The Smiley Smile Message Board

A bit of a basic question, but why the hell was Dennis allowed to stay on set? Did someone not have the common sense to get him to sit this one out? Jerry Schilling, as manager, should have done something. Surely he had seen enough with Elvis to have a sense of when someone isn't ready for the public. There would be enough potential fires in managing what Brian or Mike might blurt out.

I think Dennis is the most entertaining part of the interview! Without him, it would have been a rather mundane affair.

Agreed.  I seem to remember it being a pretty blah interview otherwise.

For my money, it's a really awkward thing to have to sit through and watch.

I feel for the other guys in the band.  It's a big moment for them professionally, and in that sense, Denny is totally blowing it for them.  More importantly than that, though, they are watching a brother fall to pieces before their eyes.

My heart aches the most for Denny.  There's nothing funny or clever about suicide (whether it be the short and quick version, or the long, slow slide).

Well, it was Denny's birthday the day before, so I seriously doubt he'd been to bed before the interview.  As I recall he was with Christine McVie then and they were night people.  Denny was feisty and he disliked the expected interview answers.  He might do such things drunk or sober. Was he high?  Good chance of it, but it was his way, anyhow.

On the plus side, I really like his choice of wardrobe there. Kind of classy, really. He wore the same thing when interviewed for the 20/20 segment on the band that aired earlier that fall.

Also it's been mentioned in many books, including my own, that Dennis was not the kind of person that was easily controlled.  The bbs talked about getting help for Dennis as they did for Brian but they knew that Dennis wouldn't respond the same way as brian in a Landy type situation

It simply adds to the legend that is Dennis Wilson

Anyone got a link to this so I can have an opinion?  ;D

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aaQWQ7Zc4cQ

Youtube, the world's second most popular search engine. Ta da.

Thank you Captain.

 Is Dennis high? Oh hell yeah...never seen a more classic case  :lol

 I think the interview is just terrible, that said I think so many of their interviews are, maybe its part of the charm. It's hard to imagine how 'fluff' pieces like that benefit anyone except for exposure, but I guess I'm filtering that through 2015 and the internet, not as many places for your voice to be heard I guess.

 I also agree that I don't know why the boys didn't just throw Dennis off the interview before it aired but who knows if they did and if he refused?

If this happened today, it would be all over social media. Nowhere to hide.

YEAH!  GReat Publicity!!!!!

I'd love to read any kind of "background story" about what Dennis was doing in the days immediately before this appearance, and what led to him being in the state that he was in that morning. 

Was there any media attention about this after? Carl drunk in Perth a couple of years earlier was all over the media in Australia at the time so I would think Dennis may have been a story considering GMA was a national TV show.

See Debbie KL's post above...in case you don't know, she was an "insider" at the time, and would know.

Maybe that would have been a good thing if it meant his addictions would have been more publicly known, if that could have led to a wakeup call for Denny to get help. Not that celebs today don't have addictions that destroy their lives, but I'd like to think that a more transparent world maybe could have helped. I doubt it would have hurt.

things were different back then. everyone was on pills.