Marlee Matlin joins her mentor Henry Winkler in speaking engagements

From The News-Sentinel in Fort Wayne, Ind. Marlee Matlin and Henry Winkler are speaking to a sold-out crowd at Indiana University-Purdue University Fort Wayne (IPFW) Sept. 17.

There was never any doubt in her mind that she would be a star, for after all, are not stars for those who lift their eyes?

Actress Marlee Matlin credits much of her obstacle-leaping (and Academy Award) success to veteran actor Henry Winkler's tough love and mentorship.

In her book, “I'll Scream Later,” which was published in April, Matlin details her drug use, discrimination, family issues and, through it all, her well-publicized deafness, which was a result of roseola infantum at 18 months.

“Whether it was the deaf or hearing community, I've always fought against people defining me, stereotyping me, limiting me because of my deafness,” Matlin said in her book.

Simultaneously, Matlin, who appears Thursday in the first 2009-2010 IPFW Omnibus Lecture Series presentation with actor Henry Winkler (“the Fonz” from “Happy Days”), has been a strong voice for deaf issues, such as closed-captioning and children's educational opportunities.

“The greatest barrier is still that deafness results in a closed mind,” Matlin said in her book.

In film and TV roles, she tries to portray deaf people as professionals who can succeed as well as hearing people.

Matlin and Winkler will perform a dialogue during their presentation at Rhinehart Music Center.

Winkler met Matlin when she was 13, immediately took her under his wing and became her mentor.

Later, Matlin would be the youngest actress to win both a Golden Globe Award and an Academy Award for her 1986 performance in “Children of a Lesser God.”

To this day, she continues her close relationship with Winkler and his family, even to the point of getting married in his backyard in 1993.

An author of several books, Matlin also has appeared in hundreds of TV and film productions — either in the lead or as a supporting cast member — such as “Picket Fences,” “Reasonable Doubts,” “The West Wing,” “Seinfeld,” “Dancing with the Stars,” “Desperate Housewives,” “Extreme Makeover: Home Edition,” “CSI: New York” and many others. She was also executive producer of Disney's “Eddie's Million Dollar Cook-off.”

In an e-mail interview, Matlin, married to Kevin Grandalski and a mother of four, spoke candidly about her profound hearing loss.

“I don't know the specifics of what my loss is, as I don't spend a lot of time thinking about what I don't have or do have,” Matlin said.

“With very powerful hearing aids, in conjunction with my lip-reading ability, I can catch a lot of stuff that is in my direct vision. I prefer to see the human me rather than the medical me!”

If her fairy godmother were to swoop down and restore Matlin's hearing, would she welcome that gift or would she choose to remain deaf, as so many in the deaf community would?

“I am happy with who I am so I don't need to entertain thoughts of whether or not I would choose to be hearing if given the chance.

“I believe people in the deaf community also would choose to be deaf because they too are happy and successful as they are,” said Matlin.

What does Matlin hope the audience takes away from the presentation by her and Winkler?

“I'd love people to learn about the importance of mentoring. Henry Winkler was there when I was 13 years old to tell me that I could be whatever I wanted to be if I just followed my heart. I listened to him and, eight years later, I had an Academy Award in my hand.

“Henry was also someone who faced barriers of his own growing up. But he managed to follow his own heart and accomplished greatness. At the end of the evening, I hope people can pass it forward and do some mentoring of their own to children looking for inspiration.”

Matlin is looking forward to a “big Fort Wayne welcome” when she arrives here Sept. 17, and she had one more thing she'd like to share with northeast Indiana fans:

“I'm the loudest person they'll ever meet. But to find out, they'll have to come in person and see!”