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Jeffrey
was born the fourth child to Wally & Kate Weissman on October
2nd, 1958. Wally is a retired psychotherapist and counselor and
recently found his singing muse: he goes Karakoe-ing regularly.
Kate, now retired, worked as a counselor to the elderly, after a
career as a working mother and home maker.
Wally says: "Jeff was an unusual child...unusual
because he was very outgoing and adventurous, while at the same
time he had great compassion for others, which he has demonstrated
throughout his life. While in school, one of the actors in a play
fell ill, and Jeff accepted an invitation to take his place. That
did it -- Jeff was so "turned on" that he then knew what
path he would take for the rest of his life. He has never wavered
from this labor of love in a most difficult profession. Perhaps
at this point he sensed the importance that humor and drama play
in people's lives. Jeff has entertained and enriched the lives of
tens of thousands of people while traveling around the world, and
he has certainly enriched the lives of his family -- especially
his Mom & Dad! Being a part of his journey was a gift that perhaps
few parents experience."
At
a very early age Jeffrey got the performance bug -- noticing that
his babysitter was enraptured by the silver screen, he decided that
he wanted
to be an actor. Growing up in Los Angeles he would often meet actors
shooting on location, and would ask them questions about their craft.
In 1971 he started performing in earnest and was soon regularly
appearing in productions staged by his school, the Parks & Rec
Department, and various children's and community theaters. In the
mid-1970's he helped fledgling film directors in his high school
class make the films One For The Horizon, There's A Spy In
My Soup, A Walk to Inspiration Point, and Lost For
Words.
1977 saw Jeffrey beginning to get steady work
as an extra, appearing in such films as The Rose, Sergeant
Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band, FM, and others. However,
ultimately unfulfilled with his role as
a background player, he sought the advice of an industry professional,
who counseled him to seek professional training to bolster his resume.
Jeffrey set his sights on the American Conservatory
Theater (ACT) in San Francisco. At the age of 17, after his
first audition for ACT, director Allen Fletcher told him
that if he didn't make it into the conservatory, it wasn't due to
a lack of talent and that he should keep trying...which he did,
and finally in 1981 Jeffrey attended the rigorous Summer Training
Congress. With his mentor John Pasqualetti's guarantee
of a place in the Advanced Training MFA program, Jeffrey could fulfill
his quest. But the unexpected call of providence found Jeffrey at
an "open call" for a major motion picture where he was
singled out for a screen test by director
Martin Brest and casting director
Wally Nicita for
the lead role in The Genius -- later renamed War
Games. When Martin told Hollywood agent Paula Ceder
that Jeffrey was his favorite out of the many actors testing for
the role -- a roster which included Dana Carvey, Eric Stoltz,
Brian Backer, John Crawford, and Sean Penn! -- she pursued
Jeffrey to get him as a client. Jeffrey agreed to let Paula represent
him and moved back to Los Angeles, where he started landing bigger
parts in many Hollywood projects.
1986
proved a tumultuous year, with Jeffrey suffering within a two week
period the double loss of both his best friend Patrick and his older
brother Michael, who succumbed to pneumonia while weakened from
treatments for a brain tumor. On December 28th his wife Kim Ray
gave birth to a son, Nicholas Michael. Two years later his
second son Spencer Maxfield joined the family.
In
1995, Jeffrey reunited with the love of his life, Kimbell Jackson,
whom he had dated in 1972 and 73 when they worked in Children's
Theater and Junior High School in Santa Monica). Ten years later
they married, and have been a team supporting each others' endeavors
in work and play. Kim works in the wine
trade in Sonoma County.
Jeffrey has been a card-carrying member of the
Fool's Guild community
since 1984. He was elected King of Fools (King Ding-a-Ling) in 1997.
Jeffrey learned to trust his singing abilities when he became a
member of James Hendricks's (2005 Fool's Guild ex-rex "King
Salty") choir The Briton Ensemble, which performs madrigal
concerts.
Unsurprisingly,
Jeffrey is an avid Joker collector...yes, the harlequin featured
on the 53rd playing card. Here are some Joker collectors' site links:
Heidie's
Jokers
Jokersite
http://members.home.nl/huubwolters/links.htm
(an international joker site index)
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