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I don't know how much more authoritative information can be other than first-hand, but I worked with Dennis Dugan during, if memory serves, 1970-1971. We were both actors at the South Bronx Community Action Theatre (SBCAT) at 345 Brook Avenue, Bronx NY. By day, it was Alexander Burger Junior High School; at night, it was off-Broadway. I was 10 years his junior, but somehow or another, he got all of the "kid's parts". Dennis was one of the most upbeat people I ever met in my now-52 years of life. He aspired to be a stand-up comedian. I'm sure he had to (er, um..) "dumb down" his repertoire to suit the sensibilties of a 12-year-old child, but the joke he used to tell me was about a department store Santa Claus. He would greet the children thusly: "Ho, ho, ho! Come sit upon Santa's lap!" Soon afterwards, a nubile 18-year-old girl would walk by, and Santa would say, "Ho, ho, ho! Come sit upon Santa's lap!" That was the punch-line. The preceding may explain why his stand-up aspirations never achieved fruition. But he did have a sly humor and a heartlandish kind of "aw, shucks"-ness that was quite endearing to the hardest of New York hearts, and that's how I remember him -- with fondness and great admiration for his achievements. But nothing about him prepared me for what he would go on to do later.
The founder of the Burger Players/SBCAT, Mr. Fredric H. Darris is now deceased, as is our then-director, Mr. Michael A. DelMedico. Dennis and I worked together in Mr. DelMedico's adaptation of Henry Fielding's "Tragedy Of Tragedies", redubbed "What A Day!". He performed as a member of King Arthur's court, but he made the most out of his part, to great comedic effect. DelMedico's presentation was reviewed in _Backstage_, although I'm not certain that Dugan was a member of the company at the time. We were performing for schools at the time. By the time Dennis was in the company, we were performing at Lincoln Center with CBS sponsorship. Well, at least Dennis was performing. I'd left by then, having decided that the theater life was too freaky for me.
I choose not to disclose my name, but it was very similar to Dennis Dugan's. I worked at the theater for no pay, because I was too young to work, plus it kept me off the streets. Our initials are both D. D., and my last name is a variation of "Dugan". One day, an IRS form W-2 arrived at my home stating that I was paid a salary. I wasn't on the payroll, because I legally couldn't be. Any pittance of money I made was off-the-books, running for coffee and cigarettes from the local deli. I grew up in the South Bronx projects. We were poor. My mother asked me what happened to the money I'd allegedly made during tax year '71. I received The Mother Of All Ass-Beatings because she thought I was holding out on her. Then, she saw _Norman, Is That You?_, a film Dennis did with Redd Foxx, and began to connect the dots. Hmmmm...that might have been Dennis Dugan's W-2.
Of Dennis' later work, I most enjoy his "superhero" bit on _Hill Street Blues_. And if I'm a bit ambivalent about his films, I support him because he's my friend. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 98.28.202.127 (talk) 09:17, 18 March 2009 (UTC)[reply]
