Audree Norton

Audrey Norton was born in [[Great Falls, Montana]] to Lauraine (née Greenman) and Joseph Bennett. At three years old she became deaf from spinal meningitis. Two years later her parents divorced and soon after she and her mother moved to St. Paul, Minnesota. Her mother enrolled her at the W. Roby Allen School in Faribault, Minnesota. The Allen School used the [[oralism]] method that taught speech and lip reading and did not permit the use of sign language. Audree's mother learned that if Audree was to attend Gallaudet College (now university) she would have to attend the [[Minnesota State Academy for the Deaf]] (MSAD) that was located across the street from the Allen School. Once at MSAD Audree flourished finally able to use sign language. A 1952 graduate of [[Gallaudet University]],{{Cite web |url=http://www.gallaudet.edu/Commencement/Commencement_Speaker_and_Honorary_Degrees.html |title=Commencement Speakers and Honorary Degree Recipients - Gallaudet University |access-date=2012-05-11 |archive-date=2014-05-20 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140520163930/http://www.gallaudet.edu/commencement/commencement_speaker_and_honorary_degrees.html |url-status=dead }} she was one of the founding members of the [[National Theatre of the Deaf]].{{cite book |title=Significant gestures: a history of American Sign Language |last=Tabak |first=John |year=2006 |publisher=Greenwood Publishing Group |isbn=978-0-275-98974-3 |page=44 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=qzY8ijuasvwC&q=Audree+Norton&pg=PA44 |access-date=December 24, 2011}} In 1974, she was the first Deaf person to earn a master's degree in Rhetoric from [[California State University, East Bay]].

Audrey Norton was born in [[Great Falls, Montana]] to Lauraine (née Greenman) and Joseph Bennett. At three years old she became deaf from spinal meningitis. Two years later her parents divorced and soon after she and her mother moved to St. Paul, Minnesota. Her mother enrolled her at the W. Roby Allen School in Faribault, Minnesota. The Allen School used the [[oralism]] method that taught speech and lip reading and did not permit the use of sign language. Audree's mother learned that if Audree was to attend Gallaudet College (now university) she would have to attend the [[Minnesota State Academy for the Deaf]] (MSAD) that was located across the street from the Allen School. Once at MSAD Audree flourished finally able to use sign language. A 1952 graduate of [[Gallaudet University]],{{Cite web |url=http://www.gallaudet.edu/Commencement/Commencement_Speaker_and_Honorary_Degrees.html |title=Commencement Speakers and Honorary Degree Recipients - Gallaudet University |access-date=2012-05-11 |archive-date=2014-05-20 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140520163930/http://www.gallaudet.edu/commencement/commencement_speaker_and_honorary_degrees.html |url-status=dead }} she was one of the founding members of the [[National Theatre of the Deaf]].{{cite book |title=Significant gestures: a history of American Sign Language |last=Tabak |first=John |year=2006 |publisher=Greenwood Publishing Group |isbn=978-0-275-98974-3 |page=44 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=qzY8ijuasvwC&q=Audree+Norton&pg=PA44 |access-date=December 24, 2011}} In 1974, she was the first Deaf person to earn a master's degree in Rhetoric from [[California State University, East Bay]].

She performed one of [[Elizabeth Barrett Browning]]'s poems to music on the television series ''An Experiment in Television''.{{cite book |title=Inside Deaf Culture |last=Padden |first=Carol |author2=Tom L. Humphries |year=2006 |publisher=Harvard University Press |isbn=978-0-674-02252-2 |page=111 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=YJCDIQOaOKYC&q=Audree+Norton&pg=PA111 |access-date=December 24, 2011}} She also performed in episodes of ''[[Family Affair]]'', ''[[The Man and the City]]'', ''[[Mannix]]'' and ''[[The Streets of San Francisco]]''.{{cite book |title=Hollywood Speaks: Deafness and the Film Entertainment Industry |author-link=John S. Schuchman |last=Schuchman |first=John S. |year=1999 |publisher=University of Illinois Press |isbn=978-0-252-06850-8 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=fThBPcCI3h8C&q=Audree+Norton&pg=PA95 |access-date=December 24, 2011}} In 1967, she was the first deaf actor to have a photograph featured in [[Time (magazine)|Time]] magazine.{{Cite book|title=My life with Audree : a Deaf couple's sixty-eight years of life, love, and pursuing dreams|last=W.|first=Norton, Kenneth|isbn=9780692764626|location=[San Francisco?]|oclc=964657782|date = 2016-10-18}}

She performed one of [[Elizabeth Barrett Browning]]'s poems to music on the television series ''An Experiment in Television''.{{cite book |title=Inside Deaf Culture |last=Padden |first=Carol |author2=Tom L. Humphries |year=2006 |publisher=Harvard University Press |isbn=978-0-674-02252-2 |page=111 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=YJCDIQOaOKYC&q=Audree+Norton&pg=PA111 |access-date=December 24, 2011}} She also performed in episodes of ''[[Family Affair (1966 TV series)|Family Affair]]'', ''[[The Man and the City]]'', ''[[Mannix]]'' and ''[[The Streets of San Francisco]]''.{{cite book |title=Hollywood Speaks: Deafness and the Film Entertainment Industry |author-link=John S. Schuchman |last=Schuchman |first=John S. |year=1999 |publisher=University of Illinois Press |isbn=978-0-252-06850-8 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=fThBPcCI3h8C&q=Audree+Norton&pg=PA95 |access-date=December 24, 2011}} In 1967, she was the first deaf actor to have a photograph featured in [[Time (magazine)|Time]] magazine.{{Cite book|title=My life with Audree : a Deaf couple's sixty-eight years of life, love, and pursuing dreams|last=W.|first=Norton, Kenneth|isbn=9780692764626|location=[San Francisco?]|oclc=964657782|date = 2016-10-18}}

In 1978, she was the center of a controversy towards Deaf actors and actresses. Norton auditioned to appear in an [[ABC Afterschool Special]] titled ''Mom and Dad Can't Hear Me'', but was told by the casting director that she could not have the part because he would rather have people who can speak. Norton complained to the [[Screen Actors Guild]], which launched protests by deaf people in the United States. After this incident, Norton never performed on television again.

In 1978, she was the center of a controversy towards Deaf actors and actresses. Norton auditioned to appear in an [[ABC Afterschool Special]] titled ''Mom and Dad Can't Hear Me'', but was told by the casting director that she could not have the part because he would rather have people who can speak. Norton complained to the [[Screen Actors Guild]], which launched protests by deaf people in the United States. After this incident, Norton never performed on television again.

*[[NBC Experiment in Television]] (1967) (National Theater of the Deaf)

*[[NBC Experiment in Television]] (1967) (National Theater of the Deaf)

*[[Mannix]] (1968) (Jody Wellman) (The Silent Cry)

*[[Mannix]] (1968) (Jody Wellman) (The Silent Cry)

*[[Family Affair]] (1970) (Dr. Robinson) (The Language of Love)

*[[Family Affair (1966 TV series)|Family Affair]] (1970) (Dr. Robinson) (The Language of Love)

*[[The Man and the City]] (1971) (Ann Larrabee) (Hands of Love)

*[[The Man and the City]] (1971) (Ann Larrabee) (Hands of Love)

*[[The Streets of San Francisco]] (1975) (Deaf Witness, uncredited) (Web of Lies)

*[[The Streets of San Francisco]] (1975) (Deaf Witness, uncredited) (Web of Lies)