The Miracle Continues

Last updated

The Miracle Continues
Also known asHelen Keller: The Miracle Continues
GenreDrama
Based onHelen and Teacher: The Story of Helen Keller and Anne Sullivan Macy by Joseph P. Lash
Written by John McGreevey
Directed by Alan Gibson
Starring Blythe Danner
Mare Winningham
Perry King
Vera Miles
Music by J. A. C. Redford
Country of originUnited States
Original languageEnglish
Production
Executive producer David Lawrence
Cinematography Frank Watts
Editor John Farrell
Running time100 minutes
Production companies 20th Century Fox Television
Castle Combe
Original release
Network Syndication
ReleaseApril 23, 1984 (1984-04-23)

Helen Keller: The Miracle Continues is a 1984 American made-for-television biographical film and a semi-sequel to the 1979 television version of The Miracle Worker . It is a drama based on the life of the deafblind and mute Helen Keller and premiered in syndication on April 23, 1984, as part of Operation Prime Time syndicated programming.

Contents

Summary

The book film covers the period of Helen Keller's life from her college years at Radcliffe through her writing of The Story of My Life assisted by John Macy, who falls in love with and marries Keller's teacher and companion, Anne Sullivan. Helen wants to live a full life but is hampered by her actual disabilities and by people's attitudes and beliefs about the disabled at that time. Sullivan is hampered by psychological problems from her own past, as well as by her symbiotic, almost codependent bond with Helen, which affects Macy to the extent that he eventually self-destructs into alcoholism. Keller and Sullivan raise money by going on the road with a lecture tour where they describe her education.

Cast


Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Helen Keller</span> American author and activist (1880–1968)

Helen Adams Keller was an American author, disability rights advocate, political activist and lecturer. Born in West Tuscumbia, Alabama, she lost her sight and her hearing after a bout of illness when she was 19 months old. She then communicated primarily using home signs until the age of seven, when she met her first teacher and life-long companion Anne Sullivan. Sullivan taught Keller language, including reading and writing. After an education at both specialist and mainstream schools, Keller attended Radcliffe College of Harvard University and became the first deafblind person in the United States to earn a Bachelor of Arts degree.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Anne Bancroft</span> American actress (1931–2005)

Anne Bancroft was an American actress. Respected for her acting prowess and versatility, Bancroft received an Academy Award, three BAFTA Awards, two Golden Globe Awards, two Tony Awards, two Primetime Emmy Awards, and a Cannes Film Festival Award. She is one of 24 thespians to achieve the Triple Crown of Acting.

<i>The Miracle Worker</i> Cycle of 20th-century dramatic works derived from Helen Kellers autobiography The Story of My Life

The Miracle Worker refers to a broadcast, a play and various other adaptations of Helen Keller's 1903 autobiography The Story of My Life. The first of these works was a 1957 Playhouse 90 broadcast written by William Gibson and starring Teresa Wright as Anne Sullivan and Patricia McCormack as Keller. Gibson adapted his teleplay for a 1959 Broadway production with Patty Duke as Keller and Anne Bancroft as Sullivan. The 1962 film also starred Bancroft and Duke. Subsequent television films were released in 1979 and in 2000.

<i>Deliverance</i> (1919 film) 1919 silent film

Deliverance is a 1919 silent film which tells the story of the life of Helen Keller and her teacher, Annie Sullivan. It stars Etna Ross, Tula Belle, Edith Lyle, Betty Schade, Sarah Lind, Ann Mason and Jenny Lind. The film also features appearances by Helen Keller, Anne Sullivan, Kate Adams Keller and Phillips Brooks Keller as themselves. The movie was directed by George Foster Platt and written by Francis Trevelyan Miller.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Anne Sullivan</span> Teacher and companion of Helen Keller (1866–1936)

Anne Sullivan Macy was an American teacher best known for being the instructor and lifelong companion of Helen Keller. At the age of five, Sullivan contracted trachoma, an eye disease, which left her partially blind and without reading or writing skills. She received her education as a student of the Perkins School for the Blind. Soon after graduation at age 20, she became a teacher to Keller.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Patty Duke</span> American actress (1946–2016)

Anna Marie "Patty" Duke was an American actress. Over the course of her acting career, she was the recipient of an Academy Award, two Golden Globe Awards, three Primetime Emmy Awards, and a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">William Gibson (playwright)</span> American playwright and novelist

William Gibson was an American playwright and novelist. He won the Tony Award for Best Play for The Miracle Worker in 1959, which he later adapted for a film version in 1962.

Deafblindness is the condition of little or no useful hearing and little or no useful sight. Different degrees of vision loss and auditory loss occur within each individual. Because of this inherent diversity, each deafblind individual's needs regarding lifestyle, communication, education, and work need to be addressed based on their degree of dual-modality deprivation, to improve their ability to live independently. In 1994, an estimated 35,000–40,000 United States residents were medically deafblind. Laura Bridgman was the first American deafblind person known to become well educated. Helen Keller was a well-known example of an educated deafblind individual. To further her lifelong mission to help the deafblind community to expand its horizons and gain opportunities, the Helen Keller National Center for Deaf-Blind Youths and Adults, with a residential training program in Sands Point, New York, was established in 1967 by an act of Congress.

"The Frost King" is a short story about King Jack Frost written by Helen Keller, then 11. Keller's teacher, Anne Sullivan, had mentioned that the autumn leaves were "painted ruby, emerald, gold, crimson, and brown," and Keller, by her own account, imagined fairies doing the work. Keller wrote a story about how a cask of jewels, being transported by fairy servants, had melted in the sun and covered the leaves.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Operation Prime Time</span> Television programming provider

Operation Prime Time (OPT) was a consortium of American independent television stations to develop prime time programming for independent stations. OPT and its spin-off syndication company, Television Program Enterprises (TPE), were formed by Al Masini. During its existence, OPT was considered the de facto fourth television network. OPT was also called an occasional television network and occasional program alternative.

Helen Keller in Her Story is a 1954 American biographical documentary about Helen Keller.

<i>The Miracle Worker</i> (1962 film) Film by Arthur Penn

The Miracle Worker is a 1962 American biographical film about Anne Sullivan, blind tutor to Helen Keller, directed by Arthur Penn. The screenplay by William Gibson is based on his 1959 play of the same title, which originated as a 1957 broadcast of the television anthology series Playhouse 90. Gibson's secondary source material was The Story of My Life, the 1903 autobiography of Helen Keller.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ivy Green</span> Historic house in Alabama, United States

Ivy Green is a historic house museum at 300 West North Commons in Tuscumbia, Alabama, United States. Built in 1820, it was the birthplace and childhood home of Helen Keller (1880–1968), who became well known after overcoming deaf-blind conditions to communicate; she became an author and public speaker. Designated as a National Historic Landmark, it is now operated as a museum honoring and interpreting Keller's life.

<i>The Story of Esther Costello</i> 1957 film by David Miller

The Story of Esther Costello is a 1957 British drama film directed by David Miller and starring Joan Crawford, Rossano Brazzi and Heather Sears. It was produced by Miller and Jack Clayton. The screenplay by Charles Kaufman was based on the 1952 novel by Nicholas Monsarrat. It was distributed by Columbia Pictures. The film is a story of large-scale fundraising.

<i>The Miracle Worker</i> (play) 1957 three-act play by William Gibson

The Miracle Worker is a three-act play by William Gibson adapted from his 1957 Playhouse 90 teleplay of the same name. It was based on Helen Keller's 1903 autobiography The Story of My Life.

<i>The Miracle Worker</i> (2000 film) 2000 US television film directed by Nadia Tass

The Miracle Worker is a 2000 American made-for-television biographical film based on the 1959 play of the same title by William Gibson. Written by Monte Merrick, the film is based on the life of Helen Keller and Annie Sullivan’s struggles to teach her. Starring Hallie Kate Eisenberg as Keller and Alison Elliott as Sullivan, the film premiered on ABC as part of The Wonderful World of Disney on November 12, 2000.

Macy is a surname. Notable people with the name include:

The Miracle Worker is a 1979 American made-for-television biographical film based on the 1959 play of the same title by William Gibson, which originated as a 1957 broadcast of the television anthology series Playhouse 90. Gibson's original source material was The Story of My Life, the 1903 autobiography of Helen Keller. The play was adapted for the screen before, in 1962.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Helen Keller Day</span> American commemorative holiday

Helen Keller Day is a commemorative holiday to celebrate the birth of Helen Keller, observed on June 27 annually. The holiday observance was created by presidential proclamation in 2006 as well as by international organizations, particularly those helping the blind and the deaf. The holiday is known for its fashion show, held on June 27 annually for fundraising purposes.

Kim E. Nielsen is an American historian and author who specializes in disability studies. Since 2012, Nielsen has been a professor of history, disability studies, and women's studies at the University of Toledo. Nielsen originally trained as historian of women and politics, and came to disability history and studies via her discovery of Helen Keller's political life.