Sandy Mielke

My performing career was almost always a secondary vocational function. In plain English, I always had more than one job or source of income. When I was 14 years old, my parents decided that I needed to get a part-time job - not because the family was hard-up for money, but because they thought it was good for building character. That situation carried on through high school and college and beyond. (I sold mutual funds to other GIs when I was in the Army.) I have a degree in Communications and worked as a filmmaker for some time, making mostly what are called "industrials". From time-to-time, necessity would require me to get in front of the camera, and I got hooked. I worked on commercials, movies, and TV shows. I did some stand-up and eventually discovered "improv", which became an important part of my life. I've worked in both New York and LA, but I really didn't like living in either place. I've lived and worked in Miami most of my adult life, doing just enough union work to qualify for benefits. In the mid-80s, I started my own improv group. It was fairly successful and became my main source of income. Hurricane Andrew put us out of business, and I was forced to get a "real" job. Sadly, the only work that I could find wouldn't allow me the flexibility to maintain my "performing" career. My last professional gig was in 1993. I retired in Dec '04 as the Safety Director for a governmental agency in Miami, Fl, where I was responsible for life safety, injury prevention, and physical security for more than a thousand employees located at 63 sites. Prior to my safety role, I served the agency as an Adult Educator and was part of its QI team for the three years leading up to its winning the Governor's Sterling Award. I hold a degree from the University of Miami (where I served on the faculty for four years) and am certified to deliver trainings in OSHA Safety, Domestic Violence Prevention, Emergency Preparedness, Customer Service, and Quality Improvement & Control. (Not to mention, I collect a small Screen Actors Guild pension, and, yes, that was me in Porky's Revenge.) No, I don't use Twitter, Facebook, or Smart Phone Apps, but I am the "webguy" for several humor websites. I love cuddling with kitty cats and grandchildren, and I spend my spare time prospecting for rough rocks, turning those rough rocks into hand-crafted pieces of jewelry, and reviewing security with my two consultants, Mr. Smith and Mr. Wesson. I share a modest sub-tropical hideaway in Miami with 3 cats, 2 pesky raccoons (temporarily), and a wonderful woman named Dianne who puts up with this nonsense.