In the acclaimed one-man show Del Shores: My Sordid Life, Shores discusses the family members in Texas who were the inspiration of the characters seen by many in Sordid Lives and other projects. However, he also lets loose about celebrity encounters, detailing those he's not particularly fond of ( including Queer As Folk's Randy Harrison and actor Thomas Haden Church ) .
Shores was similarly candid in a recent interview with Windy City Times as he talked about home, Perez Hilton and his split from husband Jason Dottley.
Windy City Times: I saw My Sordid Life, and thoroughly enjoyed it.
Del Shores: Thank you! It's been a nice little change for me, this standing up and talking. I'm going to go on tour once again. I'm designing my life, where I can leave L.A. during the summer.
It's interesting: San Francisco, Chicago and Los Angeles—the bigger items—have so much going on. You're more of a novelty item when you get to Birmingham [ Ala. ] and Baton Rouge [ La. ] . I do plan to return to Chicago.
WCT: Do you think your family is more interesting than most, or do you feel every family has people similar to yours?
DS: I think my family is more interesting—at least my mother's side. It's like I said on the show: My dad's side of the family were these really good Christians, but they were really boring. But my mother's side—I didn't know they were eccentric growing up. I thought they were normal. I didn't think it was odd that my Aunt Sissy killed the neighbor's goat because it was uprooting her grandmother's violets. I just remember my mother washing the dishes and always have a .22 [ gun ] by the door. If she saw a squirrel in a tree or saw a rattlesnake in the backyard, she'd shoot it.
I go back a lot these days to get material, though. My family's kind of odd to me now. [ Laughs ] I just have to rely on my memory now. Before I would carry a pen and paper and they would say, "He's writin'!" [ Interviewer laughs. ] It was certainly fun to put that show together.
When I put that show together and when I'm writing all that, you don't think about it. Yeah, my Aunt Sissy married a man with two wooden legs.
WCT: I almost felt guilty cracking up in some of those spots. Part of me was like, "Oh, poor guy," in reference to the uncle with the wooden legs.
DS: [ Laughs ] Yes, there's a fine line—that I rarely draw. [ Both laugh. ] It works for the show, but not necessarily for family and friendships.
WCT: Have you lost friendships over your work?
DS: I don't feel like any friendships that I care about. I certainly have probably alienated a few actors with this last show. I don't think Judge Reinhold and I will ever work again. The ones I really like—like Thomas Haden Church—I say, "He's an asshole, but he's a really talented asshole." [ Laughs ]
With my family, I've really patched up things. My Aunt Rita [ the real Evalita from Daddy's Dyin' ... Who's Got the Will? ] was the one who was so angry at me for so many years. She sent me an email that her new husband has kidney cancer, and I said, "She can smell a terminal illness..." [ Interviewer laughs. ]
WCT: There was another person who was on your hit list: Perez Hilton.
DS: Oh, he's still on [ that ] list. There's no way he'll come off that list. I can't stand that motherfucker.
WCT: There's nothing he can do?
DS: I don't think so. He went on this whole thing when bullying started. He went on talk shows saying he was going to be nice—but that was because there was this huge backlash. This is not him wanting to be nicer; it's about him losing income. I have no love for him. I think his heart is just dark; he's done so much damage to so many people.
I don't think he's that smart, you know what I mean? I think he just got lucky. We can't control our intelligence but we can control our actions—and his have been despicable.
WCT: Someone you speak about glowingly in your show is the late, great Rue McClanahan. Could you talk a little about what it was like working with her?
DS: It's interesting that you ask that today, because I went to an event last night where they were auctioning off some of her items. Her Emmy was there; I don't know if they can auction that but I got to hold it.
Rue was just one of the highlights of my life; it wasn't just about working with her, but it was being with her. We remained friends after the series [ Sordid Lives ] . The great thing about Rue McClanahan was that she was a consummate professional. At age 76, when she worked with me, she came prepared. When an actor sings my song, I fall in love—and I immediately fell in love with Rue McClanahan. I love her spirit, her acting, her timing—and that she was so twisted. [ Interviewer laughs. ] It was like being with a relative, and she appreciated my humor because we had the same sense of humor.
Rue was as funny in real life as she was in her roles. In an interview, she actually compared me to Norman Lear [ the man behind such shows as All in the Family ] , saying, "He doesn't write jokes. He writes characters." I guess she's right about that; the lines come out of the characters. She also loved that I just didn't put older women in wheelchairs and rest homes.
WCT: Regarding TV shows, what are your thoughts about [ the ABC show ] GCB, which is set in Texas?
DS: Well, I'm a little bitter because I actually met with the writers and producers; [ executive producer ] Darren Star is a fan of Sordid Lives. I thought I was going to be on that show, but things just didn't go my way. The network brought a team of some other writers.
I really loved the pilot, and Kristin [ Chenoweth ] is a comedic genius—and I love the hypocrisy of the church. I felt they were on a good path. I haven't seen any other episodes. I'm circling a lot of projects right now, so I'll see where I land. Hopefully, we can do another Sordid [ Lives ] movie or two.
I also did a movie in Atlanta last year based on my play The Trials and Tribulations of a Trailer Trash Housewife [ since retitled Blues for Willadean ] —and it stars Beth Grant and [ Oscar winner ] Octavia Spencer. It was so wonderful watching that happening with Octavia; she's been my friend for many, many years.
WCT: When you taped My Sordid Life, you were still married to Jason Dottley. When you go on the road, will you mention him or the marriage?
DS: Well, yeah! I'm a stand-up comic—"Don't fuck with me."
I'm not going to make [ the marriage ] my entire show but the new show is called My Sordid Reality. I'm going to try to find the humor. It's been a really difficult time for me, quite frankly. But I'm coming out of it, and I've found clarity. No, I will not be close-mouthed about it.
I've been guarded. I'm certainly not going to tell everything, but I'll tell you this: We went on the road together and we toured 39 cities. He opened for me in Portland and in Seattle on Thursday and Friday. He filmed his video for his dance single on Sunday, and left me on Monday.
WCT: What? There was no "Dear John" or "Dear Del" letter?
DS: There was no negotiation or no clue: "I'm done. I've been thinking about this for a long time." Yet, I was never told. It wasn't the best departure so, no, I won't be working with him. But once you get out of the situation, there's more clarity.
At a recent meeting, someone said something that was very powerful: "Sometimes your dark periods become your blessings." I believe that.
Del Shores: My Sordid Life is available at many retailers, including Amazon.com .
