Del Shores

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title: "Del Shores" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["1957-births", "20th-century-american-dramatists-and-playwrights", "20th-century-american-male-writers", "21st-century-american-lgbtq-people", "american-gay-actors", "american-gay-writers", "american-lgbtq-dramatists-and-playwrights", "american-lgbtq-screenwriters", "american-male-dramatists-and-playwrights", "film-directors-from-texas", "lgbtq-people-from-texas", "living-people", "male-actors-from-texas", "people-from-winters,-texas"] description: "American playwright and filmmaker (born 1957)" topic_path: "arts" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Del_Shores" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0

::summary American playwright and filmmaker (born 1957) ::

::data[format=table title="Infobox person"]

Field	Value
name	Del Shores
image	Del Shores.jpg
caption	Shores in 2023
birth_name	Delferd Lynn Shores
birth_date
birth_place	Winters, Texas, U.S.
education	Baylor University
occupation	{{flatlist
years_active	1984–present
spouse
children	2
website
::

| name = Del Shores | image = Del Shores.jpg | caption = Shores in 2023 | birth_name = Delferd Lynn Shores | birth_date = | birth_place = Winters, Texas, U.S. | education = Baylor University | occupation = {{flatlist|

• Playwright
• film director
• producer
• screenwriter
• actor | years_active = 1984–present | spouse = | children = 2 | website = 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.

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

Delferd Lynn Shores was born in Winters, Texas on December 3, 1957, to Vernie Loraine Shores (; 1936–2001), a school teacher, and William David Shores (1933–2003), a Southern Baptist minister. When he was about to start first grade, his family relocated to Brownwood, Texas. 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. He later attended Baylor University, earning a degree in journalism and Spanish.

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. 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. Shores also cast Leslie Jordan in subsequent productions, which would establish a professional and personal friendship with Jordan. He and Kelly were married in 1986. They divorced in 1996 after Shores came out as gay, but remained close.

Career

Theater

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

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. The play premiered in Los Angeles on May 11, 1996, and ran for 13 months. At the time, Shores was going through a divorce and described Sordid Lives as his "coming out play". The production received positive reviews, earning 14 Drama-Logue Awards and 13 Critic's Choice honors.

Shores' play Southern Baptist Sissies premiered at the Zephyr Theatre in Los Angeles in September 2000, running for ten months and returning in 2001. The production earned a GLAAD Media Award for Outstanding Los Angeles Theater 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 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. The play won NAACP Theatre Awards for Best Playwright/Playwright Adaptation/Best Production In 2012, Shores adapted it into the film Blues for Willadean, starring Octavia Spencer and Beth Grant.

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. That same year, he received a Golden Palm Star on the Palm Springs Walk of Stars. Shores returned to theater in April 2010 with Yellow, performed at The Coast Playhouse in West Hollywood. 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. The stage version of A Very Sordid Wedding played in 2021.

Television

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. 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. 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.

Film

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. The film adaptation was released in 1990 by MGM. Around this time, Shores also signed a deal with Warner Brothers. After writing the script Sordid Lives in 1999, he created his own independent company to fund and produce. The film premiered at the Palm Beach International Film Festival on February 4, 2000, and was given an eight-theater limited run from May 11, 2001, to April 20, 2003, grossing a total of $1.1 million. In 2013, Shores wrote, produced and directed a film adaptation of Southern Baptist Sissies. Shores wrote, produced, and directed A Very Sordid Wedding, a sequel film in the Sordid Lives series, which was released in 2017.

Other ventures

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

Personal life

Shores has two daughters with Kelley Alexander (m. 1986–1996). Shores was married to Jason Dottley from 2003 to 2011. 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".

Credits

Plays

• 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)
• The Red Suitcase (2023; director only)
• Wounded (2024; director only)

Books

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

Film

::data[format=table title="{{sronly|Feature and short film credits}}"]

Year	Title	Producer	Writer	Director	Notes	Ref(s)
1988	Two Moon Junction				Part of the walla group
1990	Daddy's Dyin'... (Who's Got The Will?)				Executive producer	title=Daddy's Dyin'...Who's Got the Will? (1990)
2000	Sordid Lives				Directorial debut
2011	Del Shores: My Sordid Life
2012	Del Shores: Sordid Confessions
2012	Blues for Willadean
2012	Cry				Jeremy
2013	Southern Baptist Sissies					date=March 4, 2014
2017	Del Shores: Naked, Sordid, Reality
A Very Sordid Wedding					last=Scheck	first=Frank
2019	Six Characters in Search of a Play
Cognitive				Brother Elymas
2023	Shafted				Short
::

Television

::data[format=table title="{{sronly|Television credits}}"]

Year	Title	Executive producer	Writer	Producer	Notes	Ref(s)
1987	The Quick and the Dead				TV film; played Purdy Mantle
1994	Touched by an Angel				1 episode	url=https://directories.wga.org/error/index?code=405
1995	Live Shot				1 episode
1995–
1996	Ned and Stacey				Wrote 3 episodes
1996	Mr. & Mrs. Smith				2 episodes; also co-producer
1999	Martial Law				2 episodes
2001	The Wilde Girls				TV film; also director
2001–
2002	Dharma & Greg				5 episodes; also consulting producer	date=October 2, 2012
2003–
2005	Queer as Folk				16 episodes; also co-executive producer	date=January 10, 2006
2008	Sordid Lives: The Series				Also showrunner and director
::

Notes

References

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

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