Wikipedia

Del Shores

Del Shores (born Delferd Lynn Shores; December 3, 1957) is an American director, producer, screenwriter, playwright and actor known for his work in theater, television, and film. He debuted with his first play, Cheatin' (1984) which became successful, and later rose to prominence for his play Sordid Lives (1996) and the 2000 film adaptation. His works often explore themes of LGBTQ+ identity, Southern culture, and dysfunctional family dynamics, blending humor with drama.

Del Shores
Shores in 2023
Born
Delferd Lynn Shores

(1957-12-03) December 3, 1957 (age 67)
Winters, Texas, U.S.
EducationBaylor University
Occupations
  • Playwright
  • film director
  • producer
  • screenwriter
  • actor
Years active1984–present
Spouses
  • Kelley Alexander
    ​
    ​
    (m. 1986; div. 1996)​
  • ​
    ​
    (m. 2003; div. 2011)​
Children2
Websitewww.delshores.com

Shores has also written and directed other plays, including Southern Baptist Sissies (2000), The Trials and Tribulations of a Trailer Trash Housewife (2003), and Yellow (2010), many of which he adapted into films. In television, he has worked as a writer and producer on shows like Queer As Folk and Dharma & Greg.

Early life and influence

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Delferd Lynn Shores was born in Winters, Texas on December 3, 1957, to Vernie Loraine Shores (née Fuller; 1936–2001), a school teacher, and William David Shores (1933–2003), a Southern Baptist minister.[a] When he was about to start first grade, his family relocated to Brownwood, Texas.[5] Shores credits his mother for sparking his passion for theater, as she encouraged him and his brother to participate in stage productions at Howard Payne University and rewarded them with a dollar for every book or play they read.[3][6] He later attended Baylor University, earning a degree in journalism and Spanish.[6]

In 1980, Shores moved to Los Angeles to pursue an acting career. While there, he became a Sunday school teacher at a Baptist church in Beverly Hills and discovered a passion for writing.[1] In 1982, Shores first met actors Newell Alexander, his wife Rosemary and daughter Kelley at a musical. Two years later Shores produced his first play titled, Cheatin' in North Hollywood and cast Newell, while also hiring Kelly as a stage manager. Shores credits his inspiration comes from the works of Tennessee Williams and Preston Jones.[6] Shores also cast Leslie Jordan in subsequent productions, which would establish a professional and personal friendship with Jordan.[7] He and Kelly was married in 1986. After Shores came out as gay, they divorced in 1996 but remained close.[8]

Career

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Theater

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Shores' second play Daddy's Dyin': Who's Got the Will?, debuted in Los Angeles at Theatre/Theater on February 7, 1987.[9] The production received positive reviews and ran for two years.[10] On May 20, 1993, the final play in the his Lowake trilogy set, Daughters of the Lone Star State premiered at the Zephyr Theatre under the direction of Ron Link.[11] Variety described the production as a "an unflinching, if somewhat unfocused, look at the racial and social tensions so prevalent in modern-day America".[12]

Shores wrote and directed a fourth play, Sordid Lives, a comedy inspired by his own family that revolves around the eccentric Ingram family in Texas while incorporating LGBTQ themes.[13] The play premiered in Los Angeles on May 11, 1996, and ran for 13 months.[14] At the time, Shores was going through a divorce and described Sordid Lives as his "coming out play".[6] The production received positive reviews, earning 14 Drama-Logue Awards and 13 Critic's Choice honors.[15]

Shores' play Southern Baptist Sissies premiered at the Zephyr Theatre in Los Angeles in September 2000, running for ten months and returning in 2001.[16] The production earned a GLAAD Media Award for Outstanding Los Angeles Theater[17] It was revived in April 2002 for another six-month run and later played at the Bailiwick Repertory Theatre in Chicago in July 2002 to positive reviews[18] He then wrote and directed The Trials and Tribulations of a Trailer Trash Housewife, a more dramatic play than his previous comedies, which debuted in 2003 at the Zephyr Theatre in Los Angeles.[19] The play won NAACP Theatre Awards for Best Playwright/Playwright Adaptation/Best Production[20] In 2012, Shores adapted it into the film Blues for Willadean, starring Octavia Spencer and Beth Grant.[21]

In 2006, Shores revived three of his plays—Sordid Lives, Southern Baptist Sissies, The Trials and Tribulations of a Trailer Trash Housewife—at the Zephyr Theatre.[22] That same year, he received a Golden Palm Star on the Palm Springs Walk of Stars.[23] Shores returned to theater in April 2010 with Yellow, performed at The Coast Playhouse in West Hollywood.[24] In 2018, he wrote and performed Six Characters in Search of a Play, followed by the premiere of his ninth play, This Side of Crazy, at the New Conservatory Theatre Center in San Francisco in 2019.[25][26] The stage version of A Very Sordid Wedding played in 2021.[27]

Television

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In 1995, Shores produced the first season of the sitcom Ned and Stacey and wrote three episodes. The following year he served as co-producer and writer of two episodes for Mr. & Mrs. Smith.[1][28] He directed a 2001 TV film The Wilde Girls for Showtime, starring Olivia Newton John, Chloe Lattanzi, and Swoosie Kurtz.

From 2003 to 2005 he was a writer and producer on the Showtime series Queer As Folk.[29] In 2008, he created, wrote, and directed 12 episodes of Sordid Lives: The Series, a prequel to Sordid Lives, which aired for one season on Logo.[30]

Film

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While Daddy's Dyin': Who's Got the Will? was still playing, Shores wrote a screenplay for a film version, starring. His manager invited director Jack Fisk and his wife, actress Sissy Spacek, to see the play. Fisk, who had an existing deal with Propaganda Films, took an interest in directing the adaptation, and the company agreed to produce the film using Shores' screenplay.[6] The film adaptation was released in 1990 by MGM.[9][31] Around this time, Shores also signed a deal with Warner Brothers.[6] After writing the script Sordid Lives in 1999, he created his own independent company to fund and produce.[32] The film premiered at the Palm Beach International Film Festival on February 4, 2000,[33] and was given an eight-theater limited run from May 11, 2001, to April 20, 2003, grossing a total of $1.1 million.[34][35] In 2013, Shores wrote, produced and directed a film adaptation of Southern Baptist Sissies.[36] Shores wrote, produced, and directed A Very Sordid Wedding, a sequel film in the Sordid Lives series, which was released in 2017.[37]

Other ventures

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Shores has performed stand-up gigs in Los Angeles and Florida.[29][38] In 2019, Shores founded a Del Shores Foundation, a nonprofit organization dedicated to discovering and supporting LGBTQ creative voices from the American South.[39]

Personal life

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Shores has two daughters with Kelley Alexander (m. 1986–1996).[8] Shores was married to Jason Dottley from 2003 to 2011.[40][41] Shores describes himself as agnostic, but also spiritual. He explained in a 2015 interview with Out Front that: "I believe in humanity. I don't pretend to know any more about God. So I don't know, I suspect there is not. I don't think there is a god. I don't believe in all that, so I am not a Christian. I am not religious on any level".[29]

Credits

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Plays

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  • Cheatin' (1984; also performed)
  • Daddy's Dyin': Who's Got the Will? (1987)
  • Daughters of the Lone Star State (1993)
  • Sordid Lives (1996; also director)
  • Southern Baptist Sissies (2000; also director)
  • The Trials and Tribulations of a Trailer Trash Housewife (2003; also director)
  • Yellow (2010; also director)
  • Six Characters In Search of a Play (2018; also performed)
  • This Side of Crazy (2019; also director)
  • A Very Sordid Wedding (2021; also director)
  • In Memoriam of Lena (2021; also director)[42]
  • The Red Suitcase (2023; director only)[43]
  • Wounded (2024; director only)[43]

Books

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  • The Sordid Lives Saga: Before The Trip (2022, self-published)[44]

Film

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Feature and short film credits
Year Title Producer Writer Director Notes Ref(s)
1988 Two Moon Junction No No No Part of the walla group [45]
1990 Daddy's Dyin'... (Who's Got The Will?) Yes Yes No Executive producer [9]
2000 Sordid Lives No Yes Yes Directorial debut [32]
2011 Del Shores: My Sordid Life Yes Yes Yes [46]
2012 Del Shores: Sordid Confessions Yes Yes Yes [47]
2012 Blues for Willadean Yes Yes Yes [48]
2012 Cry No No No Jeremy [49]
2013 Southern Baptist Sissies Yes Yes Yes [36]
2017 Del Shores: Naked, Sordid, Reality Yes Yes Yes [50]
A Very Sordid Wedding Yes Yes Yes [37]
2019 Six Characters in Search of a Play Yes Yes No [51]
Cognitive No No No Brother Elymas
2023 Shafted No No Yes Short [52]

Television

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Television credits
Year Title Executive producer Writer Producer Notes Ref(s)
1987 The Quick and the Dead No No No TV film; played Purdy Mantle
1994 Touched by an Angel No Yes No 1 episode [28]
1995 Live Shot No Yes No 1 episode [28]
1995–
1996 		Ned and Stacey No Yes Yes Wrote 3 episodes [28][1]
1996 Mr. & Mrs. Smith No Yes No 2 episodes; also co-producer [28][1]
1999 Martial Law No Yes No 2 episodes [28]
2001 The Wilde Girls Yes Yes No TV film; also director [53]
2001–
2002 		Dharma & Greg No Yes No 5 episodes; also consulting producer [28][54]
2003–
2005 		Queer as Folk Yes Yes Yes 16 episodes; also co-executive producer [28][55]
2008 Sordid Lives: The Series Yes Yes Yes Also showrunner and director [28]

Notes

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  1. ^ Attributed to multiple sources:[1][2][3][4]
  1. ^ a b c d e Rapp, Linda (2015). "Shores, Del (b. 1957)" (PDF). glbtq.com. Archived (PDF) from the original on July 14, 2024. Retrieved June 8, 2024.
  2. ^ "William Shores Obituary (2003)". San Antonio Express-News. Retrieved February 15, 2025 – via Legacy.com.
  3. ^ a b Carbone, Christopher (November 1, 2010). "Del Shores". L Style G Style. Retrieved February 14, 2025.
  4. ^ "Double-Ring Rites Unite Miss Fuller, Mr. Shores". San Angelo Standard-Times. October 30, 1953. p. 7. Retrieved February 14, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
  5. ^ "Jaklewicz". Abilene Reporter-News. March 4, 2022. p. A7. Retrieved February 16, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
  6. ^ a b c d e f Carnivele, Gary (June 25, 2018). "Sordid Lives Creator Del Shores Talks About His Plays, Films, and Bringing His New Play to Sonoma – We The People". Gay Sonoma. Archived from the original on January 12, 2025. Retrieved February 16, 2025.
  7. ^ "Leslie Jordan receives star on Palm Springs Walk of Stars". The Desert Sun. October 22, 2023. p. A13. Retrieved February 20, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
  8. ^ a b Shirley, Don (July 7, 1996). "Let's Just Get This All Out in the Open". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved June 8, 2024.
  9. ^ a b c "Daddy's Dyin'...Who's Got the Will? (1990)". American Film Institute. Archived from the original on February 10, 2025. Retrieved February 9, 2025.
  10. ^ Foley, F. Kathleen (January 15, 2009). "Review: Daddy's Dyin', Who's Got the Will? at Theatre/Theater". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on June 1, 2023. Retrieved June 1, 2023.
  11. ^ Jacobs, Tom (May 16, 1993). "Racism in the Spotlight : In the third part of his trilogy about a small Texas town, playwright Del Shores uses a real-life incident to examine bigotry". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on February 10, 2025. Retrieved February 9, 2025.
  12. ^ Jacobs, Tom (May 25, 1993). "Daughters of the Lone Star State". Variety. Archived from the original on February 4, 2021. Retrieved February 16, 2025.
  13. ^ Foley, F. Kathleen (May 25, 1996). "Texas-Style Hilarity Helps Invigorate Sordid Lives". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on June 3, 2023. Retrieved June 3, 2023.
  14. ^ topofthemorning (January 24, 2012). "NLT presents Sordid Lives". The Natchez Democrat. Archived from the original on May 21, 2022. Retrieved June 3, 2024.
  15. ^ Morgan, Kendall (April 17, 2017). "Texas-born director returns to sordid roots with Dallas film premiere". CultureMap Dallas. Archived from the original on June 8, 2024. Retrieved June 3, 2024.
  16. ^ Manus, Willard (January 8, 2001). "L.A. Loves Southern Baptist Sissies; Play Extended to Feb. 25". Playbill. Archived from the original on July 31, 2021. Retrieved February 9, 2025.
  17. ^ "Los Angeles GLAAD Awards honor Will & Grace, Queer As Folk". The Advocate. Archived from the original on March 25, 2022. Retrieved February 10, 2025.
  18. ^ BWW News Desk. "Delta Burke to Make LA Stage Debut in Southern Baptist Sissies". BroadwayWorld.com. Archived from the original on June 8, 2024. Retrieved June 6, 2023.
  19. ^ Martinez, Julio (May 1, 2003). "The Trials and Tribulations of a Trailer Trash Housewife". Variety. Archived from the original on June 9, 2023. Retrieved February 9, 2025.
  20. ^ "NAACP award goes to San Diego Repertory Theatre". Los Angeles Times. February 19, 2004. Archived from the original on February 10, 2025. Retrieved February 9, 2025.
  21. ^ Obenson, Tambay A. (October 2, 2012). "Award-Winning Drama Blues for Willadean (Octavia Spencer Co-Stars) Opens In LA This Friday". IndieWire. Archived from the original on July 13, 2018. Retrieved December 24, 2017.
  22. ^ Rosky, Nicole. "Del Shores to Direct JD3atrical's Yellow, 6/11-7/25". BroadwayWorld.com. Archived from the original on June 9, 2023. Retrieved June 9, 2023.
  23. ^ "Palm Springs Walk of Stars by date dedicated" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on October 13, 2012. Retrieved December 26, 2018.
  24. ^ Peter, Thomas (April 13, 2010). "Leslie, McClure, McCullough, Montgomery, Thompson Cast in Del Shores' Yellow". Playbill. Archived from the original on July 24, 2021. Retrieved February 9, 2025.
  25. ^ Mura, Elaine (February 28, 2018). "Six Character in Search of a Play Review - Del Shores' Reflections and Memories". Splash Magazines. Retrieved February 9, 2025.
  26. ^ Janiak, Lily (October 3, 2019). "Review: Tedious sermon in Del Shores' This Side of Crazy at New Conservatory Theatre Center". San Francisco Chronicle. Archived from the original on February 1, 2023. Retrieved February 17, 2025.
  27. ^ Cristi, A. A. (September 1, 2021). "Uptown Players Presents Del Shores' A Very Sordid Wedding". BroadwayWorld. Retrieved February 9, 2025.
  28. ^ a b c d e f g h i "Del L. Shores". Writers Guild of America West. Retrieved February 14, 2025.
  29. ^ a b c OFM (June 8, 2015). "The Indelible Del Shores". Out Front Magazine. Retrieved February 21, 2025.
  30. ^ "Gay channel Logo steps into Sordid realm". Reuters. January 9, 2008. Archived from the original on June 9, 2023. Retrieved June 9, 2023.
  31. ^ Canby, Vincent (August 17, 1990). "Daddy's Dyin': Who's Got the Will" (1990) Review/Film; Sibling Rivalries, Old and New". The New York Times. Archived from the original on August 1, 2017. Retrieved March 1, 2017.
  32. ^ a b Lapham, Bob (December 26, 1999). "Del Shore's own life inspires the controversial Sordid Lives". Abilene Reporter-News. p. 29. Archived from the original on June 8, 2024. Retrieved June 3, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  33. ^ "Tommy Lee takes the prize, meet folks behind the cameras". The Palm Beach Post. February 4, 2000. p. 12. Archived from the original on June 8, 2024. Retrieved June 3, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  34. ^ "Sordid Lives Domestic Weekend". Box Office Mojo. Archived from the original on March 11, 2023. Retrieved June 3, 2024.
  35. ^ "'Sordid Lives' Palm Springs screening Oct. 29 to raise money for southern LGBT writers". The Desert Sun. Archived from the original on June 4, 2023. Retrieved June 4, 2023.
  36. ^ a b "Southern Baptist Sissies: Film Review". The Hollywood Reporter. March 4, 2014. Archived from the original on February 10, 2025. Retrieved February 9, 2025.
  37. ^ a b Scheck, Frank (March 14, 2017). "A Very Sordid Wedding: Film Review". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on February 12, 2025. Retrieved February 9, 2025.
  38. ^ Penacoli, Jerry (March 15, 2016). "Comedian and Writer Del Shores". WFLA-TV. Retrieved February 21, 2025.
  39. ^ Reddish, David (May 31, 2020). "Del Shores revives Sordid Lives with Leslie Jordan to save American theatre". Queerty. Archived from the original on July 7, 2024. Retrieved February 20, 2025.
  40. ^ "Jason Dottley's Return to Love Story". The Standard. Archived from the original on October 4, 2023. Retrieved July 16, 2022.
  41. ^ Kyung Kim, Eun (August 6, 2013). "For gay couples, divorce comes with extra costs". Today.com. Archived from the original on July 15, 2024. Retrieved June 8, 2024.
  42. ^ West, David (October 21, 2021). "NSU Theatre and Dance to have world premiere of In Memoriam of Lena". Northwestern State University. Archived from the original on February 10, 2025. Retrieved February 9, 2025.
  43. ^ a b Rabinowitz, Chloe. "Del Shores To Direct Off-Broadway Debut Of Wounded At SoHo Playhouse". BroadwayWorld. Archived from the original on February 10, 2025. Retrieved February 9, 2025.
  44. ^ "Del Shores comes out with new Sordid novel". Queer Forty. February 25, 2022. Retrieved February 9, 2025.
  45. ^ "Two Moon Junction". American Film Institute. Archived from the original on January 14, 2024. Retrieved February 9, 2025.
  46. ^ "Del Shores: My Sordid Life". Youngstown State University. Archived from the original on February 10, 2025. Retrieved February 9, 2025.
  47. ^ "Del Shores' Sordid Confessions" tonight at the Rose Room". Dallas Voice. January 27, 2012. Archived from the original on February 10, 2025. Retrieved February 9, 2025.
  48. ^ Harvey, Dennis (October 5, 2012). "Blues for Willadean". Variety. Archived from the original on February 11, 2025. Retrieved February 9, 2025.
  49. ^ "Del Shores co-stars in Dallas-filmed Cry". WFAA. April 5, 2013. Retrieved February 9, 2025.
  50. ^ Brinkerhoff, Mark (October 9, 2014). "Q&A: Comic, playwright Del Shores on his very own "naked sordid reality"". The Dallas Morning News. Archived from the original on February 11, 2025. Retrieved February 9, 2025.
  51. ^ "Six Characters in Search of a Play". OUT at the Movies International Film Festival. August 29, 2019. Archived from the original on February 10, 2025. Retrieved February 9, 2025.
  52. ^ "Shafted". Utah Queer Film FestivalS. Archived from the original on February 10, 2025. Retrieved February 9, 2025.
  53. ^ Grego, Melissa (February 28, 2001). "Showtime slates 7". Variety. Retrieved February 10, 2025.
  54. ^ "Award-Winning Drama Blues for Willadean (Octavia Spencer Co-Stars) Opens In LA This Friday". Blavity. October 2, 2012. Retrieved February 14, 2025.
  55. ^ Spindle, Les (January 10, 2006). "Southern Exposure". Backstage. Retrieved February 14, 2025.
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