CANTON − Marlee Matlin summed up her mantra for life in three words — courage, dreams and success.
"Courage plus dreams equal success," the deaf actor and advocate for the deaf community said Nov. 6 through an interpreter at the Canton Palace Theatre. Her appearance was part of the Stark Library's Dr. Audrey Lavin Speaking of Books Author Series.
To emphasize the message, Matlin, 60, taught a near capacity crowd how to sign each of the three words.
Matlin has never stopped believing in those words during an acting career that spans decades. Films include "CODA," which won an Academy Award in 2022 for best picture and proved that "meaningful stories could be commercially successful," she said.
Television roles include "West Wing," "The Magicians," "Switched at Birth" and "The L Word." She also has written three novels for children, and her bestselling autobiography, "I'll Scream Later."
Since childhood, Matlin has overcome challenge after challenge and barrier after barrier. It's a journey explored in the 2025 documentary, "Marlee Matlin: Not Alone Anymore," which is available on PBS and YouTube, as well as various streaming services.
After winning the Academy Award for Best Actress in 1987 for "Children of a Lesser God," she faced media criticism over whether she truly deserved the recognition while others questioned the practicality of finding future roles.
"For the first time in my life, I felt handicapped," she said. "All I wanted to do was act."
She also faced criticism from the deaf community when she presented an Academy Award in 1988 by signing her introduction and then speaking aloud the names of the nominees for best actor. Some members of the deaf community said it set a "harmful example for deaf children by (showing) that speaking was better than sign language," Matlin recalled.
"I wanted Hollywood to see the real me," she explained. "I was just trying to show my authentic self."
'Share my truth everyday'
But she was undaunted, refusing to be deterred by naysayers. This attitude has not only fueled her screen work, but it's also been the impetus for her trailblazing efforts advocating for closed captioning in television and streaming platforms.
The words of her parents have echoed along the way.
"They taught me to share my truth every day," said Matlin, the first deaf person to win an Academy Award.
During her Palace Theatre presentation, she spoke with verve and passion, often flashing a smile and injecting humor into her message.
"For me, it's about reinforcing that people like me ... who live with a disability have always faced challenges and misconceptions about what they can do," Matlin said. "I want to show that life can be about opportunities, not barriers — we deserve to have our dreams come true like anybody else."
"It's important to see a deaf person as an individual and not a label," she added.
Matlin challenged the audience to spread the message of inclusion and help change attitudes about those with disabilities.
"It's smart business," she said. "It benefits everyone."
Writer: Ed Balint / The Canton Repository
Photographer: Kevin Whitlock / Massillon Independent
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