called his wife.

“I’m going to become an actor,” he
said. “That’s great,” she answered.

His wife agreed to move up from part-
time to full-time in her education career
so the couple could have health insur-
ance. And Malissa started auditioning.

He got small roles in network TV shows
and commercials, as well as movies shot
in Philadelphia.

But in 2000, he met fellow Philadelphia
resident William Sommerfield, then the
foremost Washington impersonator at
Mount Vernon. Sommerfield got Malissa
to fill in for him when he couldn’t make
an event.

Initially, though, it was just “another
acting job,” Malissa said.

Until he fell in love with both the role
and its historical weight.

Dean Malissa, as George Washington, speaks to a crowd.
Courtesy of Dean Malissa
The 70-year-old Sommerfield was
looking for his own replacement. But
emeritus. The leading man says he will continue to portray
before he started training Malissa, he gave him a warning.

Washington “selectively.”
“‘Washington will take over your life, if you’re going to do it
“I’m thinking of the way Washington signed his letters:
properly,’” Malissa recalled his mentor saying.

‘I remain your humble and obedient servant,’” he concluded. l
After a four-year transition, Malissa filled Sommerfield’s big
boots. Now, Shippey is filling Malissa’s.

jsaffren@jewishexponent.com; 215-832-0740
Mount Vernon has already named Malissa as Washington
12 DECEMBER 16, 2021
THE GOOD LIFE
JEWISHEXPONENT.COM