October 27, 2009
A Review of Dale Guy Madison's Dreamboy: My
Life As A QVC Host & Other Greatest Hits!
MOTOWN DREAMBOY TELLS ALL! Chances are that you've
never heard of dreamboy Dale Guy Madison's greatest hits,
right? Well, this is still Motown's 50th Anniversary, we're still
celebrating and whether you've heard of him or not, Dale Guy
Madison is a star, baby! A Motown Star! A would-be Supreme
diva who just released his tell-all memoirs, titled Dreamboy:
My Life As A QVC Host & Other Greatest Hits. Yes! You know
Dale Guy Madison! You've seen him in countless television
sitcoms and dramatic series, and he has appeared as an extra
in as many movies! You may or may not recognize him from
his one-man/one-woman stage play, FREEda Slave, or John
Water's Hairspray, or as a drag queen in To Wong Foo, Thanks
For Everything, Julie Newmar and Stonewall! He's been an
actor, a model, a fashion designer, film producer, and now a
writer. However, it is after gaining nationwide fame as a
television host on the QVC shopping network that Dale had his
"biggest hit" to date. Trust me, I saw enough of him during
this time as my mother watched the station relentlessly. Even
then, you knew there was something "different" about this
animated and sho' nuff personable guy in the multi-colored
vests and eye-catching (sometimes green-eyed envious)
clothing ensembles.......
Add the classic recordings of Diana Ross, both solo (and with
The Supremes) plus songs from the Broadway musical
Dreamgirls and you have the soundtrack, backdrop and the
perfect comparative metaphor for Madison's tale of self-
discovery, struggle and success. This book is dedicated, in
part, to "every little boy who dreamed of sparkle, glitter, and
glamour while singing Supremes songs in the mirror, but was
ashamed to let anyone know it". Lord knows I can relate to
that! Much like little gay boys today make YouTube videos
dancing and lip-synching to Beyonce’, oh how well I remember
sneaking back into the school building during recess with my
childhood friends Jerome and Wynton. We'd steal into the
boys restroom, tie our sweaters on our heads as "wigs" and
sing the whole Supremes catalogue. We had no clue that so
many other boys like ourselves were doing the same thing in
the mirror, jostling for that middle spot, fighting to be Diana!
We also didn't know that sometimes, you have to pay the cost
to be The Boss.......
On the road of life, building a reputation to become a star can
often be a bittersweet experience! Sometimes among the
hangers-on are abusive men who feel the need in a creative,
but often lonely soul. Like magnets, they seemed to be
attracted to the broken flow of energy created by the author's
experience with a cold and emotionally abusive father. Many
love affairs are detailed here, love affairs that ache of father
love and longing, that finally cause Madison to conclude
"People say that daughters always look for their father in the
man that they marry. I realized that gay guys look for the love
they never received from their fathers in the men that they
love. I know I did". Dale Guy Madison IS Neely O'Hara should
have been the caption on the movie poster from the author's
full-year stint in the "loony bin" after a PCP drug trip gone
terribly wrong. O'Hara, the Patty Duke character from the gay
cult-classic, Valley Of The Dolls (one of the author's favorite
movies) has nothing on Madison's personal experience (from
having a live breakdown while working as a telephone
operator to the successful comeback to his own real life.)
There are many disappointments, but they'll all be met with the
sort of balance one finds with a God-grant-me-the serenity-to-
accept-the-things-I-cannot-change-but-help-me-to-change-
the-things-I-can type of attitude! And it's all told ever so
matter of factly, almost so one on one without the least hint of
sermonizing. Yes, Madison has a thing or two to teach about
"comebacks", redemption and RE-INVENTION thus proving
that while true divas may indeed get down, they're never truly
out!
Much like the crossover success of the original Supremes, the
A-side of this book presents the universal themes of growth,
hope and self-confidence that transcend age, race and sexual
orientations (the message is here if you're open to it!).
Dreamboy: My Life As A QVC Host & Other Greatest Hits really
has all the BIG hits of a life come full-circle here in this
collection! STILL! There is much here for that core audience
of gay men of color, especially those who after a certain age,
think it's too late to dream! And not only dream, but to bring
those dreams to fruition! The author challenges us! Dares us!
With anecdotes from a common era, there is so much for me to
personally relate to. As an aspiring writer, sometimes when I
read black gay authors, I often wonder what's left to write
about. But nobody can tell our own truth like we can in our
own way. That's part of the dare! I read this book with a
perpetual smile and with a few gasps, too! Dale Guy Madison's
story is an inspiring one & that inspiration goes as deep as any
classic Supremes song. He's a soul survivor! And this book is
those of us who are still here, still surviving & still dreaming,
too! The B-side hasn't been played yet!
ABOUT ME: Corey Jarrell
http://networkedblogs.com/30Sco
I LIVE IT! I AM IT!
Historian. Genealogist. Writer. Married Man.
I am living, loving and giving. Yesterday is old news and today
is good news. Today is an unprecedented time of growth for
me, but I cannot lie and say that growing pains do not hurt!
A Review of Dale Guy Madison's Dreamboy: My
Life As A QVC Host & Other Greatest Hits!
MOTOWN DREAMBOY TELLS ALL! Chances are that you've
never heard of dreamboy Dale Guy Madison's greatest hits,
right? Well, this is still Motown's 50th Anniversary, we're still
celebrating and whether you've heard of him or not, Dale Guy
Madison is a star, baby! A Motown Star! A would-be Supreme
diva who just released his tell-all memoirs, titled Dreamboy:
My Life As A QVC Host & Other Greatest Hits. Yes! You know
Dale Guy Madison! You've seen him in countless television
sitcoms and dramatic series, and he has appeared as an extra
in as many movies! You may or may not recognize him from
his one-man/one-woman stage play, FREEda Slave, or John
Water's Hairspray, or as a drag queen in To Wong Foo, Thanks
For Everything, Julie Newmar and Stonewall! He's been an
actor, a model, a fashion designer, film producer, and now a
writer. However, it is after gaining nationwide fame as a
television host on the QVC shopping network that Dale had his
"biggest hit" to date. Trust me, I saw enough of him during
this time as my mother watched the station relentlessly. Even
then, you knew there was something "different" about this
animated and sho' nuff personable guy in the multi-colored
vests and eye-catching (sometimes green-eyed envious)
clothing ensembles.......
Add the classic recordings of Diana Ross, both solo (and with
The Supremes) plus songs from the Broadway musical
Dreamgirls and you have the soundtrack, backdrop and the
perfect comparative metaphor for Madison's tale of self-
discovery, struggle and success. This book is dedicated, in
part, to "every little boy who dreamed of sparkle, glitter, and
glamour while singing Supremes songs in the mirror, but was
ashamed to let anyone know it". Lord knows I can relate to
that! Much like little gay boys today make YouTube videos
dancing and lip-synching to Beyonce’, oh how well I remember
sneaking back into the school building during recess with my
childhood friends Jerome and Wynton. We'd steal into the
boys restroom, tie our sweaters on our heads as "wigs" and
sing the whole Supremes catalogue. We had no clue that so
many other boys like ourselves were doing the same thing in
the mirror, jostling for that middle spot, fighting to be Diana!
We also didn't know that sometimes, you have to pay the cost
to be The Boss.......
On the road of life, building a reputation to become a star can
often be a bittersweet experience! Sometimes among the
hangers-on are abusive men who feel the need in a creative,
but often lonely soul. Like magnets, they seemed to be
attracted to the broken flow of energy created by the author's
experience with a cold and emotionally abusive father. Many
love affairs are detailed here, love affairs that ache of father
love and longing, that finally cause Madison to conclude
"People say that daughters always look for their father in the
man that they marry. I realized that gay guys look for the love
they never received from their fathers in the men that they
love. I know I did". Dale Guy Madison IS Neely O'Hara should
have been the caption on the movie poster from the author's
full-year stint in the "loony bin" after a PCP drug trip gone
terribly wrong. O'Hara, the Patty Duke character from the gay
cult-classic, Valley Of The Dolls (one of the author's favorite
movies) has nothing on Madison's personal experience (from
having a live breakdown while working as a telephone
operator to the successful comeback to his own real life.)
There are many disappointments, but they'll all be met with the
sort of balance one finds with a God-grant-me-the serenity-to-
accept-the-things-I-cannot-change-but-help-me-to-change-
the-things-I-can type of attitude! And it's all told ever so
matter of factly, almost so one on one without the least hint of
sermonizing. Yes, Madison has a thing or two to teach about
"comebacks", redemption and RE-INVENTION thus proving
that while true divas may indeed get down, they're never truly
out!
Much like the crossover success of the original Supremes, the
A-side of this book presents the universal themes of growth,
hope and self-confidence that transcend age, race and sexual
orientations (the message is here if you're open to it!).
Dreamboy: My Life As A QVC Host & Other Greatest Hits really
has all the BIG hits of a life come full-circle here in this
collection! STILL! There is much here for that core audience
of gay men of color, especially those who after a certain age,
think it's too late to dream! And not only dream, but to bring
those dreams to fruition! The author challenges us! Dares us!
With anecdotes from a common era, there is so much for me to
personally relate to. As an aspiring writer, sometimes when I
read black gay authors, I often wonder what's left to write
about. But nobody can tell our own truth like we can in our
own way. That's part of the dare! I read this book with a
perpetual smile and with a few gasps, too! Dale Guy Madison's
story is an inspiring one & that inspiration goes as deep as any
classic Supremes song. He's a soul survivor! And this book is
those of us who are still here, still surviving & still dreaming,
too! The B-side hasn't been played yet!
ABOUT ME: Corey Jarrell
http://networkedblogs.com/30Sco
I LIVE IT! I AM IT!
Historian. Genealogist. Writer. Married Man.
I am living, loving and giving. Yesterday is old news and today
is good news. Today is an unprecedented time of growth for
me, but I cannot lie and say that growing pains do not hurt!
 | |  | |  | |  |
DREAMBOY: MY LIFE AS A QVC HOST & OTHER GREATEST HITS
Reviewed by Stanley Bennett Clay
Even though writer-actor-entertainer-former TV host Dale Guy
Madison partially dedicates his incredibly likable and spiritually
uplifting memoir to “every little boy who dreamed of sparkle, glitter,
and glamour while singing Supreme songs in the mirror, but was
ashamed to let anyone know it,” there is no shame in his game. Mr.
Madison’s personal tale of cock-eyed optimism is buoyant enough to
pull the most submerged pessimist above the waters of despair to
breathe in all the good that is life and the living of it, and to celebrate
the good that is love with all its crazy ups and downs, particularly,
the greatest love of all, self-love.
And what makes his celebration of life and love even more wonderful
is that there are no lectures, no preachments, just personal antidotal
snippets of his life as an unapologetic all-things-Supremes-gay-boy
affectionately shared with humor, wit and the humanity of the
perfection of being imperfect.
He paralleled the meteoric careers of Diana, Mary, and Flo with his
own, starring in most of his grade school plays, making the morning
announcements over his elementary school’s PA system, and even
suffering a Florence Ballard setback when a pubescent voice change
resulted in him being replaced by a male teen-aged Cindy Birdsong
wannabee in the school’s production of “A Christmas Carol.”
Unwavering in his devotion to the Divas of Motown, and having spent
his high school and college years in a typically traumatic exploration
of his homosexuality, the now 23-year-old openly gay entertainment
aspirant headed to New York with his best friend to see his first
Broadway show, “Dreamgirls,” of course. Short on funds for a hotel
room, he and his friend spend the night under a bridge near
Christopher Street in the red Volvo they drove up in, and it is here
where Dale has his epiphany moment. He had determined that he
was going to be in “Dreamgirls.” But a chance audition for the
national touring company of the show in 1985 turned in what Dale
describes as a “bad American Idol moment.” Still, he walked out with
his head held high knowing that one day he “would be close to the
Supremes, have an iota of fame close to their fame, or both.”
Finally Dale’s dream of being on screen in a starring role came true
when he was hired to be a host on the QVC Fashion Channel, making
for the first time a six-figure-a-year salary plus a $4,000 a year
wardrobe allowance, not to mention creating a new fan base and
hobnobbing with such celebrities as Richard Simmons, Joan Rivers,
and Susan Lucci. He tried hard to get his idol Diana Ross booked on
the show, but to no avail.
It was a dream that lasted 4 years. In the last days at work for QVC,
Dale landed a part in the movie “To Wong Foo, Thanks for Everything,
Julie Newmar” which starred Wesley Snipe, Patrick Swayze, and John
Leguizamo as a trio of drag queens driving cross-country from New
York to Los Angeles. With the assist of the QVC wardrobe
department, Dale appeared on the movie set as one the most
beautiful movie drag queens the movie crew had laid eyes on,
prompting Wesley Snipes to not only gasp in approval but to have his
picture taken with Dale.
Riding on his growing reputation as the definitive movie and TV drag
queen performer, Dale had a one-man show created for him by Darryl
Lemont Wharton, a young and talented staff writer on the TV series
“Homicide: Life on the Streets” (in which Dale also appeared in drag).
The show, “FREEda Slave: Mask of a Diva”, starring Dale as Alfred, a
cross-dresser whose alter ego is the mostly funny, sometimes sad,
always dazzling title character, proved to be a triumph. Opening in
1994, “FREEda SLAVE” starring Dale Guy Madison, played across the
country, to rave reviews and standing ovations.
What a full and fascinating life Madison has had, and with his spirited
telling and his generous sharing, it seems like only the beginning.
Dale Guy Madison may not be as rich or famous as his idol Diana
Ross, but his star and his gold shine bright for many, particularly for
himself. If only more of us could be as pleased as he is when gazing
into the mirror. If only more of us could allow ourselves to enjoy the
thrill of living a purpose-driven life!
Dale Guy Madison’s memoir is the perfect upper read.
------------------------------------------------------------
A Supremes Boy
By Donalevan Maines
You know you’re gay when you lip-synch songs by Diana Ross. You
know you’re really gay when chapters of your memoir are titles of her
greatest hits.
Dale Guy Madison is an unabashed fan of Diana Ross and the
Supremes who connects the dots of his life in his memoir Dreamboy
(www.damngoodman.com) via the music of Miss Ross, both as lead
singer of the Supremes and as a solo artist (after all, he had to
include her disco hit I’m Coming Out).
The full title is Dreamboy: My Life as a QVC Host & Other Greatest
Hits, and in homage to his childhood in Baltimore, Maryland, he
includes a Nancy Wilson song that Bonnie Raitt later made famous.
Madison introduces Dreamboy with an explanation of how he
structured the book into five “discs,” including “The Happening” (“To
a black kid growing up in the sixties, the Supremes were an
undeniable symbol of success,” he writes. “You could rise from the
projects and one day be on The Ed Sullivan Show”); “Family”
(including a gay brother); “I Meant You No Harm/Breathtaking Guy”
(in which he dishes on all of his “enrapturing, heartbreaking, and
delicious relationships”); “Up the Ladder to the Roof” (when fame
eluded him and his drag alter ego FREEda Slave, he moved to Los
Angeles and tried to produce a movie starring Joey Buttafucco); and
“Acknowledgements,” serving as album “liner notes” which he
contacted Mary Wilson to write, but “she hasn’t gotten back” to him).
Did you know that Diana Ross and the Supremes recorded an album
of songs from Funny Girl? This and much more can be found in
Madison’s memoir, dedicated to “every little boy who dreamed of
sparkle, glitter and glamour while singing Supreme songs in the
mirror, but was ashamed to let anyone know it.”
Donalevan Maines is a frequent contributor to OutSmart magazine.
