Posted by:
Tevai
(
)
Date: March 10, 2019 03:08PM
Dennis and I were in Woodland Hills Elementary School together, when his family lived on Dumetz, a block or two down the street from the Woodland Hills Congregational Church, and although they moved away by (I think) third grade, he was someone I always remembered.
He and I got along well as [totally platonic] friends and school pals....and we, together, performed as a duo in a song and dance presentation of "My Grandfather's Clock" at an elementary school evening event for parents....and we had similar entertainment industry experiences and contacts: relatives, family friends, etc.--plus: we both could read scripts (ANY kind of scripts!!) really well.
When the Mickey Mouse Club was in its initial, pre-debut stages, Dennis auditioned to be a Mouseketeer. During his audition, he and a girl who was also auditioning were doing some kind of musical number, and the pianist messed up the music, which messed up their choreographed dance.
He was still a little kid then (he was always physically "little" when I knew him), yet he handled the situation masterfully: In mid-routine, he broke character, calmly raised his hand in a "Stop" motion to the pianist, went over to the pianist (a full adult, needless to say) and discussed what had gone wrong, and how to fix the glitch.
When the pianist and Dennis agreed on how to proceed, Dennis went back into character, joined his dancing partner (and maybe she was his singing partner too), and they (with the pianist) all gave a flawless performance.
The Disney execs were blown away by Dennis's professionalism and calm, businesslike demeanor, and Dennis was chosen as one of the original Mouseketeers.
Ever since, he has always had that status: Original Mouseketeer.
When the later books and articles and documentaries were written and produced, Dennis was always an integral part of the history of the Mouseketeers.
The books and articles and documentaries also, usually, noted something that was no surprise to me: Dennis was gay.
At some point during his adult life he married, the two men were, by all accounts, devoted to each other, and I was very happy for him that he had found the right man, and happiness.
In more recent years, though, reports were that things were not going so well. Dennis's husband developed dementia, and is under some kind of hospitalization right now.
Because of the dementia, Dennis's husband did not realize that Dennis had not visited for a very long time (months, I think)--which was extremely abnormal. When people (including Dennis's family) began checking, they found that Dennis had given his dog (who he loved very much) to a neighbor (I think), and his car was "missing"--though, when his car was found, Dennis had evidently given it away to some guys who were later cleared by the police of any suspicion of wrongdoing. Dennis himself had "vanished."
Dennis hasn't been seen by anyone for a very long time now, and everyone realizes that he is probably dead.
If so, he leaves behind a whole lot of people, literally around the world, whose lives he left better than would have been the case had he never lived.
He and his life made a difference....and once upon a time, when we were both in first and second grade together, he was my friend.
EDITED TO ADD (because I just became aware that this exists):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I3xdEX5YRRoEdited 3 time(s). Last edit at 03/12/2019 06:46PM by Tevai.