make the questions silly, which basically saved the show. Dennis als...
Filmmaker Dion Labriola (Dear Ike: Lost Letters to a Teen Idol): "Thanks for the Smile! - Carrot Top"
October 26, 2023 19:00 - 46 minutes - 21.3 MBDennis is joined via Zoom by Dion Labriola, the filmmaker and the subject of the documentary Dear Ike: Lost Letters to a Teen Idol, which is screening on World Animation Day on PBS SoCal and is also available for streaming on PBS.org. The movie documents Dion's teenage obsession with the child actor Ike Eisenmann from Escape to Witch Mountain and also a Doublemint gum commercial that was ubiquitous is the late 1970's. As a teen, Dion had a vision for an animated movie that he wanted to make ...
Writer-Performer Mitchell Anderson (You Better Call Your Mother): "I Owe It All To My Dirty Laundry"
October 19, 2023 19:00 - 1 hour - 37.1 MBDennis is joined via Zoom by actor-singer-writer-restaurantuer Mitchell Anderson to discuss his new autobiographical play You Better Call Your Mother, which takes its title from something a producer said to him backstage after he came out publicly onstage at the 1996 GLAAD Media Awards. This was while he was playing a gay character on the hit TV series Party of Five and made Mitchell one of the first--if not the first--leading man types to come out as gay. It was a huge deal and Mitchell...
Writer-Performer Ryan Raftery (Mother of the Year: The Kris Jenner Musical): "It's Like Having Your Brain Stroked To A Low-Grade Orgasm"
October 10, 2023 19:00 - 53 minutes - 24.4 MBDennis is joined via Zoom by Ryan Raftery, the star and creator of Mother of the Year: The Kris Jenner Musical, the latest in his series of musicals about complicated celebrities. Ryan talks about what drew him to exploring Kris, the nine months he spent researching her, what surprised him in his research and the words of wisdom from Kris that he's taken to heart. Dennis and Ryan also discuss the Kardashians generally, with Dennis sharing his impressions of their appearances on Fashion Polic...
Cartoonist Carlo Quispe (Uranus Comics): "Stop The Car! Stop The Car! Elizabeth Berkley Is Right There!"
October 03, 2023 19:00 - 34 minutes - 15.9 MBDennis is joined via Zoom by cartoonist Carlo Quispe, one of the creators of Uranus Comics, who will be showing his work at the New York Queer Zine Fair on Saturday, October 7th. Carlo talks about when he first realized he could draw, winning a prestigious art contest as a kid with a little special help from mom and what it was like to move to the U.S. from Peru at 13. He also talks about his mentors and inspirations, the corner he often cuts in his drawing that comes back to bite him in the...
Singer Jim Verraros ("Take My Bow"): "I Just Got Tired Of People Telling Me I Needed To Be Something Other Than Who I Was"
September 28, 2023 19:00 - 1 hour - 32.1 MBDennis is joined via Zoom by singer and American Idol alum Jim Verraros on the day he releases his first new music in 12 years, a dance-pop single called "Take My Bow." Jim talks about what inspired him to step in front of the microphone again, how putting out music is different now than it was in the mid-2000s and why he loves a good double entendre. He also talks about his life post-Idol, being the first Idol finalist to come out, landing a record deal and and appearing in films like Eatin...
Mortified LA Host & Story Producer Leonard Hyman: "I Am SomebodyThat Wallows"
September 19, 2023 19:00 - 53 minutes - 98 MBDennis is joined via Zoom by Leonard Hyman, the emcee and a story producer for the L.A. stage show Mortified. Mortified is a long running stage show where performers get on the mic and share things they created as kids or teens, like diary entries, poems, home videos, things that were never intended to be shared with a roomful of stranger. Leonard recalls how he first learned about the show then went on to perform on it multiple times. He also talks about how he's kept a diary for most of hi...
Filmmaker Sav Rodgers (Chasing Chasing Amy): "Every Day Is A School Day"
September 14, 2023 19:00 - 1 hour - 144 MBDennis is joined via Zoom by filmmaker Sav Rodgers to discuss his documentary Chasing Chasing Amy, a coming-of-age story set again the backdrop of Kevin Smith's controversial 1993 film Chasing Amy, which is about a lesbian (Joey Lauren Adams) who falls in love with a straight guy (Ben Affleck). Sav recalls how the documentary sprung from a Ted Talk he gave called "The Rom-Com That Saved My Life," which was about how his adolescent viewings of Chasing Amy made him feel less alone at a time wh...
Filmmakers Tom Gustafson & Cory Krueckeberg (Glitter and Doom): "The Stems Have Been Delivered"
September 05, 2023 17:32 - 1 hour - 144 MBDennis is joined via Zoom by Tom Gustafson & Cory Krueckeberg, the men behind the new gay movie-musical, Glitter and Doom. Tom directs, Cory writes and edits and they produce together. The film is a loosely autobiographical love story between two young men, a broody down-on-his luck musician named Doom (Alan Cammish) and a sunny aspiring circus performer named Glitter (Alex Diaz) In the interview, Cory recalls how he wrote the script on his own and then presented it to Tom on their 20th anni...
Author Manuel Betancourt (The Male Gazed): I Just Love a Big Dumb Hunk
September 01, 2023 01:11 - 1 hour - 144 MBDennis is joined via Zoom by author Manuel Betancourt to discuss his new book The Male Gazed: On Hunks, Heartthrobs, and What Pop Culture Taught Me About (Desiring) Men. In the book, which he describes as a memoir in essays about masculinity and desire, Manuel writes about such subjects as Ricky Martin's thirst traps on Instagram, Mario Lopez's wrestling singlets on Saved By The Bell, Antonio Banderas's tighty-whities in Law of Desire and why flamboyant Puerto Rican TV astrologer Walter Me...
The MisMatch Game: Here Comes The Pride Edition excerpts
August 22, 2023 19:00 - 1 hour - 118 MBTo promote this Saturday's Hot August Night Edition of The MisMatch Game, here are some clips from June's two Pride-themed shows. The panelists are Dante as Christopher Lloyd, Danny Casillas as Reba Areba, Richard Halpern as Austin Powers, Tom Lenk as M3GAN and Zooey Deschanel, Felix Pire as The Mad Hatter, Rebekah Kochan as Jennifer Coolidge, Jackie Clarke as Ginni Thomas, James Adomian as Elon Musk, Nadya Ginsburg as Cher, Lory Tatoulian as Queen Camilla & Marc Samuel as Morgan Freeman. Th...
Actor-Writer-Director Craig Chester (Adam & Steve): "How Does Loni Anderson Live?"
August 17, 2023 19:00 - 1 hour - 147 MBDennis is joined via Zoom by actor-writer-director Craig Chester to discuss the upcoming 18th Anniversary screening of his gay rom-com Adam and Steve, which is happening on August 31st at the Mary Pickford Theater in Palm Springs. Craig shares memories of making the movie, including how he had to take over as director just a few weeks before filming, how he burst into tears after shooting the film's big, show-stopping western-themed dance number and what it was like to work with Malcolm Gets...
Author JD Doyle (1981): "I Wanted to See Gay America"
August 10, 2023 19:00 - 58 minutes - 108 MBDennis is joined via Zoom by historian JD Doyle to discuss his new book, "1981: My Gay American Road Trip, A Slice Of Our Pre-AIDS Culture." The book is comprised mostly of diary entries JD kept during a road trip he took in 1981 that spanned 24 states,180 gay bars and lots of hot hookups. In the interview, JD discusses how his father encouraged him to take the trip after he got laid off of his chemical engineering job, the '77 Skylark he took the journey in by himself with no air condition...
Writer-Performer Alex Alexander (Perception vs. Reality 101): "I Will Not Be Ignored, Los Angeles"
August 03, 2023 19:00 - 1 hour - 123 MBDennis is joined via Zoom by writer-performer Alex Alexander whose show Perception vs. Reality 101 returns to Los Angeles on August 12th. The show is about how sometimes the stories we tell ourselves about our lives and our pasts aren't actually true. Alex talks about getting inspiration for the show from her high school yearbooks, why she changed her name from Debra to Alex, getting caught up the Fatal Attraction backlash after changing her name to Alex and what her Southern Christian famil...
Filmmakers Andy & Danny Vallentine (The Mattachine Family): "Each Day is Vallentine's Day"
July 25, 2023 06:02 - 39 minutes - 71.4 MBDennis is joined via Zoom by Andy & Danny Vallentine, the husband-and-husband team behind the new movie The Mattachine Family, which is about a gay male couple in L.A. and their multiple attempts to becoming fathers. Screenwriter Danny talks about getting inspiration for the script from his and Andy's real life journey. Andy talks about working with the stellar cast, which includes Nico Tortorella (Younger), Juan Pablo di Pace (Fuller House) and Emily Hampshire (Schitt's Creek). The pair als...
Filmmaker Corey Sherman (Big Boys): "I Wanted Him To Be Big Guy Who Likes Big Guys"
July 18, 2023 19:00 - 37 minutes - 68.1 MBDennis is joined via Zoom by Corey Sherman the writer-director of the film Big Boys, a delightful coming of age movie about a 14 year-old boy named Jamie who goes on a camping trip with his older female cousin and becomes infatuated with her hot bear of a boyfriend. Corey talks about where the idea for the story originated, exploring the theme of coming out to yourself long before you come out to anyone else and why unrequited crushes can be as formative and life-changing as full-blown relat...
Documentarian Marc Saltarelli & Gay Icon Bruce Vilanch (Studio One Forever): "Think Mark Zuckerberg With An Afro and a Large Penis"
July 14, 2023 19:32 - 31 minutes - 58.2 MBDennis is joined via Zoom by Marc Saltarelli, the director of the new documentary Studio One Forever, about the legendary Weho disco Studio One. Dennis is also joined by writer-performer Bruce Vilanch, who appears in the film and was a regular at the club back in the day. The pair discuss the colorful and sometimes controversial history of the club, the club's treacherous back stairs, and how Studio One is often thought of as a rip-off of Studio 54 but it's actually the other way around. The...
The Disappointments Creator & Star Rich Burns: "It's The Creative Highlight Of My Life"
July 11, 2023 19:00 - 1 hour - 137 MBDennis is joined via Zoom by Rich Burns, the creator & star of the webseries The Disappointments, which is about three gay men in their late 50's who are dealing with the fact that their lives are not what they dreamed they would be, not even close. Rich talks about where the idea for the series first came from, the fun of writing Hollywood asshole characters, what fans can expect in Season 2 and how he came to act in the project after never having acting before in his life. Rich also talks ...
The DNR Studios Summer Fling Crossover featuring You Don't Know My Life!
June 29, 2023 19:00 - 1 hour - 142 MBDNR STUDIOS hosts Romaine Patterson, Joselyn Contin, Derek Hartley, Ajay Sousa & Jonathan Valdez join host Dennis Hensley to play a special Summer Edition of You Don't Know My Life! Listen and laugh as the hosts serve up surprising and occasionally scandalous answers to the following questions: FIREWORKS STORY. GO. CONCERT STORY. GO and YOU FIND AN OLD PHOTO IN A DRAWER WITH THE WORDS "SUMMER LOVIN'" WRITTEN ON IT. WHAT'S THE PHOTO OF? The answers involve lesbian love, a male stripper coinci...
Novelist Jude Hopkins (Babe In The Woods): “I Kept Thinking About The Dangling Modifier & The Comma Splice That I Missed”
June 22, 2023 07:00 - 1 hour - 40 MBDennis connects via telephone with his longtime friend Jude Hopkins to discuss her new novel Babe In the Woods. Here’s the official blurb: After living in Los Angeles, Hadley Todd returns to her hometown in rural New York to write and be near her father. Hadley hopes to channel her recent L.A. heartbreak into a play about the last moment of a woman's innocence. But she seeks inspiration. Enter Trey Harding, a young, handsome reporter who is the perfect spark to fire up her imagination. In ...
Divercitours Founder & Tour Guide Saul Franco: “You Are Living An Adventure Every Day In Mexico City”
June 15, 2023 19:00 - 59 minutes - 27.3 MBDennis is joined via Zoom from Mexico City by Saul Franco, the founder of Divercitours, an LGBT tour company based in Mexico City. Dennis took a one-on-one walking tour with Saul back in May of the city center and it was the highlight of his time in Mexico CIty. In the interview, Saul talks about how he came up with the idea of starting a tour company, learning things he never knew about his city during his research and his mission of leading his tours as if he were not just a knowledgable...
Playwright Eric Anderson (Back Porch): “I Wanted To Write Something Affirmative”
June 08, 2023 19:00 - 34 minutes - 15.7 MBDennis shuts down Zoom for a change and ventures out into the world to meet playwright Eric Anderson in the lobby of his Burbank hotel. Eric and his husband flew in from Hawaii for the world premier of Eric’s play Back Porch. Back Porch is a gay twist on the American classic Picnic by the playwright William Inge, who was highly acclaimed and also very closeted. Eric talks about the real-life experience that inspired the play, which is that when he was 4 years-old, the film Picnic shot near ...
Filmmaker & Author Sam Irvin (I Was A Teenage Monster Hunter): “All I Want To Do Is Be On A Set Saying Action & Cut”
June 01, 2023 19:00 - 1 hour - 36 MBDennis is joined via Zoom by filmmaker Sam Irvin. Sam is the author of the memoir I Was a Teenage Monster Hunter, which is about his childhood obsession with horror movies and the interviews he conducted with horror personalities for his fanzine Bizarre. Sam talks about his Cinema Paradiso-esque childhood; working at his family-owned movie theater, having to change the marquee when he was afraid of heights, getting to take home the posters after a film’s run and cleaning up vomit after scre...
“Naked Boys Singing” Creator Robert Schrock: “You Gotta Make Friends With The Pole”
May 25, 2023 19:00 - 52 minutes - 24 MBDennis is joined via Zoom from Puerta Vallarta, Mexico by writer-director-producer Robert Schrock to talk about Naked Boys Singing, the hit musical review he conceived, directed and co-wrote that is celebrating it’s 25th anniversary this year. Robert talks about how he got the original idea, what it was like to cast the show, how soon it would get the cast naked during the rehearsal process and why it was important to feature songs that dealt with serious topics like AIDS and romantic longi...
The Bottoming Process playwright Nicholas Pilapil & Stars George Salazar & Rick Cosnett: “I Wanted To Write Me As Katherine Heigl”
May 18, 2023 19:00 - 44 minutes - 20.2 MBDennis is joined via Zoom by three of the talents behind the new play The Bottoming Process: playwright Nicholas Pilapil and actors George Salazar and Rick Cosnett. The play, which runs through June 12th at the Renberg Theater in Hollywood is a romantic comedy about two writers in different stages of their careers who fall in love and grapple with issues of race, sex and power. Nicholas talks about what inspired him to write the play, where the title comes from, how living all your life i...
Director-Choreographer-Actor Vincent Paterson (co-author of Icons & Instincts): Part 2 “Getting a Bad Review From the Pope Made My Day”
May 11, 2023 19:42 - 1 hour - 38.5 MBDennis is joined via Zoom by Vincent Paterson, director, choreographer, dancer, actor and now co-author of a book about his life and career entitled Icons & Instincts: Choreographing and Directing Entertainment's Biggest Stars. Part One of their conversation, featuring lots of stories about his work with Michael Jackson, was the last episode. This is Part 2 where Vince talks a lot about his yours working with Madonna; first on the Pepsi commercial that got banned, then on the “Express Yo...