By the end of the decade, there was a television movie solely about deafness: And Your Name is Jonah, featuring a young Jeffrey Bravin. This movie has never appeared on home video, and I receive inquiries about it from time to time.
1980s
In the '80s, sign language was showcased more, and there were efforts made to portay deaf people as "regular people." The eighties also saw a landmark 1985 Hallmark television movie focused on deafness, "Love is Never Silent," with Phyllis Frelich and Ed Waterstreet. There was also a regular deaf character in a family - perhaps the first one? on a short-lived television program that aired in the summer of 1983, "The Family Tree," in which the deaf boy's role was acted by Jonathan Hall Kovacs.
Eighties' television appearances by deaf actors and actresses:
- Little House on the Prairie/"Silent Promises" (January 1980) - deaf boy (Alban Branton) who does not know sign language learns it. Lou Fant also appears
- Happy Days/"Allison" (February 1980) - Fonzie falls for a deaf girl (Linda Bove) briefly and attempts to learn sign language
- Barney Miller/"Stormy Weather" (February 1981) - deaf prostitute (Phyllis Frelich)
- Bosom Buddies (1981) - deaf girl at a high school reunion
- CHIPS/"Silent Partner" (February 1982) - a deaf man is mistaken for a drunken driver. (Frances Ripplinger, Saul Brandt)
- Little House on the Prairie/"The Wild Boy" (November 1982) - Jon Kovacs
- Little House on the Prairie/"Hello and Goodbye" (March 1983) - Jon Kovacs
- Voyagers/"Barriers of Sound" (June 1983) - Alexander Graham Bell's future deaf wife appears.
- Hill Street Blues/"Ratman and Bobbin" (January 1984) - a deaf child (Ronald Carter)
- St. Elsewhere/"Hearing" (February 1984) - deaf employee (Freda Norman)
- Cagney and Lacey/"Baby Broker" (April 1984) - a deaf baby
- Gimme a Break/"Earthquake" (February 1985) - deaf woman
- Airwolf/"Jennie" (November 1985) - group of hearing impaired kids (Jon Kovacs)
- Magnum, PI/"A Picture is Worth" (October 1986) - a deaf woman witness
- Spenser: For Hire/"When Silence Speaks" (February 1986) - deaf newspaper columnist (Phyllis Frelich)
- Macgyver/"Silent World" (November 1986) - Mary Beth Barber (Miss Deaf America, 1980)
- Cagney and Lacey/"Right to Remain Silent" (March 1987) - deaf murder suspect (Terrylene)
- Small Wonder/"I Hear You" (October 1987) - deaf boy (Scooter Stevens)
- High Mountain Rangers(short-lived program)(February 1988) - group of deaf children attacked by a bear
- Family Ties/"A Sign of the Times" (March 1988) - deaf boy classmate
- Hunter/"Death Signs" (March 1988) - deaf man killed (Howie Seago, Mary Vreeland, David Balacater, Catherine Richardson)
- Punky Brewster/"What's Your Sign" (May 1988) - deaf girl scout
- A Country Practice (Australia)/"Taking a Chance" (1989) - deaf stranger
- Man Called Hawk/"Hear No Evil"(?) (February 1989) - Troy Kotsur, William Byrd, Warren Snipe
- The Equalizer/"Silent Fury" (March 1989) - crimes against the deaf community. Howie Seago.
- Star Trek: The Next Generation/"Loud as a Whisper" (January 1989) - deaf mediator (Howie Seago)
The late 80s on television generally belonged to Terrylene, who had at least five appearances on "Beauty and the Beast," making her a de facto star on the show.According to an About visitor, the show had "a whole episode devoted to the deaf culture in which they dealt with a deaf gang of children led by an angry young deaf man who had pennies in ears as a sign of rebellion; and the main character Vincenttaught a young deaf boy who lived down below sign language and tried to keep him from joining the gang."
1990s
In the 1990s, deaf actors and actresses began to move beyond guest appearances into more fully developed character roles. The decade belonged to Marlee Matlin , who made history with her recurring roles on Picket Fences and the West Wing, and her starring role on "Reasonable Doubts." Matlin also had guest appearances on numerous programs such as Seinfeld (1993), The Outer Limits (1995), The Larry Sanders Show (1997), Spin City (1997), and so did many other deaf actors:
- Inspector Morse (British show)/"Driven to Distraction" (January 1990) - deaf salesman (Steve Shill)
- The Bill (British)/"Watch My Lips" (July 1990) - deaf suspect
- The Young Riders/"Blood Moon" (October 1990) - deaf boy at risk of being lynched
