On Google’s home page they always display what they call A Google Doodle. I noticed this morning that it had a man in front of a movie screen handling film stock. Being Mr. Streaming Movie Night Guy, I wondered what that was about and clicked on the doodle.
Emerson Romero was a deaf Cuban-American Silent Film Actor, who developed the technique for captioning film for deaf people. So that they too, might enjoy the movies.
After learning about Millicent Simmonds (who is also a deaf actor) while reviewing The Quiet Place movies, I thought I should do a little post and pass on this bit of film history.
Emerson Romero was born in Havana, Cuba on August 19, 1900. Cesar Romero, The TV and Film star, was his first cousin. As a youngster he developed whooping cough, which led to his deafness. His brother Dorian started a film production company and convinced Emerson to become an actor. After catching the attention of Hollywood producer Richard Harlan, he moved to Hollywood in 1926. Between 1926 and 1928, Emerson appeared in more than 24 short-reel comedies. He changed his stage name to a more American sounding Tommy Albert and did all his own make-up and stunt work.
When “Talkies” were introduced in 1927, deaf people were no longer needed as actors. and Emerson went to work at a bank in New York City. He stayed active in acting, starting The Theatre Guild Of The Deaf in 1934. In 1947 Romero developed the first captioning for a movie, which was later adopted and developed by the US Government for the Captioned Films For The Deaf program. He continued to create and develop products for the deaf to assist their daily lives, and had an entire line of products he sold. He retired and moved to Boulder, Colorado with his wife until his death on October 16, 1972.
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