DENNIS ANYONE? with Dennis Hensley

• 2025 HOLIDAY GIFT GUIDE Part 2 w/ Scott Williams & Cam Clarke

  In Part 2 of his annual Holiday Gift Guide, Dennis talks to creative entrepreneurs Scott Willams and Cam Clarke. Scott discovered a passion for ceramics during the pandemic and has since launched a side business called SEW Ceramics, based in Cambria, California. His Strata line of clay lamps are his most popular items to date. Each is one-of-a-kind because, as Scott quips, "I couldn't duplicate them if I tried." Scott talks about how getting his hands dirty has served as an escape from the stresses of modern life, the crafty grandmother who inspired his artistic side and how he comes up with cool names for his lamps, like Astra, Flint and Lumen. https://www.sewceramics.com/ Next up is Cam Clarke, the man behind the gorgeous new coffee table book Now They're All Here about The King Family of entertainers, which Cam is a member of. Cam reveals the slightly petty reason he took on the project, the discoveries he made along the way and what having the family's life and career documented in this way has meant to his relatives. He also talks about his career as a performer and voice-over artist (he was the OG voice of Leonardo in Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles!) and recalls the moment when he was 6 years-old and demonstrated a flair for the fabulous on live TV. https://camclarke.com/

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• 2025 HOLIDAY GIFT GUIDE Part 1 w/ Jackie Beat & Brian Gryphon

  In Part 1 of his annual Holiday Gift Guide, Dennis talks to creative entrepreneurs Jackie Beat and Brian Gryphon. First up, is drop dead gorgeous, larger than life, world famous drag superstar Jackie Beat who, earlier this year, happened upon an artistic side-hustle in the most unlikely of places: Grocery Outlet Bargain Market. The discount store was selling 12" by 12" art prints featuring an oddly-hued rainbow over the word "Together." Jackie found the image both tacky and earnest so she bought a bunch of them and turned them into subversive, one-of-kind art pieces that say things like Let's spitroast a twink together, Let's have anonymous sex together, Let's be super gay together, Let's like dogs more than people together and many more. She also takes commissions where she'll put whatever you want on there. E-mail her directly to buy and inquire at [email protected] And to learn about where you can catch her Christmas show, visit: www.missjackiebeat.com Dennis's second guest, Brian Gryphon, is a graphic designer who, among his many creations, has designed a fabulous deck of oracle cards inspired by the pioneering queer musical duo Romanovsky and Phillips. Each hexagon-shaped card features a different R&P lyric, chosen to help you along your way. Brian talks about how he first became a fan of the duo, getting to know them in real life and why their music speaks to him. He also talks about his need to express himself and does so in a way that resonates with Dennis and so many past Dennis Anyone guests. Brian's need to create is something he can't deny, so he often asks himself the question: "I have to create it. Can I be happy with not sharing it?"  To learn more about Brian and order his oracle decks and other offerings, visit www.DigitalGryphon.com    

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• Director Maria Friedman (Merrily We Roll Along): It's a Reminder To Call Your Best Friends

  Dennis is joined via Zoom by Maria Friedman director of the Broadway musical Merrily We Roll Along as well as the new filmed version of that Tony-winning stage production (which hits theaters on December 5th). Maria talks about her long history with the Stephen Sondheim musical as both actor and director, the themes that were on her mind as she approached this new version and what it was like to bring out the dark side of the ever-sunny Jonathan Groff. She also responds to the way Dennis experienced the show as a tragedy with Franklin Shepherd as its tragic hero. Other topics include: Daniel Radcliffe's Chaplin-esque appeal, the trouble with the uber rich, as depicted in the play and in modern day America, the idea that it's not too late to reach out to the old friends we've lost touch with and what her friend Stephen Sondheim would think of the show's success and new filmed version.

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• Boots Writer & Producer Greg Cope White: "Believe In The Story You Want To Tell"

  Dennis is joined via Zoom by Greg Cope White to talk about the Netflix series Boots, which is based on Greg's memoir about joining the marines as a young gay man The Pink Marine. Greg talks about the long journey of getting the show on the air, working with his mentor Norman Lear on the project, the thrill of finally having it out in the world and the amazing reactions he's gotten from viewers all over the world. He also talks about working in Hollywood at 65, how wonderful it is to have out gay actors playing the gay characters on Boots, what the show has to say about modern masculinity and how it felt to walk onto the sets, which were painstakingly created to match the real places. Other topics include: ongoing giant poo contests, what his mom thinks of the show and Vera Farmiga's portrayal of her, and the reason he decided to leave the marines after six years and the current status of Season 2.

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• Author Brian Schaefer (Town & Country): "I'm Very Excited That It's A Physical Thing Now That's On My Own Bookshelf"

  Dennis is joined via Zoom from Manhattan by Brian Schaefer to talk about his wonderful debut novel Town & Country. The book is about a congressional election in a small rural town called Griffin between Chip Riley, a conservative bar owner who's lived in Griffin for decades, and Paul Sands, a young ambitious liberal gay man who bought a house in Griffin with his rich husband about a year earlier. Brian talks about taking inspiration from the Hudson Valley town where he and his husband have had a second home for 12 years, the long road to getting the book published and how it feels to finally have it out there. Brian also talks about why it was important to him to explore the themes of addiction, marriage equality and economic hardship in the book, the 2-person book club he's in with his mother and how it impacted Town & Country and Dennis has him read a scene from the book involving the 19 year-old recently out local boy Will, a gaggle of rich, sexy city gays and a borrowed turquoise Speedo. Other topics include: Brian's appreciation for dance, the years he lived, worked and studied in Tel Aviv, Israel and the moment in the book that made Dennis cry.

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