Melody Anderson

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Anderson (under the bird) with Simon MacCorkindale in a promotional photo from Manimal.

Anderson portraying Dale Arden in Flash Gordon.

Melody Anderson (born December 3, 1955) is a Canadian–American social worker and public speaker specializing in the impact of addiction on families. She is more widely known as an actress, with her most high-profile role being Dale Arden in the 1980 adaptation of Flash Gordon.

[edit] Career as actress

Her first national exposure came as a "sweathog" in an episode of Welcome Back, Kotter in 1977. She made numerous guest appearances on television in the 1980s, in series such as Archie Bunker's Place, Dallas, T.J. Hooker, and The Fall Guy. She had recurring roles on St. Elsewhere (even appearing in an episode called "Addiction") and Jake and the Fatman. She was a cast member of Manimal and in the 1990s, All My Children.

In 1983, Anderson also played the title role in a forgettable made-for-TV film called Policewoman Centerfold, in which her character, a divorced police officer, is fired after posing nude for a men's magazine (based on the true story of Springfield, Ohio cop Barbara Schantz, who was fired from her job after posing nude in Playboy in the early 80s).

Anderson's most recent appearance in television was a 1995 guest appearance in the short-lived CBS revival of Burke's Law.

[edit] Career as social worker

Anderson received a Master of Social Work degree.

In 1997, she was the Coordinator of Family Services at Hazelden New York, treating family and friends of substance abusers. More recently, a 2006 biography (from the Dragon Con website) notes she is in private practice in New York City, working on a book for parents with kids who use drugs and alcohol.