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



FROM
‘TREE OF SORROW’
TO FAMILY TREES:
PASSING DOWN
HOLOCAUST MEMORIES
R ‘Tree of Sorrow’ was published in July and tells the story of
Richard Bank growing up as the grandson of Holocuast survivors.

SASHA ROGELBERG | JE STAFF
ichard Bank’s pocket watch, given to him by his grandfa-
ther and Shoah survivor Ludwig Frank, hasn’t kept time for
decades, save for two occasions.

Th e fi rst was shortly aft er Bank’s 30th birthday, when his wife
Francine gift ed him a stand for the watch: a spindly silver tree
with no leaves, but a tear beginning to drip from the top branch.

“Ludwig Frank” is engraved on the stand, winding around the
tree’s roots and trunk, and the stand was dubbed the ‘Tree of
Sorrow.’ While sitting in his study, Bank, 74, touched the watch resting
on the tree, and the second hand immediately began spinning,
To live here is to live in harmony.

The Mansion at Rosemont is a boutique senior living community in the heart
of the Main Line, where residents cherish all of the small things that add up
to a fervent embrace of life after 62.

If you appreciate fine architecture, good company, delicious food, security and
the joy of looking forward in life, please call 610-632-7204 or see us
online at TheMansionAtRosemont.org
GET TO KNOW THE
CHESWICK SERIES.

These newly renovated,
spacious apartment homes
are now available to tour.

Please call 610-632-7204
to schedule a visit.

INDEPENDENT LIVING/PERSONAL CARE
JEWISHEXPONENT.COM THE GOOD LIFE
DECEMBER 16, 2021
13