I'm curious. Has a wheelchair user ever appeared on any of the major network late night talk shows?

[thucythucy]

I've been trying to think of any, and so far have come up empty.

I thought of this watching the Late Show this morning, seeing John Oliver bound up the step to sit next to the wonderful Stephen Colbert.

Anyone have a name for me?

[Blue_Adept]

1. Stephen Cluskey

https://www.irishtimes.com/life-and-style/people/able-bodied-people-in-wheelchairs-to-appear-on-the-late-late-show-is-it-a-gimmick-1.3040350

Joining Thomas and Kilbane on The Late Late line up is Stephen Cluskey, a wheelchair user himself but his experiences should be heard without a celebrity endorsement. Almost every minority group in the world has been subjected to A Day In My Shoes piece, even though we have millions of voices raising very different and very real subjects across the world every single day. Unfortunately, in our case, these issues aren’t taken very seriously until a non-disabled person comes along and tells us what we already know, that this world is not built for disabled people.

These pieces are a gimmick and if they help change the minds of a few people, then that is great, but they remove us from the discussion. By doing this, we are passing the baton and the opportunity to go deep into the experiences of a wheelchair user is missed. We can only ever reach surface level of the real issues when it’s packaged this way and it’s time that we went a little deeper.

https://www.pajiba.com/videos/wheelchairbound-paralympian-pulls-the-paul-rudd-prank-on-conan-and-it-is-perfect.php


Wheelchair-Bound Paralympian Pulls the Paul Rudd Prank on 'Conan,' And It Is Perfect

[thucythucy]

16. An interesting article, thanks for the link.

I'm so glad she mentioned cobblestones! The stories I could tell...

Thanks again and best wishes.

[mucifer]

2. Judy Heumann I have seen her on talk shows discussing disability rights

She has been an activist forever



https://judithheumann.com/project/about/

[thucythucy]

13. She's been on one of the network late night talk shows?

I've seen her on Ted Talks and other Youtube channels and such, but never on something like Colbert or Letterman or Carson or Leno or whatever.

It would make sense to have her on recently, since she just published her memoir, maybe a year or so ago anyway.

Thanks and best wishes.

[mucifer]

15. Just checked IMDB and she was on the Daily Show last year

https://www.imdb.com/name/nm2507775/

[thucythucy]

17. Cool! I'll have to look it up.

She's definitely one of the greats!

Thanks for the heads-up.

[ZonkerHarris]

19. She was on the daily show Right before Covid hit

Right before Covid hit.
She was promoting her book. She’s a fantastic person. She’s a friend of mine. And she’s my client

[thucythucy]

21. I know her personally as well

though I wouldn't call myself a friend--an acquaintance really.

But she called to express her condolences when my SO died. I was so touched that she would do that, really such a thoughtful thing to do.

She's amazing in "Crip Camp." And I also loved her book.

[ZonkerHarris]

22. She is that kind of person. I put her book and movie deals together.

[Blue_Adept]

3. Also, FWIW, all of those sets are generally modular

They may have steps one night and then not on another night depending on the needs of the guest.

[thucythucy]

10. thank you.

I didn't know that, but it makes perfect sense.

[KarenS]

4. what about Christopher Reeve?

I'll check to see if he appeared on any late night talk shows,,,,

[thucythucy]

14. That would have made sense

since he was a celebrity already--but not very much of a disability rights activist. As I recall he was mostly raising funds for research on curing spinal cord injury.

Fun fact: when he appeared as a speaker at the Democratic National Convention--can't remember the year--he had to be pressured into saying anything about the ADA or disability rights. According to my source, he wanted the entire speech to be about finding a cure for spinal cord injury. I have this from people who were advising the DNC on disability issues at the time.

[Hugin]

5. I don't recall many.

Other than maybe Stephen Hawking.

But, with the emphasis right now on the Paralympics it would be a choice time to have a few.

[Lochloosa]

6. Stephen Hawkins

[Johnny2X2X]

7. Larry Flynt

Larry Flynt made the rounds many times.

[thucythucy]

12. He was on Letterman or Carson

or whichever late night show?

I would have thought he'd be too controversial for such a mainstream venue.

[jmowreader]

18. Check his IMDB page

He was on The Mike Douglas Show, Good Morning America, the Howard Stern Show, Politically Incorrect, The Daily Show and Larry King Live.

[thucythucy]

20. I suppose Larry King and the Daily Show qualify

as late night talk, but I was thinking more along the lines of Letterman, Carson, Leno, Colbert, Meyers and such. I suppose I was really wondering about all those shows where people have to walk out from behind a curtain, wondering how that would work for someone using a wheelchair.

Mike Douglas took a lot of chances for a mainstream talk-meister. He did a full week with John Lennon and Yoko Ono and had on representatives of the Black Panther Party and various members of the anti-Vietnam war movement. I've seen some of those, and he actually engages and lets people give more than a one minute answer to a question.

[exboyfil]

8. That is a really good question

I first thought of Ron Kovic, but I don't remember an appearance (just like it would make sense if he did make an appearance on one of those shows). I googled Tonight Show and saw that he was on Today but not The Tonight Show.

[Hela]

9. Tammy Duckworth (IL Senator) on Seth Myers

Tammy Duckworth was on Seth Myers in 2017, but she walked in on her artificial legs and he had to help her up the steps. It was a good example of how most take those 2 steps for granted, but it didn't do anything to make the set equitable for the differently abled.

https://fb.watch/bcR-A0mp19/

[thucythucy]

11. I didn't know that.

Watching Oliver take those steps made me wonder.

A poster above says that these sets tend to be modular, but perhaps not for the Meyers show.

Thanks and best wishes.