'Ordinary' people who overcome disabilities and become 'Artists' (extra-'Ordinary')

[Rumpelwilskin]

Disabilities both physical and psychological (e.g. lord byron and his club foot, so and so and their dyslexia). Chris Morris may be one of them. As most of us theorize, his birthmark is hard to miss, therefore he must have suffered lots of abuse for and become very self-conscious. Yet it must be said, the man went on to do great things.

In lots of cases, artists use their problem, be it physical or psychological, as a means to a end result. All you have to do is read most bio/auto bio's. Most people we've come to know as celebrities had a lot of obstacles to overcome and not the amount of wherewithal as most but still managed; perhaps that made them 'driven'. Of course, some can't hack it and wind up exacerbating their problems with liberal use of drugs or by simply succumbing to their demons (both prescribed and non-prescribed), usually ending up living a life of seclusion (syd barrett, emily dickinson) or topping themselves (ian curtis, kirk cobain, sylvia plath).

Any other examples you can think of where this is the case? Or, more interestingly, would any of you like to share how you've used your disabilities to your advantage, managing to manifest it somehow in what ever field of art you commit yourself to?

Apparently Ian Dury was disabled, coming in at number 2 of the list of disabled Britons. Didn't even know he was disabled (apparently he strutted around the stage with a cane at his gigs). Just goes to show you...

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/2738105.stm

[gazzyk1ns]

Haha brilliant

Top 10 greatest disabled Britons:

1. Professor Stephen Hawking
2. Ian Dury
3. Tanni Grey-Thompson
4. Douglas Bader
5. Sir Winston Churchill
6. David Blunkett
7. Mike Oliver, Professor of Disability Studies at the University of Greenwich
8. Lord Byron
9. Lord Nelson
10. King George VI

Here's mine:

1. The Unquiet Dead
2. Fath- oh, hang on...

[Captain Crunch]

Number 6!!  OMGWTF11!!!!

I'm going for David Lee Roth.  Can't find anything on the net but he was unable to walk for several years in childhood due to a medical condition I can't remember.  Not very illuminating, sorry.

[Mister Cairo]

Haha brilliant

6. David Blunkett

Bloody hell, did the postal fraud people strike again? Either that or Kimberly Quinn got 300 votes to use

[Cliche Guevara]

Jeremy Beadle must have just missed out at number 11 with his small hand 'n' all.

[Suttonpubcrawl]

I think Jeremy Beadle's small hand must be an advantage though, it can play pranks on the parts other hands can't reach.

[Cliche Guevara]

Wasn't Beethoven blind? That's quite extraordinary - learning to play the piano solely by ear with no reading involved right from the start.

Or was he cheating and not blind from birth at all?

[Suttonpubcrawl]

He wasn't blind at all. He did go deaf later in life.

[Cliche Guevara]

Ah right. I've got my facts mixed up and even started making some up myself.

So, was there ever a blind pianist?

Edit: ...of famed "artist" stature, of course.

[Suttonpubcrawl]

Ah right. I've got my facts mixed up and even started making some up myself.

So, was there ever a blind pianist?

Loads, I'm sure. Perhaps you mean classical concert pianist, but I'd have thought Stevie Wonder and Ray Charles would spring to mind rather immediately!

[Des Nilsen]

The thread reminds me of Evelyn Glennie. (A teacher at my primary school admired her a great deal. She'd mention her at any given opportunity). Evelyn is profoundly deaf and senses music through feeling the vibrations in her body, which is incredible, I think. Truly fantastic.

http://www.evelyn.co.uk/

-

[Sam]

Yes, Glennie is outstanding.

This obessesion with lists is getting silly! Ranking disabled people seems pointless at best and tasteless at worst.

[Adrian Brezhnev]

I always forget that Ian Dury was disabled.

[Suttonpubcrawl]

To be honest I have to agree on the tasteless front. This all seems a bit "ah bless, look, they did alright really!".

[Rats]

So, was there ever a blind pianist

Mine's only got one eye

I saw a "best of" compilation video of the worlds only disabled porn actor, it was called "cream of the crip"

[Rumpelwilskin]

Have to agree with the 'ranking' of people with disabilities, kind of tasteless. Although society does have a tendency to marganalize those of us with disabilities and weed them out (take the 'Special Olympics' for example). Oh, and Milton was technically disabled as he went blind by the end of his life (might have been after he composed Paradise Lost, though),.

I don't know, personally I feel overcoming a giant obstacle and ultimately succeeding in an amazing feat is worthy of admiration and others who have that obstacle in their live need someone to look up to. Be it Lance Armstrong overcoming testicular cancer to win the most Tour de France victories in history or going on to do what you love inspite of bullying like our own Chris Morris may have done.

As Nitin Sawhney says 'From opression comes expression.'

[Cliche Guevara]

My mother, of all people, has just informed me that Beadle has been recently diagnosed with leukaemia and is no longer as game for a laugh as he once was. If you think his small hand was an advantage (although, without doubt, a hindrance to attempting to play the piano), certainly you'd see this a tough blow to "a man with so much potential left in him" - according to Krazy Komedy Kwarterly.

Look at the effect Beadle's had here compared to Kylie; the poor chap. Maybe Beadlemania just hasn't hit Cook'd and Bomb'd yet. For shame...

[sam and janet evening]

Does Dudley Moore (and his dodgy leg) count?
In terms of being a Blues musician it's a positive advantage;
Blind Willie McTell/Lemon Jefferson/Boy Blake/Boys of Alabama
Peg Leg Howell
Jimmie Rodgers (TB through much of his, short, life)
AP Carter, (Palsy - Shaky hands)
George Shearing (blind jazz pianist)
Deaf, Dumb and Blind Frank Tibbs (lousy guitarist, but bloody good at pinball)

[Mr Colossal]

'Garrincha'  was born with his left leg bent inwards and his right leg six centimetres shorter and curved outwards, but ended up being one of the greatest Brazilian footballers ever,  where funnilly enough  it was his sublime dribbling skill, speed and wing trickery that were  his most notable attributes.

[El Unicornio, mang]

There's a wrestler who has no arms or legs

[Rats]

Look at the effect Beadle's had here compared to Kylie; the poor chap. Maybe Beadlemania just hasn't hit Cook'd and Bomb'd yet. For shame...

You haven't been in comedy chat lately then. Guess who his biggest fan is, go on have a guess. I'll give you a clue "stop that, it's silly. No one likes a laugh more than me etc"

[cilamc]

And Gareth Gates had a stammer!

[sproggy]

Mat Fraser, thalidomide kickboxing, crap stand-up comic, artist.

Self proclaimed genius.


Publicly acknowledged twat.

[LadyDay]

Django Reinhardt, the great jazz guitarist. As a result of a terrible fire he lost the use of all but two fingers on his left hand and developed a whole new fingering system so that he could continue to play.

[Rumpelwilskin]

Lest anyone forget Wesley Willis.

And I suppose to give Jonathan Ross credit, he does have a prominent lisp yet is one of the most recognizeable voices in the UK media. Perphas even the most famous lisp next to Sean Connery, although unlike Ross's, his is far from annoying.

[Cliche Guevara]

Look at the effect Beadle's had here compared to Kylie; the poor chap. Maybe Beadlemania just hasn't hit Cook'd and Bomb'd yet. For shame...

You haven't been in comedy chat lately then. Guess who his biggest fan is, go on have a guess. I'll give you a clue "stop that, it's silly. No one likes a laugh more than me etc"

Haha, I haven't. So Beadle is about.

This was fantastic:

Although Beatle wasn't one of my favourites you've got to hand it to him for staying at the top of his game for so long. Game For A Laugh, Going For Gold and Beatles About all were very popular with the blue rinsers and less cerebal types.
He will be sadly missed.

RIP Jeremy.

[Bigflood]

I second Django Reinhardt.  His music sounds incredible before you realise he only had two fully working fingers.  If you go to http://www.ifilm.com/ifilmdetail/2649271 you can see him play.  His speed and dexterity are incredible.  He's a great example of what can be possible if you stick to your belief in yourself.

[Mr Skinnylegs]

Winston Churchill was disabled?

[Rumpelwilskin]

Winston Churchill was disabled?

He suffered from what he termed 'The Black Dog' AKA depression. Not sure if he was physically disabled...

[Cerys]

I can't believe they left me out.  I shall be writing to my MP about this.