Ageless Passions by Karen Putz

Tag: marlee matlin

  • Turning a Bold Vision Into Reality

    During a lunch break at the International Center for Deafness and the Arts, I was talking to one of the teen cast members and asking her about her dreams.  “I want to be like Marlee Matlin,” she said. “I love her on the show, Switched at Birth.”

    The teen went back on to the stage to rehearse for Nunsense.  As I was sitting in the lounge, my eyes caught an essay written by a very young Marlee Matlin.  It was posted on the wall next to several pictures of Marlee during her time at ICODA.  Marlee began her acting career as Dorothy from the Wizard of Oz.  Her original costume was now enshrined on the wall.

    “If I Was A Movie Star,” Marlee titled her essay.  Here is the rest:

    If I was a movie star, I would ride in a limousine.

    When I go out of the limousine, I would give everyone my best autograph and I would let people take my picture! OOhh, when I am on the stage, I would give everyone my best smile! 🙂

    I would have a huge house which would have mirrors all over.  I would love when people would write me letters.  I would love to send them back but it’s hard to write to all the people.

    I would love to meet all movie stars!  They are so nice!!

    I want to make movies all my life.

    Here’s my autograph:

    Signed: Marlee Matlin

    I sat and marveled at the letter. Young Marlee Matlin had manifested every single thing written in that essay.  Every. Single. Thing.  And more.  Her bold vision had morphed into reality.  Nine years before her Oscar moment, Henry Winkler told her to follow her heart and not let any barriers stop her from achieving her dreams.

    She was the youngest person to ever win the Academy Award at age 21.  Many people wrote her off as a one-time-wonder.  But Marlee held fast to the dreams that she envisioned.  And today, she has four Emmys sitting on a shelf in her beautiful home (I’m sure there are mirrors on the walls) and she’s emerged from a limousine over and over.

    Perhaps anyone reading Marlee’s essay back then might have thought it was an impossible goal.  An impossible dream.  Randy Gage, in his post, Goals That Work, says:

    So if you have a bold vision, the bold goal will seem believable to you.  If you don’t, it won’t.  It’s just that simple.  So as to whether you achieve a goal you don’t really believe – I don’t think so.  Once in a while circumstances will conspire to drag you over the finish line.  But almost all the time, you need a strong belief in a goal to have a real chance of achieving it.

     

    What about you? Do you have a bold vision you want to turn into reality?

  • Z You at the Deaf Seniors of America Conference

    I’m here in Las Vegas hanging with 1,800 Deaf senior citizens.  And what a cool group they are to hang out with!  I can’t help myself– I find that I get into conversations with them and want to hear their stories of growing up and where they worked at.  One guy worked at Coke for 38 years…another is a tax attorney… a couple of them worked their way up at the post office to management level and all sorts of other jobs.  At the Z booth, while they try out the Z-340 videophone, some of them have been sharing stories of how they had no phones and had to send letters to their friends to arrange a visit.

    Today, we revealed our very own “Dr. Z,” the infamous Phil Bravin who is the original Deaf tech geek.  He can remember playing around with code many years back and he recently put together a neat website for everything Z:

    Doctor Z’s website

    Dr. Z
    Dr. Z
    Marlee Matlin arrived at noon to sign her books for over two hours.  She took a moment to pose with Laurel and Hardy (yes, they work for the Z team too!):
    Marlee Matlin with Laurel and Hardy
    Marlee Matlin with Laurel and Hardy
    U. S. Chung, the Z Project Manager drew a crowd of his own this afternoon:
    USC shows the Z-340 to Seniors
    USC shows the Z-340 to Seniors
    We’ll be at the Z booth on Thursday from 8 a.m. to noon.  If you’re at the DSA conference, stop by and say hi!

  • Marlee Matlin Signs Her Book, “I’ll Scream Later”

    What a weekend!

    We headed out to the Oak Brook Borders on Friday night to meet Marlee Matlin at her book signing.  Marlee crafted her autobiography “I’ll Scream Later” as a tell-all book and judging from the headlines of the articles swimming around, her book has revealed some surprising secrets:

    Marlee Matlin Book:  William Hurt Abused Me

    Marlee Matlin Reveals Abusive Relationship

    Babysitter’s Abuse Lead to a Life of Drugs, Violence

    There was quite a crowd of people that night.  Marlee began the evening by reading an excerpt from her book with Jack Jason voicing.  Each of us had received wristbands when we arrived and we went up in groups of 50.  Marlee looked really beautiful and was extremely gracious to everyone.  I was amazed at her stamina, she signed book after book without faltering and considering that this was her fourth book signing in a week, it was amazing to see how she kept it all up until the very last book was signed.

    I brought my Z-340 videophone with me and connected with Tim Rarus (Deaf President Now leader/ VP of Sales) and Sean Belanger (CSDVRS CEO) while I was waiting in line and they had a quick opportunity to chat with Marlee as well.  It was so neat to see the technology at work– who could have envisioned this a few years ago? 

    (Photo courtesy of Dino Lomanto)

    Yes, those are my younger two kids with me–David was too busy chatting with his friends to get in line.  On the way home, I started reading the book and didn’t put it down until one in the morning.  Later, I found out that many of my friends did the same thing after they left the bookstore– one gal stayed up through most of the night until she finished it. 

    I tried to figure out what was so compelling about this book, this peek inside of the life of undoubtly the most famous actress who happens to be deaf–what kept me turning page after page of this book?  I came away with a sense of awe, because despite the dark chapters and the very rough parts to read through, Marlee has “chutzpah.” (Translation: bold guts!)  She has that fiesty spirit inside that allows one to accomplish dream after dream.  That’s what made this book and the story of her life stand out.

    My favorite line from the book is simply this: 

    My life is rich and I am blessed, and I am grateful.   That I am Deaf is just a footnote.  It is a part of who I am, but far from all of who I am.

    That Says It All