Deaf people (if not deaf actors, because in the early days many deaf roles in Hollywood were taken by hearing actors) have been on television since not long after television began. These are the earliest appearances of deafness on television that I know of. Actors who are known to be deaf are indicated below with an asterisk (*).
- Screen Director's Playhouse/"Number Five Checked Out" (16/January 1956) - a young deaf woman
- Alfred Hitchcock Presents/"You Got to Have Luck" (16/January 1956) - a deaf woman's inability to hear leads to the captureof a fugitive
- The Adventures of Robin Hood (British)/"The Wager" (June 1956) - deaf beggar
- The Adventures of Jim Bowie/"Deaf Smith" (February 1958)- scout Erastus ("Deaf") Smith
- Wagon Train/"Ella Lindstrom Story" (February 1959) - deaf child in a family
- Bonanza/"Silent Thunder" (December 1960) - a character has a deaf-mute daughter who is taught sign
- The June Allyson Show/"A Silent Panic" (December 1960) - a deaf-mute man is a murder witness
- The Deputy/"Spoken in Silence" (April 1961) - a character has a deaf-mute daughter
- 87thPrecinct (1961-62) - deaf mute wife of cop
- Wagon Train/"Wagon to Fort Anderson" (June 1961) - deaf girl
- The Rifleman/"The Quiet Fear" (January 1962) - a character has a deaf daughter.
- Ben Casey/"A Woods Full of Question Marks" (October 1964) - a group of deaf children from Mary E. Bennett school for deaf. (June Reed, Irene Wassell, Val Zimmer, Gale Doling, Steven Cole, Edward Ewald, Rebecca Fogarty, Christopher Sato, Hedy Ukovich, Anthony Hinderer, Deanna Longo)
- Peyton Place (1964-69) - young deaf child
- Lassie/"The Day the Mountain Shook" (April 1966) - deaf boys from Mary E. Bennett School
- Mannix/"Silent Cry" (September 1968) - deaf woman (Audree Norton*) witness to crime
- Land of the Giants/"Shell Game" (April 1969) - a giant deaf boy
More: Deaf People on Television 1950s to Modern Times
Sources:
IMDB.com, Epguides.com, and TV.com were the sources for much of this material.
