Legendary actor and Oscar winner Richard Dreyfuss has had a long and successful career in the movies and on the stage. He has appeared in many notable films including, ‘American Graffiti’, ‘Jaws’, ‘Mr. Holland’s Opus’ and of course, ‘Close Encounters of the Third Kind’. During the late 1970’s and early 1980’s, Dreyfuss was at the top of his game; a young and in-demand actor living the dream in Hollywood. And as most stories go, his success led to some darker times; in his case - a cocaine habit.

       Dreyfuss, now clean and sober, admits that his drug addiction was quite severe and that he is lucky to be alive today. At times his addiction was so bad that he actually has trouble remembering many days and events. In fact there are even movies roles that he completely has no recollection of having performed when he sees himself on the screen. He still has no memory of filming the movie Whose Life Is It Anyway? But one night in 1982 his addiction took a turn for the worse. Dreyfuss was driving home late one night while under the influence of cocaine and prescription drugs when he drove his Mercedes off the road and into a tree. The accident was serious and Dreyfuss woke up the next day in the hospital. Luckily his injuries were not life threatening, but the ordeal was certainly a wake-up call. However it wasn’t the accident or his injuries that made him realize how serious his problem was. It was a ghost that visited him in his hospital room.

       It was a miracle that Dreyfuss only hit a tree that night and didn’t wind up killing anyone. But for some reason, while he was recovering in the hospital, he would be visited nightly by a ghostly figure of a little girl in a white dress. At first he thought maybe he had killed someone during his accident but wasn’t told. But when he double checked with doctors they assured him that he was the only one involved in the accident. Still, night after night the little girl would appear in his room reminding him of how lucky he was. He wasn’t sure if the apparition was the image of a girl he might kill someday or if maybe it was a future daughter that he may never get to see if drugs got the better of him. Regardless of who it was trying to contact him, he received the message and vowed to stop his drug using ways.

       As a result of the accident Dreyfuss was arrested for possession of illegal drugs and driving recklessly and was ordered to stay at a drug rehabilitation clinic. However, officials hardly needed to force him to do so. He welcomed the opportunity to get professional help with his addictions and appease the spirit that was visiting him every night. With help from doctors and his own new found desire, he was able to kick his cocaine addiction and has remained drug free ever since. To this day, he credits the enlightening visits from the little girl for helping him realize that he couldn’t continue to live his life in this way. Not only is he drug free today, but he is still acting, and has a family including three children, the oldest being his only daughter, Emily, who was born one year after the accident.