Dreamboy Interviews: John Barille

Dale Madison won the best LGBT film award and three other nominations at the 2008 San Diego Black Film Festival, with a movie originally intended to promote his unpublished memoirs.

DREAMBOY: My Life as a QVC Host and Other Greatest Hits—both book and movie—chronicle Madisons life from a schoolboy in Baltimore through his career as telephone operator, artists model, movie extra, founder and member of two educational theater troupes, QVC host, African doll designer, drag queen performance artist, owner of an African-themed store, and TV, movie, and theater actor.

After shopping his book to a few agents, he decided to use another approach to help find a publisher. He sat down with music editor Joe Breaux, and turned slides, video footage, music and voiceover based on the book into a 25-minute DVD.

DREAMBOY is an homage to the 1984 Mary Wilson book, DREAMGIRL: My Life as a Supreme, with each chapter likened to a hit Supreme song. He discusses with candor and charm his Baltimore childhood, his gay and straight relationships, his varied careers, his four years as a shopping channel host at QVC, and his work as a background bit player in the Hollywood system.

The movie turned out so well that Madison submitted it to film festivals, and the film is being screened at 9 p.m. March 22 at the Vintage Hollywood Private Club (www.vintagehollywoodprivateclub.com), which will also commemorate Madisons 50th birthday.

My goal was to have my book published by my 50th birthday, says Madison, but this works out the way it was supposed to. I want people to walk away saying, I want to read a book about this guys life.

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Entertainment

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