Happy Birthday Bob Hiltermann!

Deaf since the age of 4, Bob Hiltermann was born on this day (August 1, 1952) in Germany, the tenth of eleven children born. A bout with meningitis left him deaf but he wasn't diagnosed until the age of ten. Hiltermann learned ASL while attending Gallaudet University in Washington, DC and later formed MuSign (a Signing/Mime company). He acted with Marlee Matlin in Children of a Lesser God, was featured in See What I'm Saying and The Hammer, he created ASL videos called Shut Up and Sign and is drummer for Beethoven's Nightmare.

The Shape of Water

A new movie hits theaters in December in which ASL plays a major role. The Shape of Water tells the story of a lonely woman who works in a high-security government laboratory. There, she discovers a secret classified experiment.

Deaf Comedian in Hit Film

image from Sony

Deaf comedian CJ Jones has a part in the hit movie Baby Driver. He plays Joseph, the foster father to the main character. Yahoo Movies says, "In a film full of such bold-face names as Kevin Spacey, Jamie Foxx, and Jon Hamm, it’s the authentic, nuanced work of Jones and the touching relationship between Baby and Joseph that drive so many of the movie’s feels." Read more about Jones' work here


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meet Millicent Simmonds

image from Wonderstruck trailer

Millicent Simmonds is 14 years old and like most teenagers her age-except she's deaf and starring in a major motion picture called Wonderstruck.  The Associated Press reports the director of the film told reporters at the Cannes Film Festival, "It was our incredible good fortune to find this girl, Millie, who from the very beginning — the very first time I saw her tape — I just shivered. There was something about the integrity of her as a person that showed through that was true and ultimately you see it on the screen. Our good fortune in finding Millie can't be overstated." Read the full story about Millicent Simmonds here
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Wonderstruck

Julianne Moore says it was an "incredible privilege” to have a deaf role in the film Wonderstruck. But "the Oscar-winner was met with criticism when she took the role in the film," reports Vanity Fair. Many in the deaf community question having a hearing actress take the role of a deaf adult when there are many capable deaf actors available. However, other roles in the film did go to deaf actors. Wonderstruckis about "the journeys of two lonely deaf children living 50 years apart." Read the full story here.