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| Part 1 | Rita: Right, please welcome the lovely Dedee Pfeiffer. Dedee: Thank you. Rita: That's a nice reception, huh? Dedee: Wow, thank you. Rita: Be nice to get that every day, wouldn't it? Dedee: Oh, absolutely. Rita: I'm sure you do. Dedee: Would wake me up in the morning. Rita: I watched the pilot. I love the sitcom, a lot of fun. Dedee: It is. Rita: Tell us about your character. Dedee: Sheri -- Sheri is married. She's the married couple out of three couples in the series. There's the married couple, the honeymooners, they're the lovey-dovey ones, and then, the committed-phobiacs who can't make a decision on anything. Rita: Right. Dedee: And Sheri, that's me, and Dean, they're, like, married, so they've been there, done that. And they're high school sweethearts. Rita: And you live next door to your best friend? Dedee: Malena who's played by Holly Robinson Peete and James Lesure, and they're like, you know, happy. They're like the happy ones. And Dean, D.W. Moffett and I are the married ones who kind of always have liked each other. Rita: And you guys have a great chemistry. Dedee: Yeah, I think we have a chemistry, because he's married in real life, and I'm married in real life. And when we met, I was kind of glad to audition for this, you know, "the married couple." I'm like, "I can do that." And we kind of just were like, "oh, these two act very married and together." And like, you know? Rita: Yeah, are there similar situations from your real-life marriage that kind of mirror what you do in the show up to this point? Dedee: Well, the clip that you just saw with the "Playboys" in the garage and all that, my husband has a rather large collection, himself. Rita: He does? Dedee: Yeah, yeah, I married him and the collection. And just the other day, he threw them away. So I won. Rita: Oh, good for you. Dedee: Yeah. Rita: Well, I guess you shouldn't tell us if that's how the show ends or not. Dedee: Oh, no, no, my real husband. Dedee: Rita: Right. Dedee: Yeah. Rita: I know. But I don't want to know if that's how that episode ends or not. Now it follows "Mad About You," which is a great time slot, good for you guys. Dedee: Yes, we're like tucked right in there between "Mad About You" and "Frazier." Rita: Perfect. Dedee: Yeah. Rita: Okay, well, we have a lot more to talk about with Dedee Pfeiffer when we return -- don't go away. |
| Part 2 | Rita: How fun, welcome back to "Later," I'm Rita Sever. And we're here with Dedee Pfeiffer. How different did you look in that clip? You were even surprised, weren't you? Dedee: Oh, yeah, I was like, "oh, that's when I had hair. Oh, that's right." That's -- I forgot how funny that was. Rita: Wasn't it fun to do "Seinfeld," I mean, one of the biggest shows on television right now? Dedee: Yes, yes, it was actually -- I was like shocked when I got the role. I went out, and I read for it. And they said, "you got it." And I'm like, "really, get out." I get to work with Jerry Seinfeld and Jason Alexander and all these people. And they're like, "you're going to like tomorrow, quick, be there." "Okay." And you can't tell, but I'm shaking so bad in that scene. And I'm, like, "just remember my line, just remember my line." Rita: Oh, no, you can't even tell, great job. Dedee: All the acting classes couldn't teach you -- Rita: -- Would really good acting right there. Rita: Oh, okay. Dedee: Oh, whoa, Rita. Rita: Big George fans out there. Okay, well, you played Cybill's daughter, the daughter on Cybill Shepherd's show. Dedee: Yes. Rita: A great story with what that show did for you, 'cause you were here in Hollywood for 13 years trying to pursue acting. And it wasn't just working for you, until you're like, "okay, I'm going to go on this last audition. And -- but I'm ready to go home and -" Dedee: I quit acting pretty much every six months, I quit. I would do it for 16 years. And I want to quit often. And that was one of the times where I thought, "okay, I'm out of here. I'm going back to school. I'm gonna get, like, a real job, something that's important." And, you know, I was gonna work for "National Geographic" or something if they would have me and take pictures of animals. So I thought, well, they wanted me to read for Cybill Shepherd's older daughter, and I went, "oh, like I could play that. But I'll try." So I went in, and I read, and I got it. So I was like, "okay, well, I guess I won't quit." You know, I'll do that. Rita: Like it was meant to be then. Dedee: Yeah, yeah, 'cause I thought, "if I don't get this, I'm just like going to quit. And I'm just gonna go move somewhere and just do something." I didn't know what I was going to do. I never know what I'm going to do. Rita: Before that, you had a big break, right? Because you appeared in several films. Something happened with "Into The Night." Dedee: "Into The Night" was my very first film. I was trying to get my S.A.G. Card, and it's 16 years ago. And you have to be in the union to go up to audition for a union film, but you can't, you know, do a union film without a union card. It's a catch 22. And at any rate, I was able to read for a film. I got a couple of lines in a movie of the week. And they then called me and said, "you're S.A.G., Right?" And I was like, "no, that's why this is such a great thing." My whole family's jumping around and excited for me. And they said, "well, we're gonna call you right back." And I was like, "uh-oh." And they called back and said, "well, they liked the other girl just as much. And she's already in the union. You're not. So we're going to take it back from you and give it to her." So Michelle was working on "Into The Night" with John Landis. And she went to work and told him that story. And he said, "oh, pew, tell her to show up on Hollywood Boulevard in front of Frederick's of Hollywood wearing her most trashy clothes, and we'll make her a hooker. And we'll give her a line and give her a S.A.G. Card." And I was like, "okay, I'll be the best hooker you ever had." And I'm like, "what kind of hooker?" "And you're a $10 hooker." "I can do that!" 
Rita: We have a still of that awesome hooker right here. There she is.Dedee: Oh, my, yeah, cute. Rita: But you did such a great job. Now you got your S.A.G. Card. Dedee: He said, "now Dedee, you know, we're gonna like, you know, stand there and say this line, stand there and say -- look at your sister and ask if she wants a date and look at Jeff Goldblum and ask him if he wants to party." And so, I did that. And he said, "now this will probably land on the editing-room floor. I'm just helping you out." I said, "that's cool. That's cool, thank you so much, thank you so much." Months later, he called me. And he's in the editing room, and he's laughing. He said, "you know, you're very funny. You're a good actress. I'm going to keep it in the movie." So I was like, "oh, my god, I got my S.A.G. Card, and I'm in this movie with, you know, my sister and Jeff Goldblum and all these other people." And that's how it - Rita: Good for you. Dedee: Yeah, he gave me a shot. It was really nice of him. Rita: You also play Michelle's sister in "Up Close and Personal." Dedee: I always play Michelle's sister. Rita: Now did you have to audition for that part? Dedee: Yes, I did. Yes, I've had to audition for everything I've done -- everything, oh, yeah. Rita: Do you have any good stories about working with, say, Robert Redford or -- Dedee: Yeah, I have a very embarrassing story. I don't know if you want to hear it. Rita: I'd love to hear it. Dedee: Okay -- well, it's really embarrassing. Here it goes. I'm gonna tell you. In a movie, sometimes, you know, the production can last like months and months and months. So I met with the wardrobe gal who did this wardrobe fitting on me. I play with five pounds here and there - Rita: We all do, Dedee. Dedee: Usually the one side more than the other side. I'm trying to get to the other side. It seems to be that side. And so, I went in, had this wardrobe fitting, and they gave me these didos, if anyone remembers. Rita: Didos Dedee: I'm aging myself. Didos. Rita: Yes. Dedee: Nasty, nasty ugly things. Well, my character Louanne wore didos. So I put them on. They were real tight. Well, I didn't see those didos for like three months, later. The scene came up with Robert Redford. And I was like, "oh, god, oh, god." Well, I guess I had just enjoyed myself a little too much, 'cause I think I've grown a few pounds on this side. And I went to put them on in my room that night, and I could not get the zipper up all the way. Rita: Oh, man. Dedee: I'm, like, "I'm about to do my scene, this scene with Robert Redford. And I'm fat, and I'm a pig." And you know, what am I gonna do? Rita: This is minutes before? Dedee: Huh? Rita: Minutes before? Dedee: Yeah, they're like, "okay, on the set." I'm like, "coming." I'm like, "oh, my god." And I'm laying down. And I'm like, "oh, my god, I shouldn't have eaten ho-hos, you know, ding dongs, the nachos." So I'm like, "okay, now you've went and done it. What are you going to do?" So I took the shirt, and I put it on the outside. And I came out, and I said, "you know, I think I want to wear my shirt on the outside. I think it's better for the character." And they said, "okay." So I'm sitting there in the scene with him. It's cut out. The scene I had with him is cut out of the movie -- editing-room floor. My career right there -- editing-room floor. And I'm sitting there in the scene the whole time, you know, saying my lines, looking at him, thinking the whole time, "this man has no idea." And I'm sitting here. I'm fat, and I'm gushing out of these pants. And if I breathe out a little more, the zipper is just gonna pop wide open. And he's gonna go -- you know, so I'm trying to do my lines and keep my -- yeah, 'cause the zipper, I could feel it going down slow. And I'm like, "oh, my god, this is so embarrassing." My big shot and I'm just like fat. Rita: Oh gosh, to this day, you guys must still laugh about that one. Dedee: Oh and afterwards, I told Michelle, my sister, and she was just like, "oh, well, you know, why didn't you say something?" I was, "I was humiliated." What do you want me to say? "Excuse me wardrobe, can I have like, you know, fatter jeans? I got fat." You know, "hi, Robert, aren't I cute? Aren't I sexy?" I'm not gonna do that. Rita: Well, that's a great story. Dedee: Oh, god. Rita: Now your sister in "The Fabulous Baker Boys," when you went and saw that, you said, "that is me," right? Dedee: Yeah, she ripped me off. That was me, you know? And that's cool, but then, I thought, okay, what people are going to do is -- I'm going to go into interviews and they're going to go, "oh, Dedee's doing her in 'Fabulous Baker Boys.'" I'm like, "no, no, no, no, she's doing me. That was, you know -- she's doing me first." I'm that way, naturally. And she just like did that. But her movies are seen by far more people than mine. Rita: You guys seem like such different people. I've interviewed her before. She's such a sweetheart. But she's very shy. Dedee: Very shy, yeah, you've got to pull it out of her. Rita: Yeah, yeah. Dedee: She's, like, "yes." Rita: Oh, you do have a fabulous sister. But she didn't open all the doors for you. I mean, you've paved your own way. Dedee: Yeah, I mean, my sister is amazing. I'm really, really lucky. Everyone who always interviews me, they always want to know the dirt on Michelle, like, "come on, you know, don't you hate her?" Rita: Right. Dedee: And I'm like, "no, it's my sister." And you think Michelle is beautiful, I have another one. Laurie is even more beautiful than -- I got it from both sides -- younger one, older one. 
Rita: You aren't too shabby, yourself.Dedee: Thank you, just don't -- thank you, you guys can all come to the show. All of you are welcome as my guests. Rita: Absolutely. But just so you get the credit, because you did pay your dues over the years. Dedee: I've always auditioned for everything I've gotten. Nothing's been handed to me really. And I think that -- that builds character. Rita: Right. Dedee: You know, not that if someone wanted to hand me something, that wouldn't be lovely, too. Rita: You had to do some tough jobs in the meantime? Dedee: Yeah, see, okay, I worked in a Disneyland parade as a monkey. I almost died. The happiest place in the world, I almost died. Can you imagine dying in a monkey suit? Rita: No, so what happened there? Dedee: I was dancing. I was a monkey. And -- I don't know if you've ever seen the parade. It was the 25th anniversary parade. And I was a monkey in this -- it was a full costume. They zipped you into it. And you had big, like, things. So you couldn't -- once you were in, that was it. And there was only three ventilations in the whole outfit. It was two here and one here, and it was a little vent. And it was this thick, like a carpet, the whole outfit. And it was in the dead of summer. It was 120 degrees. And inside the suit, it was like 200. Rita: Oh yeah. Dedee: So all you wore was, like -- Rita: I've done that myself. I was papa Smurf. Dedee: So you know. When you're in there, you're like, you know, "oh, no air." So I had the little vent here, just so you can see, so when I'm dancing on the float, I don't fall off, which can cost you your job. You have to be very serious at Disneyland about that stuff. If you fall off that float, you do that twice, you're out. Rita: Not all fun and games there. Dedee: Oh, no, they have a parade captain. They watch you. If you mess around, you get fired. I hate to tell you that. It's a very strict job. And so, I was in the monkey suit. And I -- you have to tie a bandanna around your head so that the sweat doesn't go into your eyes and burn your eyes. You can't see. Again, you'll fall off the float, and then, you'll get fired. So this -- I was running late, and I did the bandanna kind of loosely. So I'm up there dancing, and I'm doing my monkey thing. And all of a sudden, I feel it coming down. I'm like kind of hitting my head and grabbing the snout. And I'm trying to push it up. And meanwhile, I feel it on my eyebrows. I'm like, "oh, man, this is not a good sign." And I'm doing my little monkey thing. And I'm like "uh-oh." And all of a sudden, I start to see red. And I'm like -- now I'm grabbing the snout and I'm pushing it, and I'm trying to shove it up. [ Laughter ] now this monkey looks like she's trying to give herself a lobotomy or something. And I'm looking at the parade captains to make sure that they're not seeing me break character. I'm like, "oh, no." 'Cause if I can't see, I'm in big trouble. So I'm hopping from float to float. It was a moving float. And the more I danced, the more I sweat. The more I sweat, the heavier the bandanna got. And all of a sudden, now it's like over my eyes. And I'm like, "okay." Now I'm just a little bit -- I can't see. I thought, "okay, just hold onto the bar and just swing." So I started swinging, then it started going over my nose. I thought, "okay, now I'm just going to die. I'm not going to fall off the float and get fired, I'm gonna die." So then, it goes over my mouth. Now I'm swinging around with the other monkeys trying to hit them. I'm hitting the other monkeys. And finally, another monkey looks over. And she's like, "what are you over there." And I'm like -- and I finally grab her, and I show her my face. All she saw was red bandanna over the three -- "quick, quick, get Dedee out of the monkey suit." Rita: Oh, my, but you didn't get fired, right? Dedee: I didn't get fired. They didn't know what the heck was happening. It was this spaz monkey. Rita: Oh, my god. Dedee: Oh, god. Rita: We'll have a lot more great stories with Dedee Pfeiffer when "Later" returns. |
| Part 3 | Rita: Hey, welcome back to "Later," I'm here with Dedee Pfeiffer. This is a lot of fun. You also -- you love animals? Dedee: Yeah. Rita: Right? Dedee: Yes. Rita: And you have a great dog on your new sitcom. Dedee: Yes, yes. Rita: You guys probably know it. Jill, which is the little dog that was in "As Good As It Gets." Dedee: Jill is getting more press than anyone I know right now, actually. Jill's a star. Rita: And we actually have Jill here, tonight, right? Dedee: Yes, would you like to meet Jill? Rita: Yes. Dedee: Jill, come here, sweetie. Come here, come here, Jill. Rita: Are you okay? Dedee: Come here, sweetie. Rita: Come here, you okay? Go to Dedee, you know Dedee better. Dedee: Come here, sweetie. Rita: Oh, how sweet. Dedee: This is Jill. Rita: Now how fun is it to -- Dedee: She's the favorite -- most favorite cast member we have, this one right here. Oh, you're -- oh, nibble my dress? Oh, no, no, no, no, hello. Rita: Is it hard working with -- Dedee: This group might not appreciate that. Rita: Is it hard working with animals? Dedee: No, I actually find it far more easy to work with animals than people. I'm probably the only one that would probably ever say that. I find them extremely easy to communicate with, 'cause they're very simple. You just -- if you just kind of sit back and let them tell you who they are and how they like it -- she's looking for some food. I don't have any. Rita: And it's cute what they're doing with her on the her show? Dedee: Yes, her name is Thorche-che on the show -- Thorche-che. Rita: Now explain that, Dedee. Dedee: Thorche-che -- the owner actually on the show of this dog is the commitment-phobiac. He wants to name her Thor. And she wants to name him Che-che. So they can't make, you know, a decision on anything -- Thorche-che. Rita: Thorche-che. Dedee: And this is who she is. Rita: Hi, Jill. Does Jill do any tricks? Dedee: Yes, actually, she does. You want to do a trick? Rita: You want to do a trick? Dedee: You want to do a trick, sweetie? Okay, let's get down. Rita: Can you sit? Dedee: Okay, Jill? Jill? Come here, okay, sit. Rita: Good girl. Dedee: Good girl, speak. Okay, good girl. Okay, come here, can you do this? I don't know what this is called. Do this. Do this. Do this. oh, you just want to talk, don't you? Rita: Oh, great, all right, all that without any bacon. Okay, we'll be back with more Dedee and Jill when "Later" returns. |
| Part 4 | Rita: Hey, welcome back to "Later," we're here with Dedee Pfeiffer. And Dedee also has the talent of sculpting. You guys, check this out. That's very cool. Dedee: You like it? Rita: How long does this take? Dedee: Well, this one took about maybe, like, two months-ish. Well, it would have taken longer, but I didn't finish. Rita: Right, she's unfinished. Dedee: So she's unfinished. Rita: That's great. Dedee: Yeah, she's fun. I think my other one's more fun. Rita: Now are you self-taught? Dedee: Oh, actually, I took a class. Here, actually, that's a good view. I like her back. Rita: Oh, that's beautiful. It's really good. Dedee: She's pretty like that. Rita: You took a class? Dedee: I took a class, and I didn't even know, actually. My sister Michelle actually bought as a birthday present these sculpting classes. And I go in thinking I'm gonna do coffee cups and plates, and there's like a naked man, this man. Rita: That is impressive right there. Dedee: This naked man -- hello -- was standing there naked in the class. I said, "oh, excuse me, I'm in the wrong class." And they said, "no, you're here to sculpt." I'm like, "yeah, but plates and coffee cups and ashtrays." And they said, "are you Dedee Pfeiffer?" I'm like, "yeah." "This is the class." I'm like, "I'm gonna kill her." She got me into this class with a naked man. I'm gonna kill her. Rita: Good for her. Dedee: It was fun. I love her. I owe her big time. I was, like, "oh!" At first, I was really embarrassed. And then, I got over it real quick. I'm like, "oh, yeah, yeah, oh, yeah." Rita: Well, you're a very talented girl. It's a pleasure having you here, and lots of luck with the sitcom. Dedee: Thank you. Rita: You guys watch "For Your Love" on NBC. Okay, well, that's our show, tonight. I'm Rita Sever, and I'll catch you guys "Later." |
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