Dreams do come true because we are here with Denny Dillon. You Might Know Her From Saturday Night Live, Saturday Night Fever, My One & Only, Gypsy, Garbo Talks, Dream On, and Roseanne: An Unauthorized Biography. After courting her for nearly two years, we chatted with Denny about making her Broadway debut in the historic revival of Gypsy starring Angela Lansbury and directed by Arthur Laurents, her infamous and misunderstood season of SNL, and publicly coming out as a lesbian in 2020. Today, we officially start our campaign to get Denny Dillon on The L Word: Generation Q. Watch this spot. 

 

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Pantone has added “Period Red” to its color registry

The Prom premiered at Netflix this past weekend

We watched Let Them All Talk (dir: Steven Soderbergh) on HBO Max 

Denny is in the new Halle Berry movie Bruised, playing a character named “Crazy Esther”

Made Broadway debut as Agnes/Amanda in the 1974 Angela Lansbury revival of Gypsy, directed by noted tyrant, Arthur Laurents (the very first revival of the show which originally starred Ethel Merman)

Mary Louise Wilson as Tessie Tura was a master of the simple gesture 

Was a cast member on Season 6 of Saturday Night Live (run by Jean Doumanian). Cast included Gilbert Godfried, Joe Piscopo, Robin Duke, Tim Kazurinsky, Eddie Murphy, and Gail Matthias

Jean and Season 6 gets a bad rap but she tried to combat the “boys club” nature of SNL

Denny’s impressions: Yoko Ono, Amy Carter, Jean Harris, Walter Cronkite’s wife, Betsy Maxwell

Yoko sketch was a few weeks before John Lennon’s murder

Tony nominated for her performance in My One and Only with Tommy Tune and Twiggy (Betty Buckley won for Cats)

Tommy saw Denny in the infamous Broadway flop Harold and Maude (1980). She auditioned for him for Nine but she didn’t make the cut. 

My One and Only’s director, Peter Sellars was fired. 

Wiped the sweat from John Travolta’s brow in Saturday Night Fever. 

Her Acting coach: Mary Tarcai 

Won a Cable Ace for her role as Toby on HBO’s early series, Dream On (Created by Marta Kauffman and David Crane, who went on to create Friends)

Tales from the Crypt and The Larry Sanders Show were also part of original HBO programming

HBO static comes from Dream On (which is currently not available to stream anywhere)

Played a correctional officer on Women in Prison (opposite CCH Pounder)

Played Roseanne in the tv film, Roseanne: An Unauthorized Biography

Roseanne said “That freaky little thing doesn’t look nothing like me” 

Plays a lesbian who works at a church in A New York Christmas Wedding 

Denny recently came out in a Vulture interview

Gail Matthias did know she was gay. Denny was first gay person we know to have been on the show. Danitra Vance was previously stated to be the first gay person on SNL, but neither she nor Denny were out at the time. 

The show Denny saw Danitra in at The Public: her autobiographical play: Pre-Shrunk.

BIG FAN OF GLENN CLOSE: Serving in Silence opposite Judy Davis. 

Beat the shit out of Jack on HBO’s The Outsider in a very cool scene

Denny is 4’11” and Tommy is 6’6”

Played “a female Joe Papp” in Sidney Lumet’s Garbo Talks

Denny as Pinky Waxman, one of her famous characters on SNL. This sketch had Pinky visiting her gay daughter in Soho and not realizing the daughter (played by host, Debbie Harry) is a lesbian and living with her partner (played by Gail Matthias)

The 1980 musical, Harold and Maude closed after 4 performances. Is it on the flop wall at Joe Allen? We will find out when they reopen. 

Janet Gaynor did not “get it.” She was 74 when she did Harold and Maude and ate a meal right before going on stage every night

Denny has worked with Elizabeth Ashley, Janet Gaynor, Alfred Drake, Angela Lansbury, Tommy Tune, Twiggy, 

Alfred Drake wore lifts in his shoes

Elizabeth Ashley was so good in Russian Doll

Originated the role of The Detective in the Off-Broadway production of Clue: The Musical

Moose Murders is a notorious Broadway flop

Craft services on set of Designing Women was simply Trident gum

Top 5 lesbians of all time: Greta Garbo, Colette, 

Denny is hot for Gillian Anderson and Judy Davis my GOD Anne is dead.