Tommy Edison

Last updated
Tommy Edison
Tommy Edison (cropped).jpg
Personal information
Born (1963-07-17) July 17, 1963 (age 61)
Greenwich, Connecticut, U.S.
Website https://tommyedison.com/
YouTube information
Channel
Genre(s)Comedy, Review, Life Stories
Subscribers678,000 [1]
(August 2024)
Total views98.9 Million [1]
(August 2024)
YouTube Silver Play Button 2.svg100,000 subscribers2013
Alma mater University of Bridgeport
Last updated: January 2024

Tommy Edison (born July 17, 1963) is an American YouTuber, radio presenter and film critic known for his blindness and self-deprecating sense of humor in his internet presence. [2] From 1994 until 2013 he worked as a traffic reporter for the station Star 99.9 in Bridgeport, Connecticut. [3]

Contents

Although he had never driven a car or seen a traffic jam, as a traffic reporter he used what he heard about traffic on police scanners and in calls with listeners on the road. [4]

Motivated to review films by his frustration with their visual language, [2] he started a YouTube channel called Blind Film Critic with his friend Ben Churchill in 2011. His reviews focus on script, music and sound effects. [5] The first film he reviewed was Scream 4 ; [6] his favorites include Hugo , Goodfellas , Clerks and American Hustle . [2] In 2013, audio description allowed him to watch his first silent film, which he joked was "eye-opening"—however, he does not use it when preparing his reviews. [2] He was endorsed by Roger Ebert in 2011, and has been featured on The Howard Stern Show and CNN. [2] He also made videos answering viewers' questions about blindness on another channel entitled The Tommy Edison Experience, and has covered topics such as dreams, [4] colors, [7] Braille [8] and assistive technology. [9]

Early life and career

Edison was born completely blind due to an underdeveloped optic nerve. [2] He was born and raised in Greenwich, Connecticut, and attended Canterbury School and the University of Bridgeport, where he studied music. [3] He has credited his parents for treating him the same as his sighted sisters during his upbringing. [10] His mother went to great lengths to make sure Tommy was put into a normal class rather than the school recommended special education class, stating "Tommy has a normal Cognitive Function, He is normal just like the other students, he just so happens to be blind." [11] After developing an interest in local and New York radio stations, he was hired as a disc jockey for the station WJAZ in Stamford, Connecticut in 1987, becoming its traffic reporter two years later. [3]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fairfield County, Connecticut</span> County in Connecticut, United States

Fairfield County is a county in the southwestern corner of the U.S. state of Connecticut. It is the most populous county in the state and was also its fastest-growing from 2010 to 2020. As of the 2020 census, the county's population was 957,419, representing 26.6% of Connecticut's overall population. The closest to the center of the New York metropolitan area, the county contains four of the state's top 7 largest cities—Bridgeport (1st), Stamford (2nd), Norwalk (6th), and Danbury (7th)—whose combined population of 433,368 is nearly half the county's total population.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">University of Bridgeport</span> Private university in Bridgeport, Connecticut, US

The University of Bridgeport is a private university in Bridgeport, Connecticut. The university is accredited by the New England Commission of Higher Education. In 2021, the university was purchased by Goodwin University; it retained its own name, brand, and board of trustees.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bryce Dallas Howard</span> American actress and television director (born 1981)

Bryce Dallas Howard is an American actress and director. Howard is the eldest child of filmmaker Ron Howard. She studied acting at the New York University Tisch School of the Arts, and while portraying Rosalind in a 2003 production of As You Like It, Howard caught the attention of director M. Night Shyamalan, who cast her as a blind girl in the thriller The Village (2004) and a naiad in Lady in the Water (2006).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Matt Bomer</span> American actor (born 1977)

Matthew Staton Bomer is an American actor. His works have earned him accolades including a Golden Globe Award and a Critics' Choice Television Award, in addition to nominations for two Primetime Emmy Awards.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Brian Dennehy</span> American actor (1938–2020)

Brian Manion Dennehy was an American actor of stage, television, and film. He won two Tony Awards, an Olivier Award, and a Golden Globe, and received six Primetime Emmy Award nominations. Dennehy had roles in over 180 films and in many television and stage productions. His film roles included First Blood (1982), Gorky Park (1983), Silverado (1985), Cocoon (1985), F/X (1986), Presumed Innocent (1990), Tommy Boy (1995), Romeo + Juliet (1996), Ratatouille (2007), and Knight of Cups (2015). Dennehy won the Golden Globe Award for Best Actor in a Miniseries or Television Film for his role as Willy Loman in the television film Death of a Salesman (2000). Dennehy's final film was Driveways (2019), in which he plays a veteran of the Korean War, living alone, who befriends a young, shy boy who has come with his mother to clean out his deceased aunt's hoarded home.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mark Kermode</span> English film critic (born 1963)

Mark Kermode is an English film critic, musician, radio presenter, television presenter, author and podcaster. He is the co-presenter, with Ellen E. Jones, of the BBC Radio 4 programme Screenshot and co-presenter of the film-review podcast Kermode & Mayo's Take, alongside long-time collaborator Simon Mayo. Kermode is a regular contributor to The Observer, for which he was chief film critic between September 2013 and September 2023.

<i>Boomerang</i> (1947 film) 1947 film by Elia Kazan

Boomerang! is a 1947 American crime semidocumentary film noir based on the true story of a vagrant accused of murder. It stars Dana Andrews, Lee J. Cobb, Karl Malden, Arthur Kennedy and Jane Wyatt, with voiceovers by Reed Hadley.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Michael B. Jordan</span> American actor (born 1987)

Michael Bakari Jordan is an American actor and producer. He is best known for his film roles as shooting victim Oscar Grant in the drama Fruitvale Station (2013), boxer Adonis Creed in Creed (2015), and Erik Killmonger in Black Panther (2018), all of which were written and directed by Ryan Coogler. Jordan reprised his role of Creed in Creed II (2018) and Creed III (2023); the latter also marked his directorial debut.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Richard Belzer</span> American actor and comedian (1944–2023)

Richard Jay Belzer was an American actor, comedian, and author. He was best known for his role as BPD Detective, NYPD Detective/sergeant and investigator John Munch, whom he portrayed for 23 years in the NBC police drama series Homicide: Life on the Street, Law & Order: Special Victims Unit and several guest appearances on other series.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tommy Wiseau</span> American director, actor, producer and screenwriter

Thomas Pierre Wiseau is a Polish-American actor and filmmaker. He is known for writing, producing, directing, and starring in the 2003 film The Room, which has been described by many critics as one of the worst films ever made and has gained cult status. He also co-directed the 2004 documentary Homeless in America and created the 2015 sitcom The Neighbors.

WLNG is an oldies/adult hits radio station licensed to Sag Harbor, New York, and serving eastern Long Island. WLNG is owned and operated by Bark Out Loud Dogs Media, LLC, a company led by meteorologist Bill Evans and his wife Sandra Foschi.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gary Vaynerchuk</span> American businessman (born 1975)

Gary Vaynerchuk is an American businessman, author, speaker, and internet personality. He is a co-founder of the restaurant reservation software company Resy and Empathy Wines. First known as a wine critic who expanded his family's wine business, Vaynerchuk is now more known for his work in digital marketing and social media as the chairman of New York–based communications company VaynerX, and as CEO of VaynerX subsidiary VaynerMedia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sebastian Stan</span> Romanian and American actor (born 1982)

Sebastian Stan is a Romanian and American actor. He gained recognition for his role as Bucky Barnes / Winter Soldier in the Marvel Cinematic Universe media franchise beginning with the film Captain America: The First Avenger (2011), and including the Disney+ miniseries The Falcon and the Winter Soldier (2021).

<i>The Blind Side</i> (film) 2009 film by John Lee Hancock

The Blind Side is a 2009 American biographical sports drama film written and directed by John Lee Hancock. Based on the 2006 book of the same name by Michael Lewis, the film tells the story of Michael Oher, a football offensive lineman who overcame an impoverished upbringing to play in the National Football League (NFL) with the help of Leigh Anne and Sean Tuohy. It stars Sandra Bullock as Leigh Anne, Tim McGraw as Sean, and Quinton Aaron as Oher.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Greg Sestero</span> American actor and model

Greg Sestero is an American actor, filmmaker, model and author, best known for his role as Mark in the 2003 cult film The Room, as well as for his well-received memoir The Disaster Artist, detailing his experiences making The Room, which itself was later adapted into a 2017 film.

Roger Dattyres Friedman is an American journalist and gossip blogger. Friedman wrote the FOX411 news column on Fox News between 1999 and 2009. He now writes Showbiz411, an entertainment news and film review blog.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Anthony Fantano</span> American music critic and YouTuber

Anthony Nicholas Fantano is an American music critic and internet personality who runs TheNeedleDrop, a YouTube channel with a tie-in website and Twitch streaming channel. Self-appointed as "The Internet's Busiest Music Nerd", Fantano discusses and reviews music from a variety of genres online.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Casey Neistat</span> American YouTube personality, filmmaker, vlogger and entrepreneur

Casey Owen Neistat is an American YouTube personality, filmmaker, vlogger and co-founder of the multimedia company Beme, which was later acquired by CNN. In 2018, he founded 368, a creative space for creators to collaborate with each other.

<i>The Normal Heart</i> (film) 2014 film directed by Ryan Murphy

The Normal Heart is a 2014 American television drama film directed by Ryan Murphy and written by Larry Kramer, based on his 1985 play of the same name. The film stars Mark Ruffalo, Matt Bomer, Taylor Kitsch, Jim Parsons, Alfred Molina, Joe Mantello, Jonathan Groff, and Julia Roberts.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Michael Barbaro</span> American journalist

Michael Barbaro is an American journalist and co-host of The New York Times news podcast The Daily, one of the most popular podcasts in the United States.

References

  1. 1 2 "About TommyEdisonXP". YouTube.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Buckmaster, Luke (December 3, 2014). "No spoilers: meet the film critic who's never watched a single film". The Guardian . Retrieved February 16, 2016.
  3. 1 2 3 Weizel, Richard (September 28, 1997). "Connecticut Q&A: Tommy Edison; On the Air About Traffic, and Blind". The New York Times . Retrieved February 16, 2016.
  4. 1 2 Painter, Kim (May 23, 2012). "Blind movie critic Tommy Edison educates the masses". USA Today . Gannett Company . Retrieved February 17, 2016.
  5. ↑ Bunbury, Stephanie (December 3, 2014). "Meet Tommy Edison, the blind film critic". The Sydney Morning Herald . Fairfax Media . Retrieved February 16, 2016.
  6. ↑ Gibson, Megan (May 19, 2011). "Q&A: Tommy Edison, The Blind Film Critic With a Big YouTube Following". Time . Time Inc. Retrieved February 16, 2016.
  7. ↑ Dahl, Melissa (July 2, 2014). "Could You Describe 'Red' to a Blind Person?". New York Magazine . Retrieved February 17, 2016.
  8. ↑ von Baldegg, Kasia Cieplak-Mayr (May 7, 2012). "How Tommy Edison, the 'Blind Film Critic,' Became a YouTube Sensation". The Atlantic . Atlantic Media. Archived from the original on September 6, 2015. Retrieved February 17, 2016.
  9. ↑ Ellcessor, Elizabeth (2016). Restricted Access: Media, Disability, and the Politics of Participation. New York University Press. p. 157. ISBN   9781479867431.
  10. ↑ McCurley, Mark (August 20, 2011). "Don't miss it: Milford blind film critic's website a must-see hit (video)". New Haven Register . Digital First Media . Retrieved February 17, 2016.
  11. ↑ The Tommy Edison Experience (2017-09-13), Going To School As A Blind Person , retrieved 2018-01-27
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.