part 3

Deveda Lipkins
EDS 152
Professor Vicars
Part C
My blog project is on a famous deaf actress named Marlee Beth Matlin. I chose Marlee because I think she is a great actress and performs very well. She had played in this one movie on lifetime and she was a deaf killer and since then I have been admiring ever since. She seems to beat the odds by taking on “hard” roles. Marlee Matlin television roles increased her public awareness.
Marlee Beth Matlin was born on August 24, 1965 in Chicago. Marlee was not deaf at birth. Marlee went deaf due to Rosela Infantum which is basically a form of German Measles when she was eight-teen months. She lost all hearing in her right ear, and 80% of hearing in her left ear. Measles, also known as rubeola, is a viral infection of your respiratory system. Measles and German Measles (known as rubella) are different diseases caused by different viruses. Although mainly a disease of children, measles can affect all age groups.
Marlee parents raised her like any other child, they did not treat her different because of her handicap. Marlee had her first stage debut at the age of seven, she played “Dorothy” in “The Wizard of Oz”. Marlee had hard times obtaining the roles that she wanted so she created her own projects. She has her own production company called “Solo One”. Marlee’s first film was “Children of a Lesser God”, which won her an academy award.
From an interview that I had read from Marlee I found out some things that I did not know before. Marlee said that in an interview that she has had the same interpreter for 15 years and he is man. When ask why did she choose a male interpreter she replied that, that is how it always is. Man-Woman, Woman-Man contrast because people associate the voice with the person who’s speaking and this way it’s easier to distinguish that they are only acting as transmitters.
I thought that was very informative because I never knew that. That was my first time ever hearing that. Although Marlee is a famous actress she has many organizations that she is a part of. Marlee also devotes her time to the American Red Cross as well as those charities which benefit children such as The Children Affected by AIDS Foundation. As a member of The American Red Cross National Celebrity Cabinet, she helps the organization highlight important initiatives and promotes awareness of a variety of Red Cross lines of service.
On February 4, 2007, Matlin performed the Star Spangled Banner in American Sign Language at Super Bowl XLI in Miami, Florida. She again starred in Baby Einstein in March 2007 with "My First Signs," which introduces sign language using common words such as "mommy" and "milk". This is also some new information that I am just now hearing about. It seems that American Sign Language is becoming more and more popular to the hearing world. It is a valuable source to for everyone to have. From the research I found out a few new things about the deaf culture in general.



References
Marlee Matlin - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
En.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marlee_Matlin


www.german measles.com


www.marlee matlin.com