Marlee Matlin to kick off speaker series




Marlee Matlin

Marlee Matlin

Academyaward winning actress Marlee Matlin will kick off a new Celebrity Speaker Series at Calabasas High on Tues., Sept. 22.

The series will raise money for the school’s theater program, said Jill Froch, president of the school’s theater boosters.

Matlin will deliver an inspirational talk to guests, one that will be relevant to “everyone,” Froch said.

Froch said she has heard Matlin speak before and was moved by her story and her determination to pursue an acting career despite the challenge of being deaf since she was 18 months old.

“When she speaks, it’s quite pricey, and (Marlee) is doing it for nothing to help the school . . . which I think is beautiful,” Froch said.

Matlin’s “follow your dream” talk will be well worth the $20 ticket price, Froch said. Besides acting, Matlin has written several books, which she will autograph after the event, including her autobiography, “I’ll Scream Later,” and a children’s book, “Nobody’s Perfect.”

Matlin won an Academy Award for best actress in her film debut, “Children of a Lesser God,” in 1986. Since then she has been cast in many film and television roles, including the TV series “Reasonable Doubts,” where she played the role of an assistant district attorney. Matlin was nominated for an Emmy for her 1994 performance in the series “Picket Fences,” and most recently she competed in ABC’s “Dancing with the Stars.”

“She’s completely deaf and could not hear the music,” Froch said. “She counted everything out by the vibrations. It’s pretty incredible.”

Matlin is a spokesperson for the National Captioning Institute and helped pass a law in 1990 that requires all TV sets 13 inches or larger to be manufactured with the technology to provide closed captioning on the screens for deaf viewers.

Candi Milo, another theater booster parent, has been credited with coming up with the celebrity speaker series idea.

“We wanted to be mindful of the global economic situation and offer value for people’s hardearned dollars,” Milo said. “I thought maybe some of the people I know would be interested in sharing their struggles, thoughts, successes, insights with our kids and their families.” Milo works in the television industry doing voiceovers.

“I find that people who work hard and steadily in the arts generally get there the hard way or in a unique way, and I wanted to bring their story to everyone,” Milo continued. She said the success stories will show students that there is no such thing as an “overnight success” in any business.

“‘I believe,’ as Rue McClanahan said in her Emmy (acceptance) speech, that ‘every kick in the rear is a boost up,’” Milo said.

Froch wouldn’t reveal the other speakers lined up for the series but said more information will be available at Matlin’s talk.

“People are going to walk away wowed,” Froch said about Matlin’s presentation.

Matlin will speak at the school’s theater from 7 to 9 p.m. Tickets are $20. For more information, call Froch at (818) 620-3678.

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