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Linda Bove

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Linda Bove
Born (1945-11-30) November 30, 1945 (age 78)
Garfield, New Jersey, U.S.
Alma materGallaudet University (B.S. Library Science 1968)
OccupationActress
Years active1971–present
Spouse
​
(m. 1970)​

Linda Bove Waterstreet (born November 30, 1945) is an American actress who performed as (a fictionalized version of) herself in the PBS children's series Sesame Street from 1971 to 2002. Bove was the first deaf actress to be part of the program's recurring cast.

Early life and education

Bove was born deaf in Garfield, New Jersey, to two deaf parents. As a child, she attended St. Joseph School for the Deaf in The Bronx, New York and subsequently Marie Katzenbach School for the Deaf in Trenton, New Jersey, from which she graduated in 1963. She attended Gallaudet College, now Gallaudet University, studying library science. From there, she became interested in theatre. She participated in several theatrical productions at Gallaudet including The Threepenny Opera and poetic characterizations of the Spoon River Anthology. In her senior year, she studied in a Summer School Program at the National Theater for the Deaf.

In 1970, Bove married Ed Waterstreet, another deaf actor. They met while working together with the National Theatre for the Deaf.[1]

Bove is an active member of the deaf arts community.

Career

Television

Bove appeared in an episode of Happy Days as Allison, Arthur Fonzarelli's deaf love interest. She also performed on the soap opera Search for Tomorrow.

With her role on Search for Tomorrow, Bove became one of the first deaf actresses to become a regular on a soap opera series. She performed as a member of the National Theater of the Deaf,[2] founded in 1967.

Many cast members of Sesame Street and Search for Tomorrow, as well as the crew of TV technicians, have learned sign language from her.[3]

Sesame Street

Bove debuted on Sesame Street in 1971 as the deaf character of her namesake; she was the first deaf performer on the show.[4] On Sesame Street, she has introduced millions of children to sign language and issues surrounding the deaf community. Her character owns a very playful dog, Barkley.

Initially, a part-time cast member, by the mid-late 1970s Bove became a full-fledged regular cast member and her character was in a romantic relationship with Bob.

Her role on Sesame Street lasted from 1971[5] to 2002, making it the longest-running role for a deaf person in television history.[citation needed] The role increased public awareness of deaf culture and made it known that being deaf was not shameful.[6]

In addition to playing Linda, Bove appeared frequently in various sketches and silent film segments, where she was often paired up with Sonia Manzano (Maria). She often played a supporting role in Manzano's Charlie Chaplin silent film sketches (with occasional voiceovers), usually as a pretty woman, but did play a second Tramp if two were needed (e.g. the mirror sketch and the opening umbrellas sketch). Manzano and Bove worked in many other sketches together, both with and without dialogue, on-camera, or voiceover. In 2019, Bove returned to the series for its 50th-anniversary special, 17 years after her last appearance.[7]

Deaf Theatre

In the 1970s, Bove and some of her colleagues started the Little Theatre of the Deaf to attract more deaf people, as well as children. This company gained national and international attention. It dealt with communication among deaf people and the importance of teaching sign language to deaf children.

In 1979, Bove and the NTD traveled on a 30,000 mile world tour. Their biggest success was in Japan, where their show was attended by the royal family and they were invited to come on a television show.

In 1991 Bove and Waterstreet founded the Deaf West Theater Company in Los Angeles, the first theater company based on deaf actors and actresses. In that company, she starred in George Bernard Shaw's Saint Joan, based on Joan of Arc. The plays the company performs are translated into sign language and adjusted accordingly in order to make sense. The company uses speech along with signs in order to help bridge the gap between the deaf and hearing worlds.[8]

Bove was also involved in a number of other projects pertaining to the deaf community, several related to children. She had a brief role in The Land Before Time IV: when the characters, which were dinosaurs, would talk in the movie, she would have a pop-up box in the corner of the video and interpret what they were saying in sign language. She also made videos such as Sign Me a Story.

Bove has starred in several productions of the play Children of a Lesser God.[2]

Filmography

Year Film Role Notes
1971 Sesame Street Linda TV series, 1971–2002
1973 Search for Tomorrow Melissa Hayley Weldon TV Series, unknown episodes
1978 Christmas Eve on Sesame Street Linda TV Movie
1979 A Walking Tour of Sesame Street TV Movie
1980 Happy Days Allison TV Series, one episode "Allison"
1983 Don't Eat the Pictures Linda TV Movie
1985 Sesame Street Presents: Follow That Bird Movie
1986 Children of a Lesser God Marian Loesser Movie
1987 Sign me a Story Herself, Various Characters Educational video featuring signed versions of fairy tales
1989 Sesame Street: 20 and Still Counting Herself TV Special
1996 Somebody to Love Computer Voice only
2005 Friends to the Rescue a fictional version of herself Direct to video
2010 Weeds Child Protective Services Officer 3 Episodes
2019 Sesame Street's 50th Anniversary Celebration Linda TV special

Publications

In 1980, Sesame Street and the National Theatre of the Deaf collaborated on publishing a book, Sign Language Fun With Linda Bove[3]

Recognition

  • Bove received an award in 1974 from AMITA, an Italian-American women's organization, in recognition for her work on television.
  • 1991 - received an honorary degree from Gallaudet University[9]
  • 1992 - Bernard Bragg Artistic Achievement Award[10]
  • July 3, 2012 Bove was presented with the Media Advocacy Award in recognition of her "success in advancing the civil, human and linguistic rights of the American deaf and hard of hearing community through use of the media and social networking".[11]

References

  1. ^ "National Theater of the Deaf - Milestones". Archived from the original on 22 March 2012. Retrieved 18 August 2012.
  2. ^ a b "Deaf People - Phyllis Frelich and Linda Bove - Deaf Actresses". Deafness.about.com. 2011-04-17. Retrieved 2011-09-10.
  3. ^ a b Mulholland, F. R. Panara; John Panara; Kevin (1981). Great deaf Americans. Silver Spring, Md.: T.J. Publishers. p. 127. ISBN 0-932666-17-5.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  4. ^ Mulholland, F. R. Panara; John Panara; Kevin (1981). Great deaf Americans. Silver Spring, Md.: T.J. Publishers. p. 126. ISBN 0-932666-17-5.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  5. ^ Schuchman, John S. (1999). Hollywood Speaks: Deafness and the Film Entertainment Industry. Illini Books. p. 138. ISBN 0-252-01526-6.
  6. ^ Barbara Harrington and Linda Bove (1991). "Non-Traditional Casting Update: Interview with Linda Bove". TDR. 35 (2): 13–17. doi:10.2307/1146085. JSTOR 1146085.
  7. ^ "HBO Reveals Details About Sesame Street's 50th Anniversary Celebration". Cbr.com. October 18, 2019. Retrieved June 14, 2020.
  8. ^ "Deaf West Theatre". Deafwest.org. Archived from the original on 2011-09-28. Retrieved 2011-09-10.
  9. ^ "Honorary Degree Recipients - Gallaudet University". Archived from the original on 2014-08-10. Retrieved 2008-08-15.
  10. ^ Lang, H. G., & Meath-Lang, B. (1995). Deaf persons in the arts and sciences: A biographical dictionary. Westport, CN: Greenwood Press.
  11. ^ "National Association of the Deaf - NAD".

Further reading

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