Dennis Palumbo ~ Writer and Psychotherapist

There's a really nice article about Dennis Palumbo (M.A., M.F.T.) in the most Spring 2010 Pitt Magazine for alumnae of the University of Pittsburgh.

A couple of years after graduation Dennis packed up and headed for Hollywood where he spent a year sending out film scripts and trying to get comedians to let him write jokes for them. Nothing happened.

Then he got his big break. He was hired to write an episode of the television series The Love Boat, and that led to job as a staff writer for Welcome Back, Kotter. "In 1982 he graduates to the big screen, cowriting an acclaimed film script for My Favorite Year starring Peter O'Toole."

At that point, rather than pursue the movies, Dennis changed course and got a graduate degree and became a psychotherapist. He specializes in treating those with artistic problems, which he uniquely understands.


NOW: He continues to write - blogging for The Huffington Post and recently published a book called Writing from the Inside Out dealing with the creative process. He also has a collection of mystery stories cleverly called From Crime to Crime. In August his first crime novel, Mirror Image, which is set in Pittsburgh, will be in bookstores.

THEN: Dennis Palumbo was in The Man in the Dog Suit for Characters East in Pittsburgh with me in May of 1971. I played Mrs. Louisa Stoddard. I don't remember who Dennis played.  I have always thought it odd that I was involved with this play twice in my lifetime although Jessica Tandy and Hume Cronyn played the leads on Broadway originally so maybe the play had more to offer than I could perceive.