Actor Danny Woodburn – Thanks For Being You!

Have you ever tried to interview a good friend who you really admire? A friend who you want to write about because you feel like the world should know what a great person he is? A friend who you start talking to about one subject and then find yourself going in a million tangents because conversation is just so easy?

Well, that has happened to me. And unfortunately with our busy schedules, when I couldn’t get in the questions I really wanted to ask Danny in our 40 minute time allotment, we just haven’t been able to reconnect. But I want to boast about Danny and I want to do it while you still have time to go to the theatre and see him on the big screen as Grimm in Mirror, Mirror. So…here goes.

I’m talking about Danny Woodburn – a funny, brilliant, quick-on-his-toes, loyal person who anyone would be proud to know. He is a gifted actor and comedian who became widely recognized after playing the role of Mickey, Kramer’s friend on the NBC hit sitcom Seinfeld. But he has also been in so many other television shows and movies including Death to Smoochie with Robin Williams.

And, some years back, his Cincinnati fan base grew after we brought him to town to speak at the Inclusion Leadership Awards. Not a person left that evening untouched by the powerful words of Danny about what it means to be included. He is a strong voice for those who do and say things differently.

It was of no surprise to me to learn that in October, 2010, he was honored with the Screen Actors Guild Harold Russell Award in Beverly Hills for his advocacy on behalf of performers who have disabilities.

 In his award acceptance, Danny had this to say…“I was told, ‘No—you can never be a truck driver, you’re arms won’t reach around the wheel. No—you can never be a doctor; people won’t take you seriously. No—you can never be a police officer.’

“I can be all of those things. I’m an actor. I can portray them in film and someone might be inspired to ignore those nos and live their own dream.”

Danny, you are so right.

His journey to television and films began as a little child. He credits his grandfather for his sense of humor.  “He was a great story teller,” Danny told me, remembering the time they were sitting around the dinner table when the chair leg of his 80 something year old grandfather broke and he landed on his back on the kitchen floor. “He just looked up and said, ‘can you move the table a little closer?’”

Once Danny figured out he could make people laugh, he began acting out the lyrics to songs. In the first grade he got in trouble for instigating a chase scene around the classroom. Kids would run after him while Danny ducked and got away. It was exciting and became their daily routine. And Danny stayed after school a lot because of it.

After studying theatre at Temple University, he became a teacher for an African American youth theatre company and then used that money to move to L.A. Jobs were here and there but he was able to pay the bills. Well, he did sell cowboy boots too..and had to wear them for the job.

Eventually, people in the industry came to know him.

Fast forward to March 30, 2012.

Danny was featured in the Wall Street Journal about playing one of the dwarfs in Mirror, Mirror.  In addition to Danny’s fun sense of humor, I admire him so much for his unwavering leadership when it comes to standing up for what is right and what he believes in. Of his role in Mirror, Mirror, he told the Wall Street Journal, one word almost caused him to abandon his job on the set…that word in the script was ‘midget.’  But, just as he did when he played the role of Mickey in Seinfeld, Danny used this as an opportunity to educate the filmmakers. Not only did they rewrite the script without that word, they then took elaborate steps to listen to the views of all of the actors on the set who have dwarfism.

There are a number of great lessons here – among them, don’t be afraid to speak up for what you believe in and use it as an opportunity to educate. On the other hand, think about how your words and actions are going to impact others. There is absolutely nothing wrong and everything right about asking the question if you do not know.

 To my friend Danny, I have these words for you:

Thank you for making us laugh and making us cry. Thank you for educating us and giving us thought. Most of all, thanks for being you!

For radio interview with Danny 104.3 FM, please click here.

A post I wrote about Danny being in Cincinnati is at this link.

 

 

 

 

People Working Cooperatively Helping People With Disabilities

Each year through People Working Cooperatively, thousands of volunteers working in tandem with professionally trained staff reach out to homeowners without the financial means to maintain their home, and thus, maintain their independence. The organization strengthens communities by providing professional, critical home repairs, weatherization, modification and other repair services that residents would not be able to afford on their own. PWC’s Modifications for Mobility Program specifically offers costly accessibility adaptations to homes for people with disabilities.

 Two friends, A Common Bond

 PWC volunteer Steve Crow’s battle with cancer resulted in a prosthetic leg and a calling to help his fellow neighbors. That calling was put into action when Steve met a man with whom he shared a common bond. David lost his leg to diabetes two years ago. Using a wheelchair in a house that wasn’t built for someone with a mobility disability prohibited David from being able to come and go easily.

Steve volunteered with the Kentucky United Methodist Church to build a ramp for David.

 “I was so depressed, just so upset. I couldn’t go anywhere,” David told PWC. “It has literally been two years since I went outside the house. You can’t imagine what it is like.”

The ramp gave David a new lease on life. “Just to go outside again and smell the fresh air and hear the birds. It’s indescribable,” he said.

But the ramp was not David’s only gift. The other gift was a new found friendship with someone who understands that life can change in a moment’s notice.

You Can Help

When I worked with the Inclusion Network, we used to say…”Disability is the one minority population that any of us can find ourselves in, without any notice.” Accessibility modifications, while a necessity for someone with a disability to maintain his/her independence and quality of life, are very expensive. This makes it difficult for PWC to help everyone who needs and can benefit from the service. PWC currently has 125 people on a waiting list.

Proceeds from its upcoming Oscar Night® America Party will benefit PWC’s Modifications for Mobility Program. It will be Sunday, February 26 beginning at 5:30 p.m. at the Hilton Cincinnati Netherland. Cost is $150 per person. If you can’t attend, you can still bid in their online auction at www.biddingforgood.com/PWCoscars. For more, please visit their website or call Chris Owens, 513-351-7921.

 

 

Lisa Fitzgibbon Honored For Work At Easter Seals Work Resource Center

Lisa Fitzgibbon, CEO of the Easter Seals Work Resource Center, was just honored for 33 years of great service and great accomplishments. The Work Resource Center is a place where youth and adults with disabilities gain skills they need to live more independently through employment. It serves more than 10,000 each year and 86% of those who have gone through its training have found permanent, competitive employment.

Thank you to Lisa and her staff for all that they do to help people with disabilities to be included, for focusing on their abilities and strengths, and for helping others to see those strengths as the gifts that they are.

 

Rutgers Football Player Makes A Comeback At Life

Eric LeGrand had so much he wanted to accomplish in life.  A member of the Rutgers football team, he was a leader on and off the field. Then, in one split second, one hit changed his life forever. Eric was told he would never breath again without a ventilator. He was tole had had a 5% chance of recovering any neurological function. In all of his football glory, he has never had a victory quite like this one. One flinch, one breath, one movement and one moment at a time he has made his comeback. He is not defined by his disability. He  is working to a degree and fulfilling a dream of providing commentary of Rutgers football on the radio. And this past weekend he led his team back onto the football field – in his wheelchair.

His story is reported by ABC News.

Differences Are Gifts

Think about how much more beautiful our world would be if we could always look beyond people’s surface to a place deep inside where talent and ability are born. If instead of searching for things that are wrong, we searched for things that are right. If we consciously made an effort to include everyone no matter what they look like, no matter their culture, no matter the way they get from here to there.

This story I saw on CBS News is a great reminder of that. It is about a very talented architect, Chris Downey, who lost his eye sight due to a brain tumor…but gained a unique vision that has made him a sought after professional. His personal perspective is a huge asset in the design of accessible buildings and specifically buildings accessible to those who are also blind.

All that it took to include him, to benefit from his knowledge, was some adaptive tools. “The creative process,” he told CBS News, “is still intact.”

Too often when we think about disability, we think about limitations.  The talents of people who have lost sight due to a medical condition or lost use of a limb due to an accident or who don’t communicate verbally as we are used to communicating are far too often overshadowed by what those people do differently.

But those differences are wonderful gifts.

We are all individuals. Everyone brings into this world talent, dreams, passions and insights that are uniquely theirs. Everyone has an innate need to be included and welcomed. Everyone has the power to excel by believing in the word CAN.

When we open our eyes to what lies beneath the surface, when we invite different ways of thinking and doing then together we will grow in beautiful, meaningful ways.

“It is easy to think about things you can’t do but it is so much more rewarding to think about things you can do,” said Downey.

 

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