February 4, 2013
By Emerald Pellot
John Maucere, the ASL performance artist, who signed his way into the hearts of America during the Super Bowl is our new favorite person of 2013. While Jennifer Hudson and Alicia Keys may have been giving super star performances our eyes darted toward the corner of the screen where John, John’s tan and a fabulous blue shirt were turning the language of hands into the language of love. With the precision of a dancer and the soul of your grandma’s macaroni and cheese recipe he beautifully translated sound into motion. One question, and we ask this in pure ignorance, how can he be an ASL translator if he is also deaf? He is so perfectly in time with the music it’s almost as though he can hear it? If you know how this is possible, let us know in the comments!
Watch John Maucere at Super Bowl pre-game video: http://youtu.be/oAiinBNiPnY (don’t work anymore) Try different video: http://youtu.be/zLgGSthMtG4
John is very, very accomplished in the deaf and hard of hearing community. Taking a peek at his bio reveals a pretty impressive resume:
“John broke through Hollywood stereotypes and became the first deaf actor in ABC’s Talent Development Program, attended by the likes of Tom Hanks and Arsenio Hall. From there, John appeared on several television series, such as NBC’s “Law and Order” and “Brand New Life,” USA Network’s “Pacific Blue,” and ABC’s “Parker Kane,” and “10-8.” John founded DEAFYWOOD, which culminated its 13-year tour on the 2007 sold-out Deaf Freedom Cruise attended by 4,000 passengers where he was also its cruise director. Since then, John has voyaged around the world on several cruises with Passages Deaf Travel (PDT) as its cruise director and entertainer. He will be cruisin’ again with PDT to the Greek Isles, July 2013.”
He also does stand-up comedy, is an emcee, does ASL poetry, has an alter ego called Super Deafy and talk show host. We hope to see John in future televised performances because he adds an extra bit of spice and swag to our favorite divas. Check out his acting reel below: http://youtu.be/aLZ24R5Jyyc
Official John Maucere site: http://www.johnmaucere.com/
SOURCE:
http://collegecandy.com/2013/02/04/john-maucere-sign-language-super-bowl/