inda Bove was born on 1945, to two Deaf parents. She grew up learning to speak ASL, and attended the New Jersey school for the Deaf. After graduating, she attended Gallaudet University where she studied Library Science and performed in plays for fun. One summer, she attended a program set up by the National Theater for the Deaf, and decided to join their company after graduating from Gallaudet instead of becoming a librarian as she had previously planned to. She met a man named Ed Waterstreet who was also a member of the National Theater for the Deaf company and they were married in 1970.
When the National Theater for the Deaf was asked to do some work for Sesame Street, Linda was excited to join them, and when Sesame Street decided they wanted to create a position for her, she was thrilled. Linda became Linda the Librarian to millions of children around the United States. She was able to show hearing people a positive portrayal of a proud Deaf woman who was capable of anything. She also taught American Sign Language to children through the show, and published several books designed for teaching ASL to kids. Her role as Linda the Librarian lasted from 1971 – 2003, and brought Linda the distinction of holding the longest roll of any Deaf person in the entertainment industry.
In between her work on Sesame Street, Linda also appeared on the soap opera Search for Tomorrow, and on Happy Days. She also understudied the roll of Sarah Norman in Children of a Lesser God. In 1991, Linda and her husband founded Deaf West Theater in Los Angeles. Deaf West puts on plays and musicals, performed simultaneously in ASL and spoken English. They won several awards for their adaption of Big River, and premiered the first revival of Pippin since the 1970’s at the Mark Taper Forum in 2008.
Today Linda continues to perform on the stage, sometimes with her husband Ed. She is also a big supporter of an organization called the Non Traditional Casting Project, which encourages the casting of minorities and people with perceived disabilities. Through her work in spreading the knowledge of sign into mainstream communities, and also by providing a positive roll for deaf children everywhere, Linda has been a great ambassador for Deaf Culture.
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June 13, 2012 at 12:40 PM
Lila
Hello, I am a hearing high school student doing a biography assignment on Linda Bove for my iASL class, I am trying to find out when Linda Bove graduated from Gallaudet, but have not found anything from my web searches. I’m wondering if you or someone else can provide this information, and thank you for your time and your blog, I find it very interesting.
September 26, 2013 at 12:26 PM
Jordan
1968 with a bachelor in Liberal science from gallaudet
April 8, 2013 at 7:12 AM
Emili Schurke
I am needing information about Linda Bove as well. I need information about challenges she faced besides being deaf. I also need more information about her childhood.
November 18, 2013 at 11:05 PM
Dixie
I just want to say thank you for all this information! I’m also doing a report on Linda for ASL class, and this site has been very helpful to me, both for this report and for previous reports. Keep it up. 🙂
December 12, 2013 at 11:32 AM
Gabby
This is great it gives me a lot of information on her.
December 12, 2013 at 11:34 AM
Gabby
Linda Bove is a great actress she does a great job my kid loves her and wants tom learn sign language. I think it is a great thing for her and if she ever meets a deaf person she could be able to communicate with her.
January 13, 2015 at 7:57 AM
Desiree Keys
This Desiree Keys and i am deaf. i am 50 year old. i know about you
April 10, 2016 at 9:01 PM
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[…] has always featured characters with disabilities including Linda, a deaf librarian who used sign-language on the show and last year, Sesame Street introduced its […]
September 25, 2016 at 12:47 PM
sources | Linda Bove
[…] https://ifmyhandscouldspeak.wordpress.com/2009/11/05/linda-bove-the-librarian/ . “Linda Bove: The Librarian”. If My Hands Could Speak. […]