Snippings from the Net 2013

The Rebirth of Dedee Pfeiffer

Moxie, determination, and humility outfitted with a spiritual compass are the qualities of Dedee Pfeiffer that have been her greatest strengths and the catalysts to her personal evolution. She is now forty nine years old, with the poise of a woman who has been polished by the realities of life and tragedies she has endured. Talking with Dedee is an event filled with excitement and laughter, flanked with deep insights free of pretense. We opened our conversation with her beginnings.

"I started working as a young girl really early because my father had a really strong work ethic. We lived in a very modest environment. If we wanted something we had to earn it. When I was eight or nine years old, I started doing little jobs for neighbors to make money so that I could go to Kmart and buy something I wanted. By the time I was eighteen years old I had experience in a lot of different jobs. I also found that I was not emotionally or spiritually stimulated."

Dedee weighed the long-term effect of her work choices by envisioning the future that her path would take. "If I were working as a box girl in the grocery store, I would ask myself if I wanted to be the manager. No. Parade Captain of Disney Land? No. Other than the all-mighty buck, what am I working toward?" The meaningful search to find purpose on her journey led to continued self-exploration. Dedee immersed herself with full commitment into every job she had including being the driver for a radiator delivery company, yet she craved something more. "At the time, my sister was working. She had not done Scarface yet; she was just about to be cast. I said to her "Hey what about this acting thing? Maybe I should try that." She said "You can"t just say, hey baby, I"ll try to be an actor. Get into a really good class, don"t think about headshots or any of that, and study. See if this is something you will be interested in." So I packed up my little Volkswagen and moved from Orange County to Los Angeles. I enrolled in one of the most expensive acting classes, rented Michelle"s couch, got an apartment, and worked under the table as a cocktail waitress at a female oil and mud wrestling club, and put myself through this acting class."

Full throttle, Dedee entered into the next chapter of her life by meeting challenges of performance anxiety eye to eye. She continually applied herself and determined not to fail, in spite of her lack of experience. "I was terrible. I would stutter, turn red, and couldn"t memorize my lines. It was so painful but I couldn"t quit; I had to figure out how to do this. It took me over a year to learn to focus and get over all the anxiety. Then, I started to get it."

Dedee has over thirty credits to her name including the cult classic Vamp, Michael Douglas" PTSD rampage film Falling Down, and the quirky love comedy Tune in Tomorrow starring Keanu Reeves and Barbara Hershey. She starred as Eldest daughter Rachel, on the hit sitcom Cybill, Sherri Winston on the Warner Bros. sitcom For Your Love, and has notable guest appearances on Seinfeld and CSI NY. "I never thought I was really good. I was taught that if you knew all the answers as an actor, you"re dead. Your life will change and your acting has to grow with that."

Dedee had a strong desire to carve her own niche in Hollywood through character acting, out of the box roles that challenged her creativity, all the while taking an unexpected approach to her characters. The uniqueness that she brought to the screen fed her soul. Aloof to the nature of celebrity, Dedee was focused on always doing the best with her talents within. "It didn"t matter if they sent a limo for me or how much money they gave me for the role. It was about my focus on the work."

Over the course of her career as an actress, Dedee began to recognize how her craft helped her in cathartic ways. "Because I have so many emotions and feelings, like every person, I use my acting as therapy to put on a suit of emotion, go in, and perform. My work stems from all the tragedies I"ve experienced. Even with funny performances, I am actually pulling from painful experiences."

As Dedee began to realize the power of her experiences through acting, she recognized a need to be of service to those that did not have the advantages of catharsis on camera. Inspired by her two sons, Dedee took to college for the first time in her life determined to dedee_actors2 (1)become a therapist to help children exposed to trauma. Adaptably, she finds her catharsis through her writings, and feeds on the challenge of tenaciously forging through dyslexia. She lives to be an example to her children that it is never too late to create a new legacy.

"Three years ago, I started college. After thirty years of being in the industry, there were a lot of positive things that happened to me and unfortunately some negative things. One of those things for me was the fact that the older I got as a woman, the fewer roles were available. As a woman grows older, opportunities decrease incredibly. Aging is very unforgiving. As a woman ages in front of the camera, she is expected to have a body of an eighteen year old and great skin into her forties. I am raising two boys on my own, and I didn"t want to give the message that work got scarce the older I became. To not have work to support my boys and also have the message portrayed that men are allowed to be gray, are hot with wrinkles, and are still sexy with age yet women are not, is not the right message. Age is a number that keeps track of time and has no relevance on who you are. I want my boys to know this."

Through her studies, Dedee once again began the deeply introspective process of revisiting her priorities and envisioning the future path of such. She realized that she was better off taking a permanent pause from regularly acting, while remaining open to more choice roles. She has not only found her college experience rewarding personally, but also a meaningful lesson for her two sons.

"I never use the phrase "giving up" but if something is not working for you after a really strong attempt, no matter what age or gender you are, you can change your life. Acting is still my passion, but my priority is getting an education so I can become a specialist to help children in crisis understand what is going on in the world. If I can utilize my thirty years of knowledge in acting, coupled with the education to help children, I will be a therapist that cares and is different from the rest. That will be an awesome rebirth for me at almost fifty years old and will always fill my soul."

Anjana network -- 20130201 -- Anjana

The Giving Closet

Name: Dedee Pfeiffer

What is your job? Mother of two boys, student & former actor/producer in Hollywood for over 30 years

What social causes are most important to you? A plethora of causes are so near & dear to my heart. They range from animal cruelty, AIDS Awareness, cancer research, feeding the homeless, to name a few.

What charities do you support and how? My newest passion is bringing awareness to The Giving Closet. My good friend and wardrobe stylist Sam Russell created a traveling mission to provide "PR Swag" to women in need. I help him in finding celebrity support and currently connected him to a production company to help turn this into a reality show. It's so refreshing to see reality shows like Secret Millionaire and Extreme Home Make-over that actually help real people.

Why do you have a passion for this one in particular? Is there a personal tie? In all my days of red carpet events and gifting suites Sam brilliantly connected the dots in the realization that women in need can truly benefit from all this free stuff that is already set-aside for celebrities, singers and the media. Hearing the stories of these women that he is finding through non-profits and social workers is reason enough to want to be on board.

How can readers be involved? Anyone can donate gently worn clothes to The Giving Closet and/or any non-profit that directly gives back to the public. We over consume in the United States. We have more than enough in our homes and closets. If you can give, you should.

How would you define social responsibility? We need so very little to be happy. I raise my young boys to have just enough and do not always let them get what they want. Balancing out the social scales by merely giving back is at the core of what Sam is doing; he is a modern-day Robin Hood. I coined that phrase for him! Don't forget that, as the world will soon here more of him.

My tattoos were done by Kirk Alley.

Lastly, I would like to add that I was the first playmate to be featured on the cover and pages of Playboy with tattoos. I am the "Wild Pfeiffer."

inkedforacause.com-- 20130212 -- inkedforacause