Author JD Doyle (1981): "I Wanted to See Gay America"
DENNIS ANYONE? with Dennis Hensley
Release Date: 08/10/2023
Writer-Performer Christopher Moncayo-Torres (Before It's Too Late): "I Want Everyone To Cry All The Time"
DENNIS ANYONE? with Dennis Hensley
Dennis is joined by his friend and playwriting classmate Christopher Moncayo-Torres to talk about his unique and wonderful show Before It's Too Late, which is an autobiographical storytelling show about his family...that features his actual family in major roles. He somehow got his two elderly parents, who are long divorced, and his two sisters to appear (two on stage and two via Zoom) for an entire 3-week run! Christopher talks about growing up a lonely latchkey kid in Queens and how that loneliness led to create this show. He also talks about how paying his dad to do the show, what it's like...
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Author Eliot Glazer (The Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Gay): "All Roads Lead Back to Bea Arthur"
DENNIS ANYONE? with Dennis Hensley
In this episode, Dennis is joined by comedian, writer and author Eliot Glazer to talk about his book The Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Gay, which documents all the various ways Eliot has been doing the gay thing wrong virtually all his life. Eliot talks about his inspiration for writing the book, the decision to be so candid about his sex life, and the positive reception he's gotten from readers so far. He also talks about his high school drama teacher from hell, gays and body image, his complicated relationship with social media, and bachelorette parties in gay bars. Other topics...
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Excerpts from Dennis Hensley's THE MISMATCH GAME: Totally 80's Edition
DENNIS ANYONE? with Dennis Hensley
This episode features excerpts from the live comedy game show Dennis Hensley's MISMATCH GAME: Totally 80's Edition, which took place on Friday, August 28, 2026 in Hollywood. On the panel were Jackie Beat as Bea Arthur, Julie Brown as Bjork, Danny Casillas as Reba Areba, Rebecca Kochan as Jennifer Coolidge, Dante as Christopher Lloyd and Melissa Peterman as Rena Z. The questions cover such 80's icons as Michael Jackson and Bubbles the Chimp, Cyndi Lauper vs. Madonna, Ronald and Nancy Reagan, Dolly Parton, The Brat Pack, The Golden Girls, Cats the Musical, Back to the Future, Charles and Diana,...
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Filmmaker David Kittredge (Boorman and the Devil): "It's a Kaleidoscope of Craziness"
DENNIS ANYONE? with Dennis Hensley
In this episode, Dennis is joined via Zoom by David Kittredge the director behind the wonderful new documentary Boorman and the Devil, which is about the legendary director John Boorman and the flop film that nearly killed him, The Exorcist 2: Heretic. David talks about why he felt compelled to make the movie, convincing Boorman to sit for an interview and the thoughtful and inspiring things the director had to say once the cameras were rolling. David also talks about interviewing the film's stars Linda Blair and Louise Fletcher and adoring both of them. Other topics include: David's first...
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Gay Days Anaheim Producer Eddie Shapiro & RDR performer Jackie Cox ("It's One Way To Spend A Life")
DENNIS ANYONE? with Dennis Hensley
In this Gay Days Anaheim sneak peak episode, Dennis is joined by the event's producer Eddie Shapiro and drag queen Jackie Cox, a Gay Days veteran who will be performing this year with her Drag Race compatriot Jan in a show called YKJ. Eddie shares the history of Gay Days, which is celebrating its 28th year, while Jackie discusses his personal connection to Disneyland, including working in the parade 20 years ago and having his first kiss on the Pirates of the Caribbean ride as a teenager. The conversation also covers the current political climate, with Eddie noting that corporate sponsorship...
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Noho Gym Co-Owner and Toluca Lake Pride Organizer J.P. Batista ("No One’s Really Like Super In Shape Here!")
DENNIS ANYONE? with Dennis Hensley
In this episode, Dennis speaks via Zoom with J.P. Batista, co-owner of the relatively new and proudly gay NoHo Gym in North Hollywood. J.P. talks why, after years as a personal trainer, he decided to open his own gym, what has surprised him about the experience and his advice to other entrepreneurs with dreams of starting their own businesses. He also talks about the last-minute Pride Festival he spear-headed in Toluca Lake Pride Festival in June and the overwhelmingly positive response he got from it. Other topics include: why he decided to proudly fly two rainbow flags outside the gym, the...
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Playwright, Actor & Teacher Bernardo Cubria ("The People of Pompeii"): "Look At These Magic People!"
DENNIS ANYONE? with Dennis Hensley
Dennis is joined via Zoom by playwright, screenwriter, actor and teacher Bernardo Cubria to talk about his hilarious and powerful new "dinner party gone wrong" play The People of Pompeii, which just opened at the Will Geer Theatricum in Topanga Canyon. (This is where Dennis first met Bernardo last fall as a student in his playwriting class.) The People of Pompeii is set in Topanga in the days following the evacuations from the 2025 fires and explores themes of community, climate change, and personal truth. Bernardo discusses his creative process, the importance of brutal honesty in...
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Singer-Songwriter Paul Cher (Home to Wonderland): "I Would Trust Madonna More Than My Mom"
DENNIS ANYONE? with Dennis Hensley
Dennis is joined via Zoom by singer-songwriter Paul Cher to talk about his new EP Home to Wonderland, his first release of original songs after putting out several albums of covers. Paul talks about getting the courage to put his own words and music out there, the divas that see him through like Donna Summer, Madonna, Cher and Diana Ross and his ever-changing feelings about streaming services. This episode is also a Listening Party which Dennis playing snippets of the EP's five individual songs: "Home to Wonderland," "The Skeleton Tree," "Mirage," "Black Dahlia" and "Straightjacket," which is...
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Playwright Erik Patterson & Actor Michael Sturgis (F++king Strangers): "Theater Is My Church"
DENNIS ANYONE? with Dennis Hensley
Dennis is joined via Zoom by playwright Erik Patterson (Handjob) and actor Michael Sturgis (Clarkston) to talk about the terrific new play F++king Strangers, which Erik wrote at Michael stars in. The play is about four characters--two young gay men and a straight married couple--and their longing to connect in a world where it seems harder and harder to do so. Erik talks about what inspired the play, why he likes to explore sexuality in his plays and the moment when he literally can hear the audience gasp. Michael talks about his character in the piece, Ru, and how he thought about Ru's...
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Filmmaker Jeffrey Schwarz (Mineshaft: The Cruising Murders): "Half The Audience Was In Leather"
DENNIS ANYONE? with Dennis Hensley
Dennis is join via Zoom by documentary filmmaker Jeffrey Schwarz to discuss his newest film Mineshaft: The Cruising Murders, which is about the making of the controversial William Friedkin film Cruising, the real life murders it was inspired by and the gay activist movement it inspired. Jeffrey talks about the first time he saw the film, why he was inspired to make the doc, star Al Pacino's feelings about the film, the surprising discoveries he made along the way that changed the direction of the film and how the film, shot in 1979, is also a visual documentation of a time of sexual freedom...
info_outlineDennis 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 conditioning, using his background in gay media to network and how the entire experience changed him. He also talks about the matter-of-fact way gay men would hook up back then, his attraction to clones and how you could send a message that you were DTF by unbuttoning the bottom button of your Levis 501s. He also talks about his work as a historian and the founder of the Queer Music Heritage radio show, which is how Dennis first met JD in 2000. Other topics include: how the specter of AIDS hangs over the book, staying at the Coral Sands hotel in LA, encountering icons like Vito Russo, Armistead Maupin, Liza Minelli and Sylvester while on his journey, falling in love with and in Houston, Texas and his obsession with sassy T-shirts.
www.jddoylearchives.org