’80s screen siren Melody Anderson is unrecognizable in ultra-rare outing

’80s star Melody Anderson looked so different from her days on the big screen as she strolled through the streets of Los Angeles, running errands and buying groceries. The 70-year-old, best known for her performance as Dale Arden in Flash Gordon, was dressed casually in a light blue knitted shirt with short sleeves and gray leggings, paired with gray ballet flats. 

She wore her gray hair back in a loose bun and opted for a no-makeup look, with a broad grin on her face. The sci-fi actress got her start onscreen in the late ’70s with roles in Logan’s Run and Battlestar Galactica, before landing her spot in 1980’s Flash Gordon.

After finding fame following her performance in the space opera as a travel agent-turned-space traveler, Melody went on to star in Policewoman Centerfold in 1983, 1986’s Firewalker with Chuck Norris, Speed Zone in 1989 with John Candy and 1992’s Landslide with Anthony Edwards. 

One of the Canadian-born actress’s final onscreen roles was in 1993’s Marilyn & Bobby: Her Final Affair, in which she played the blonde beauty. She left acting shortly thereafter to study a Master’s degree in social work at NYU, which she completed in 1997. 

Melody shared with Starburst Magazine that her background in acting had informed her therapy work, before adding that she would consider returning to the screen in the future. 

“When you’re an actress, you reach the subtext. You play all these different roles and as a therapist, which I am now…I have to take different kinds of presentations for each client,” she explained.

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“Everyone responds differently. A soft glove or a hard hand in a soft glove, so in a way with the adaptability there’s really not that much difference from acting.” 

“I love acting, but the reality of working steadily enough and sustaining a regular income…Every time I’d finish a job, I’d have to be thinking of the next one,” she continued. 

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“I am actually making some forays into acting again because I really miss it, so parts here and there that wouldn’t interfere very much with the work I’m doing now, so I’m hoping to get back on the screen very soon.” 

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Melody told the publication that she felt more respected as a therapist than an actress, especially as she was showing signs of aging. 

“As I’m already getting older and grayer, I get more respect as a therapist than I get as an actress who’s aging,’ she said. “One of the reasons I chose this was that I wanted a career that would take me to my 60s and 70s if I needed to work. I’ve always been a learner, and this is a career that can keep feeding me intellectually, which is very important for my physical and mental health.”