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THE AGENCY/CBS/2001-2003 (Colorblind)
**(Jason O'Mara) A. B. Stiles, CIA agent investigating terrorist
activities inside and outside of the United States. On episode #24
"Air Lex" Stiles informs agent Terri Lowell that he is colorblind.
Stiles' character was introduced in the fall 2002 season
ALL IN THE FAMILY/CBS/1971-83 (Blind)
**(Bill Quinn) Mr. Edgar Van Ranseleer, an elderly blind man who
regularly sat on a corner bar stool of Kelsey's Bar and Grille, a
neighborhood tavern located in Queen's section of New York City. He
always wore a hat, dark glasses and carried a cane. When Kelsey's
was sold and renamed "Archie Bunker's Place" Mr. Ranseleer was still
a prominent fixture.
APPLE PIE/ABC/1978 (Blind)
**(Jack Gilford) Grandpa Hollyhock, a loudmouthed, senile, old blind
man who answered a newspaper ad in the Kansas City Gazette placed by
a lonely woman who wanted a family. He applied as the Grandfather.
Grandpa complained about politics especially, the Roosevelt
Administration and his inability to read the newspaper funnies (He
"smells" them).
BABYLON5/SYN/TNT/1993-99 (Injured eye)
**(Andreas Katsulas) G'kar, the ambassador to the planet Narn who
lives aboard the space station Babylon 5. During the fourth season,
G'Kar suffers humiliation and torture by the Centauri Emperor and
has his left eye plucked out. Despite his wounds, he remains
committed to peace and worked with his enemy Londo Mollari to
benefit his Narn home world.
BECKER/CBS/1998-2004 (Blind)
**(Alex Desert) Jake Malinak, the blind black man who operates the
newspaper and candy concession stand inside a Bronx diner. He is the
reluctant confidant of Dr. Becker, a Caucasian physician who
frequents the joint and rambles on about how rotten things are in
the world. He lost his sight in a car accident while in high school.
Both Jake and his friend (who was driving) were drinking. Once when
frustrated, Jake shouted ”Don’t screw with me. I’m blind and I sell
chiclets for a living!” Jake was a three time National Scrabble
Champion (he won once).
BLIND JUSTICE/ABC/2005 (Blind)
*(Ron Eldard) Detective Jim Dunbar, NYPD detective blind in the line
of duty when he saved the lives of three officers against a gunman
with a AK-47. A devoted criminologist, Jim wants to return to work
and do what he does best. But with a wife who lacks faith in his
ability to rejoin his career, and a new partner who doesn't think
she can rely on him in his current condition, Jim has a huge
mountain to climb over before he can successfully work his way back
on the streets as a detective instead of opting for desk duty or
early retirement. As the program tagline said," He lost his sight,
not his vision." The series is based on characters in the mystery
novel "Death by Hollywood written by writer/producer Steven Bochco.
Every episode was broadcast with video description for the visually
impaired available as Secondary Audio Programming. It was the first
ABC scripted series to offer this option. Unique visual effects give
us a window on what Dunbar "sees" with his remaining senses.
COLONEL MARCH OF SCOTLAND YARD/SYN/1953-54
(Injured Eye)
*(Boris Karloff) Colonel March, an intrepid, one-eyed Scotland Yard
inspector based in London who worked as the head of Department D-3,
the office of Queen's complaint's. Colonel March wore a black eye
patch over his left eye.
COLUMBO/NBC/1971-78/ABC/1989-91 (Injured Eye)
*(Peter Falk) Peter Falk, best known for his Emmy award winning role
as the rumpled but clever Los Angeles police detective, Lt. Columbo.
At the age of three, Peter lost his right eye in surgery to a
malignant tumor. He was self conscious about his handicap until he
started to play baseball. Once, as the story goes, an umpire made a
questionable call at a little league game and a very angry young
Peter pulled his false eye from his head, handed it to the umpire
and declared "Here you need this more than I do!" Years later
Peter's dark brown eye and the squint caused by his false right eye
contributed to an air-of-menace and benevolent detachment that
established his acting presence on such drama programs BOB HOPE
PRESENTS THE CHRYSLER THEATRE/NBC/1963-67; THE DUPONT SHOW OF THE
WEEK/NBC/1961-64; THE UNTOUCHABLES/ABC/1959-63 (Nate Selko, a thug);
THE DICK POWELL SHOW/NBC/1961-63 (Outstanding single performance by
an actor in a leading role in the "Price of Tomatoes"). His first
successful TV series was the law drama THE TRIALS OF
O'BRIEN/CBS/1965-66 where he played Daniel J. O'Brien a talented and
expensive New York attorney. In the fall of 1989, Peter Falk
reprised his role of Columbo on the newly filmed episodes of COLUMBO
for ABC's MONDAY MYSTERY MOVIE.
THE COSBY SHOW/NBC/1984-92 (Dyslexic)
**(Malcolm-Jamal Warner) Theodore "Theo" Huxtable, a
fourteen-year-old African American teenager living at home. His
catchphrase is "No problem," but there was a problem. For years,
Theo's parents were frustrated with his study habits and inability
to apply himself in his school work. Finally, in his teenage years,
he was diagnosed with a dyslexic reading disorder (Episode No.129.
"Theo's Gift"). With special help, Theo's grades and outlook on life
steadily improved as he pursued a college degree at New York
University. Theo, the former underachiever, eventually graduated
to the relief of his successful parents, Cliff Huxtable, a doctor
and Clair Huxtable, a lawyer. On episode No.175/176 "Theo and the
Kids," Theo interns as a 7th grade junior counselor at the community
center and discovers a boy named Stanley who refuses to do his
homework and is unable to read a book. Theo realizes the boy has
dyslexia and consequently tells Stanley about his own bout with
dyslexia. As a favor to Theo, Stanley agrees to be tested for his
learning disability.
COVERT AFFAIRS/USA/2010+ (Blind)
**(Christopher Gorham) August "Auggie" Anderson, a quirky, blind CIA military intelligence/special ops officer who used to be a field agent until he was blinded during a mission in Iraq. He now works from behind a desk and guides Annie Walker (Piper Parabo), a rookie CIA agent through her missions from the safety of Langley. Auggie's computer is fitted with braille interfaces on the keyboards. DAYS OF OUR LIVES/NBC/1965+ (Injured Eye)
**(Stephen Nichols) Steve "Patch" Johnson, a troubled young man with
a black patch over his left eye who was partial to wearing a black
leather jacket and grunting such phrases as "Babe" and "Hey, Dude."
His eye was damaged by a knife blade. Stephen Nichols was originally
slated to appear three times on the soap opera as Bo's one-time
friend, but soon Patch became a recurring character on the program.
In 1988, Patch became romantically involved with Kayla (a nurse) and
made love on the roof of her apartment building. Later while on a
special undercover assignment, Patch lost his trademark eye patch
temporarily to play a two-eyed man from Peach Tree, Georgia.
EARLY EDITION/CBS/1996-2000 (Blind)
*(Shanesia Davis-Williams/costar) Marissa Clark, a beautiful black
but blind receptionist who assists a young stockbroker with a
magical newspaper that reveals tomorrow's news today. Davis, who is
sighted, researched her role with the Chicago Guild of the Blind.
Gary purchased Marissa a seeing-eye dog named Spike from profits won
in an OTB parlor playing the horses with paper's information.
FAMOUS ADVENTURES OF MR. MAGOO/NBC/1964-65
(Near-sighted)
*(Voice of Jim Backus) Mr. Quincy Magoo, a stubborn, nearly blind
old man who refused to admit to his nearsightedness. Each week on
this animated series, Magoo took on the guise of historical or
literary figures like William Tell, Friar Tuck, Long John Silver,
Cyrano, Rip Van Winkle and Don Quixote. The myopic Mr. Magoo
character debuted as a theatrical released cartoon in Ragtime Bear
(9/29/1949) and continued through a series of 52 cartoons for UPA
from 1950-59. Other credits to his name were the classic animated
Dickens special "A Christmas Carol" (12/18/62) and the revised
version of his character in the animated series WHAT'S NEW, MR.
MAGOO/CBS/1977-78 with his nephew Waldo and his nearsighted white
talking dog, McBarker. In 1997 the Disney multimedia conglomerate
produced the film Mr. Magoo starring Leslie Nielsen which featured a
disclaimer at the end of the film expressing that no harm was meant
to those blind or sight impaired.
FEELING FREE/PBS/1978 (Various Handicaps)
*30-Minute educational series designed to ease "mainstreaming" of
handicapped children into normal school systems and life. It
featured regulars performing in studios and on location.
THE FLASH/CBS/1990-91 (Blind)
**(Robert Shayne) Reggie, a blind newsstand operator who recognizes
the voice of police chemist Barry Allen, (a.k.a. "The Flash")
FLYING DOCTOR/SYN/1959 (Blind)
*(Peter Madden/costar) Dr. Harrison, a blind physician supervising
medical facilities at an Australian outback hospital. He was
assisted by a nurse and American doctor on leave from a San
Francisco research institute.
FUNNY FACE/CBS/1971 (Eye Injury)
*(Sandy Duncan) While filming her Emmy award nominated role as Sandy
Stockton, a UCLA student and struggling actress, (a.k.a. "Funny
Face"), Sandy Duncan suffered severe headaches during the shooting
of the 13th show. Physicians discovered a fibroid tumor the size of
a walnut behind her left eye pressing against her optic nerve.
During a lengthy operation at UCLA Medical Center on November 1,
1971, doctors removed a portion of her skull and cut away the
growth. She sailed through the procedure but lost the vision in her
left eye. Ms. Duncan later starred in THE SANDY DUNCAN SHOW/CBS/1972
continuing her role as the cute, perky Sandy Stockton. In later
years she appeared as Missy Anne on the miniseries
ROOTS/ABC/1977-78; and in a number of musical revivals of such shows
as The Music Man, The Sound of Music, The Boy Friend, and Peter Pan.
In 1987, she took over the reins of the sitcom THE HOGAN
FAMILY/NBC/CBS/1986-91 as divorced school counselor, Sandy Hogan.
THE GEORGE CARLIN SHOW/FOX/1994-95 (Blind)
**Willy Jefferson, a visually handicapped man who ran a newspaper
stand near Moylan's Tavern in New York City.
GOOD AND EVIL/ABC/1991 (Blind)
**(Mark Blankfield) George, a newly blinded psychiatrist who was in
love with Genny, a microbiologist and heir to a perfume fortune.
George guided himself with red-tipped cane. On the first episode, he
demolished a chemistry lab filled with glass beakers, tests tubes
and the like when he waved his red-tipped cane through the air
attempting to find his way around the lab.
JAG/NBC/CBS/1995-2005 (Night blindness)
*(David James Elliott) Harmon Rabb, Jr., Lt. Commander and pilot in
the Navy who was diagnosed with night blindness. As the program's
opening narration explained: "Following in his father's footsteps as
a naval aviator Lieutenant Commander Harmon Rad, Jr. suffered a
crash while landing his Tomcat on a storm tossed carrier at sea.
Diagnosed with night-blindness, Harm transferred to the Navy's Judge
Advocate General Corp which investigates, defends and prosecutes the
law of the sea. There, with fellow JAG lawyer Major Sarah McKenzie,
he now fights in and out of the courtroom with the same daring and
tenacity that made him a Top Gun in the air." A few years later Harm
discovers that his night blindness had been misdiagnosed and with
corrective eye surgery he would be able to return to active duty.
Harm undergoes laser surgery to cure his night-blindness on episode
#81 "Second Sight" (aired April 27, 1999). Then, on episode No. 84
"Yeah Baby" (aired May 18, 1999) Harm, at age 35 and with his
eyesight fixed, decides to submit a request to be transferred to a
fighter squadron. But, with some second thought on the matter, Harm
decides to stay with JAG. However, when ever the situation arose,
Harm willingly took to the air in the service of his country.
JOHN DOE/FOX/2002-2003 (Colorblind)
*(Dominic Purcell) John Doe, a mysterious stranger with amnesia who
surfaces in Seattle. John has an encyclopedic knowledge on seemingly
every known fact but is colorblind. His visual condition is
apparently psychological because when he sees certain objects or
persons, he perceives them in color. Are these objects clues to whom
he really is and from whence he came? To simulate John's colorblind
condition, objects and persons are seen in grainy black and white
when seen through his eyes. Otherwise, the show is filmed in color.
KEY WEST/FOX/1993 (Blind)
**(Ivory Ocean/costar) Roosevelt "King" Cole, a blind publisher &
editor of The Meteor, a Key West Publication.
KUNG FU/ABC/1972-75 (Blind)
**(Keye Luke) Master Po (a.k.a. "Old Man"), a blind Shaolin Buddhist
monk living in the Hunan Province of China in the later half of the
1800's. Seen mostly in flashback sequences, Master Po was the mentor
of an orphaned boy (part Chinese and American) named Kwai Chang
Caine, who later (as a grown man) fled China after avenging the
murder of Master Po. To make Po look blind, opaque contact lenses
were inserted into the actor's eyes. Tiny holes were drilled into
the contacts so Luke could see a bit. On episode No.9 "A Praying
Mantis Kills" (3-15-73) Master Po spoke to Caine in the garden of
the Shaolin temple.
| Master Po: |
The monarch butterfly rests
itself on the young cherry blossom. |
| Young Caine: |
You are blind. How do you see
this, Master? |
| Master Po: |
I see it with my history. I smell
it is spring. I know the monarch loves the cherry. I feel the
flutter of disturbed air. All this speaks to me. |
| Young Caine: |
Sometimes, I feel strange...You
make it seem better to be blind. |
| Master Po: |
You are
learning. |
A - K /
L - Z
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