# Differently-Abled Actors and Actresses **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [February 8, 2022, 7:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/differently-abled-actors-and-actresses/959118 "2022-02-08T19:03:06Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![EinsteinsHund](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/einsteinshund/32/8400_2.png) [@EinsteinsHund](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EinsteinsHund)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2022, 5:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/differently-abled-actors-and-actresses/959118/81 "2022-02-09T17:15:42Z")
> [@RealityChuck](#): > > If we’re counting rock stars, Ian Dury had polio as a child, leading to a withering of his arm. And the Small Faces/Faces bass player Ronnie Lane had multiple sclerosis. ---
**Author:** ![ZipperJJ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zipperjj/32/211_2.png) [@ZipperJJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZipperJJ)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2022, 5:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/differently-abled-actors-and-actresses/959118/82 "2022-02-09T17:15:58Z")
> [@ZipperJJ](#): > > Note I’m really looking for actors and actresses here, not presenters like Alex Brooker and Adam Hills. Also not other performers such as Ray Charles or Itzhak Perlman. > [@RealityChuck](#): > > If we’re counting rock stars, No, please don’t. I don’t want a list of every disabled person in entertainment. I was just curious about actors. ---
**Author:** ![Horseflesh](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/horseflesh/32/7502_2.png) [@Horseflesh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Horseflesh)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2022, 5:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/differently-abled-actors-and-actresses/959118/83 "2022-02-09T17:16:43Z")
John Bloom a.k.a. Joe Bob Briggs, famous for his King of the Drive-in review column and currently hosting The Last Drive-in on Shudder, walks with a limp on the show. I assumed it was a hip replacement or somesuch at his age, but read up on him and turns out he had polio as a kid, and one leg is shorter than the other. ---
**Author:** ![Tibby](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tibby/32/17030_2.png) [@Tibby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tibby)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2022, 5:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/differently-abled-actors-and-actresses/959118/84 "2022-02-09T17:17:03Z")
> [@Shoeless](#): > > Similarly, Amanda Redman of the BBC series “New Tricks”. You can frequently see the scarring on her upper left arm depending on what she’s wearing. I wouldn’t really call it a disability though. I think, in a sense, “disability” does apply to Cassandra’s burns. According to [this article](https://www.yahoo.com/video/cassandra-elvira-peterson-talks-scarring-childhood-accident-body-confidence-and-being-banned-for-her-boobs-210655730.html), she’s had to endure multiple skin grafting surgeries and no doubt scar revisions over the years. And, according to her, the trauma and scarring resulted in very low self-esteem, which she obviously overcame, in a big way (kudos to her for that). It affected her emotionally and career-wise, but she turned it into a positive. ---
**Author:** ![veryfrank](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/87869e/32.png) [@veryfrank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/veryfrank)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2022, 5:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/differently-abled-actors-and-actresses/959118/85 "2022-02-09T17:21:35Z")
> [@Tibby](#): > > I think, in a sense, “disability” does apply to Cassandra’s burns. According to [this article](https://www.yahoo.com/video/cassandra-elvira-peterson-talks-scarring-childhood-accident-body-confidence-and-being-banned-for-her-boobs-210655730.html), she’s had to endure multiple skin grafting surgeries and no doubt scar revisions over the years. And, according to her, the trauma and scarring resulted in very low self-esteem, which she obviously overcame, in a big way (kudos to her for that). It affected her emotionally and career-wise, but she turned it into a positive. The British Indian actor Parminder Nagra also suffered bad burns as a child, on her leg. It was written into the script for _Bend it Like Beckham_ when she was cast. ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2022, 5:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/differently-abled-actors-and-actresses/959118/86 "2022-02-09T17:30:53Z")
> [@AlsoNamedBort](#): > > [Daryl Mitchell](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Daryl_Mitchell_(actor)) continued acting after being paralyzed from the waist down. Mitchell is interesting in that “Continued” is the key point; he was a successful entertainer before his motorcycle accident and just kept right at it after. If you looked his list of credits you would have trouble figuring out what year it was he had an incredibly bad accident. The guy must be been booking auditions the day they released him from the hospital. ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2022, 5:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/differently-abled-actors-and-actresses/959118/87 "2022-02-09T17:53:21Z")
> [@ZipperJJ](#): > > > [@ZipperJJ](#): > > > > Note I’m really looking for actors and actresses here, not presenters like Alex Brooker and Adam Hills. Also not other performers such as Ray Charles or Itzhak Perlman. > > > [@RealityChuck](#): > > > > If we’re counting rock stars, > > No, please don’t. I don’t want a list of every disabled person in entertainment. I was just curious about actors. Well, Ian Dury did do some acting: 33 credits including _Judge Dredd_. ---
**Author:** ![Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/earl_snake-hips_tucker/32/3269_2.png) [@Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Earl_Snake-Hips_Tucker)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2022, 5:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/differently-abled-actors-and-actresses/959118/88 "2022-02-09T17:54:06Z")
An obscure one: [Zeffie Tilbury](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zeffie_Tilbury) was practically blind. She is most recognizable as Grandma Joad in “The Grapes of Wrath” (1940) and in the “Our Gang” short “Second Childhood.” But you’d never know it the way they shot and edited her scenes. ---
**Author:** ![Superdude](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/superdude/32/13450_2.png) [@Superdude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Superdude)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2022, 6:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/differently-abled-actors-and-actresses/959118/89 "2022-02-09T18:08:55Z")
Actress [Savannah Welch](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm1881922/) was hit by a car in 2016, sustaining injuries that led to the amputation of her right leg in the thigh area. She uses a prosthetic, but uses a wheelchair for her portrayal of wheelchair-bound Barbara Gordon in the show _Titans_. ---
**Author:** ![dirtball](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dirtball/32/18772_2.png) [@dirtball](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dirtball)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2022, 6:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/differently-abled-actors-and-actresses/959118/90 "2022-02-09T18:47:09Z")
Howard McNear, better known as Floyd Lawson, the barber on _The Andy Griffith Show_, suffered a stroke that left him unable to stand. After his return to the show, he was seen only sitting down or standing, propped up by some unseen-on-camera support, as he cut someone’s hair. ---
**Author:** ![veryfrank](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/87869e/32.png) [@veryfrank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/veryfrank)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2022, 7:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/differently-abled-actors-and-actresses/959118/91 "2022-02-09T19:26:38Z")
Dana Elcar, who starred as MacGyver’s boss, started developing glaucoma late in the series and gradually went blind from it. The condition was written into the series. He also played a glaucoma patient on Law & Order a few years later, and performed onstage as well once it had progressed. ---
**Author:** ![hogarth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hogarth/32/1773_2.png) [@hogarth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hogarth)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2022, 8:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/differently-abled-actors-and-actresses/959118/92 "2022-02-09T20:09:25Z")
Richard Kiel (Jaws from Moonraker and The Spy Who Loved Me) was blind in one eye. And he was in a car accident in 1992 that left him with difficulty moving; in Happy Gilmore he’s leaning on something in every scene. ---
**Author:** ![John\_DiFool](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_difool/32/19543_2.png) [@John\_DiFool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_DiFool)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2022, 8:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/differently-abled-actors-and-actresses/959118/93 "2022-02-09T20:21:14Z")
> [@gdave](#): > > James Doohan, Scotty of Star Trek, had a finger amputated on one hand due to a combat injury. Pretty much all of his roles included careful staging and framing to conceal that. In Trek at least it could have easily been worked into his backstory. “Oh, that? An unfortunate encounter between a plasma conduit and a probe during me Academy training. Helpful tip: ALWAYS check the polarities on your equipment before introducing them to each other.” ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2022, 9:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/differently-abled-actors-and-actresses/959118/94 "2022-02-09T21:08:34Z")
**FYI:** Grafts,not graphs. ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2022, 9:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/differently-abled-actors-and-actresses/959118/95 "2022-02-09T21:16:19Z")
Haven’t closely read the thread. Has anyone mentioned Sammi Haney, who has a starring role in _Raising Dion_? She has osteogenisis imperfecta. > **[Sammi Haney From Raising Dion Joins The Show!](https://www.kiddnation.com/sammihaney/)** > > One of our Kidd's Kids, Sammi Haney, is now a big-time television star on the Netflix hit, Raising Dion. She gives up the inside scoop on the show and her life! > > > > Plus, check out her t-shirt store DisabilityShirts.com. It will help spread awareness,... _And_, [she is 102 years old](https://raisingdion.fandom.com/wiki/Sammi_Haney)! ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2022, 9:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/differently-abled-actors-and-actresses/959118/96 "2022-02-09T21:21:23Z")
Actually, Atticus Shaffer, who played the younger son on _[The Middle](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Middle_(TV_series))_ had the same thing. ---
**Author:** ![mbh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a6a055/32.png) [@mbh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mbh)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2022, 10:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/differently-abled-actors-and-actresses/959118/97 "2022-02-09T22:43:39Z")
> [@Dropo](#): > > Rondo Hatton, Andre the Giant – acromegaly From the Wiki page on [acromegaly](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acromegaly) - [André the Giant](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andr%C3%A9_the_Giant) (born André Roussimoff, 1946–1993), French professional wrestler and actor[[29]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acromegaly#cite_note-wwebio-29)[[30]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acromegaly#cite_note-30) - [Salvatore Baccaro](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Salvatore_Baccaro) (1932–1984), Italian character actor. Active in [B-movies](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/B-movies), [comedies](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comedies), and [horrors](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Horror_film) because of his peculiar features and spontaneous sympathy. - [Paul Benedict](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul_Benedict) (1938–2008), American actor. Best known for portraying Harry Bentley, _[The Jeffersons](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Jeffersons)_ English next door neighbour[[31]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acromegaly#cite_note-31) - [Big Show](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Big_Show) (born Paul Wight; 1972), American professional wrestler and actor, had his pituitary tumor removed in 1991.[[32]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acromegaly#cite_note-32) Ted Cassidy (1932–1979), American actor. Best known for portraying Lurch in the TV sitcom The Addams Family.[33] Rondo Hatton (1894–1946), American journalist and actor. A Hollywood favorite in B-movie horror films of the 1930s and 1940s. Hatton’s disfigurement, due to acromegaly, developed over time, beginning during his service in World War I.[34] - [Richard Kiel](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Kiel) (1939-2014), actor, “Jaws” from two James Bond movies and Mr. Larson in _[Happy Gilmore](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Happy_Gilmore)_ .[[37]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acromegaly#cite_note-37) - [Tony Robbins](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tony_Robbins), motivational speaker.[[40]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acromegaly#cite_note-Plaskin2013-40) {He cameoed in _Shallow Hal_–mbh} - [Carel Struycken](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carel_Struycken), Dutch actor, 2.13 m (7.0 ft), is best known for playing [Lurch](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lurch_(The_Addams_Family)) in _[The Addams Family](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Addams_Family)_ film trilogy, [The Giant](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Giant_(Twin_Peaks)) in _[Twin Peaks](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Twin_Peaks)_ , and Lwaxana Troi’s silent Servant [Mr. Homn](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mr._Homn) in _[Star Trek: The Next Generation](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Star_Trek:_The_Next_Generation)_ , and The Moonlight Man in _[Gerald’s Game](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gerald%27s_Game_(film))_ , based on the Stephen King book.[[41]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acromegaly#cite_note-41) - [Irwin Keyes](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Irwin_Keyes), American actor. Best known for portraying Hugo Mojoloweski, George’s occasional bodyguard on _[The Jeffersons](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Jeffersons)_ [[42]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acromegaly#cite_note-42) - [Neil McCarthy](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neil_McCarthy_(actor)), British actor. Known for roles in _[Zulu](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zulu_(1964_film))_ , _[Time Bandits](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Time_Bandits)_ , and many British television series.[[44]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acromegaly#cite_note-44) - [Matthew McGrory](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Matthew_McGrory), (1973 – 2005) American actor, known for roles in [Tiny Firefly](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Firefly_(film_series)_characters#Firefly_family), _[House of 1000 Corpses](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/House_of_1000_Corpses), [The Devil’s Rejects](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Devil%27s_Rejects), and [Big Fish](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Big_Fish)_ [[48]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acromegaly#cite_note-48) ---
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2022, 10:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/differently-abled-actors-and-actresses/959118/98 "2022-02-09T22:50:18Z")
B-movie actor [Robert Z’Dar’s](https://api.time.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/04/robert-zdar.jpg) distinctive jaw line was caused by [cherubism](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cherubism). ---
**Author:** ![ekedolphin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ekedolphin/32/10003_2.png) [@ekedolphin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ekedolphin)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2022, 11:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/differently-abled-actors-and-actresses/959118/99 "2022-02-09T23:23:14Z")
Walter Emanuel Jones, the original Black Ranger from _Mighty Morphin’ Power Rangers_, lost the middle finger on his left hand when he was four years old. If you pause the show at just the right time, you can even see it. (His morphed form had all fingers attached.) ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2022, 11:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/differently-abled-actors-and-actresses/959118/100 "2022-02-09T23:27:53Z")
They can’t regenerate lost appendages in the 23rd century? 🤨 Ted Cassidy, “Ruk” on _ **Star Trek** _ and “Lurch” in _ **The Addams Family** _, suffered from acromegaly and eventually died from complications of it. > **[Acromegaly](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acromegaly)** > > Pages for logged out editors learn more > > > Acromegaly is a disorder that results in excess growth of certain parts of the human body. It is caused by excess growth hormone (GH) after the growth plates have closed. The initial symptom is typically enlargement of the hands and feet. There may also be an enlargement of the forehead, jaw, and nose. Other symptoms may include joint pain, thicker skin, deepening of the voice, headaches, and problems with vision. Complications of the disease ma... [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/differently-abled-actors-and-actresses/959118.md?page=4) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/differently-abled-actors-and-actresses/959118.md?page=6)