March 4, 1998

1998 Middlebury College Twilight Scholar: Activist

and Comedian Henry Holden

Activist and comedian Henry

Holden, Middlebury College’s 1998 Twilight Scholar, will make

a two-day visit to campus on March 16 and March 17, where he will

meet students, faculty and staff to discuss attitudes within the

entertainment and media industries toward people with disabilities,

and to explore how those attitudes influence public perceptions.

At 9 p.m. on Monday, March 16, Holden will perform a comedic routine

titled “God Walks on Crutches” at the Middlebury College

McCullough Student Center on Old Chapel Road, off South Main Street

(Route 30). On Tuesday, March 17, he will give a slide and lecture

presentation, “The Misconceptions Continue: How the Media

Represents People with Disabilities,” at 4:15 p.m. in the

Coltrane Lounge in Middlebury College’s Adirondack House, off

College Street (Route 125). Both events are free and open to the

public.

A comedian who is also an actor, activist,

and athlete, Holden contracted polio at the age of four during

the 1952 national polio epidemic. Yet, wearing braces and crutches

has never stopped him from pursuing his dream of acting. Holden

has broken new ground by appearing in prime-time programming not

specifically calling for an actor with a disability. He has acted

on numerous television shows, including “T.J. Hooker,”

“Hill Street Blues” and “Knot’s Landing.”

As an activist, he founded Disability

in Media Everywhere (DIME) in an effort to eliminate the negative

portrayals in the media of people with disabilities. Seeking to

include persons with disabilities in television programming and

advertisements, Holden has appeared on shows ranging from “Today”

and “Entertainment Tonight” to numerous local news shows.

His unquenchable thirst for sport has

resulted in countless athletic adventures, including certification

for scuba diving, riding at the National Horse Show at Madison

Square Garden, skiing in Colorado, and finishing the Los Angeles

Marathon.

Launched in 1995, the Twilight Program

at Middlebury College was named in honor of Alexander Twilight,

an African-American who graduated from the College in 1823. Historians

believe Twilight was the first African-American to earn a degree

from an American college or university. “The idea for the

program came from faculty and others interested in enhancing the

diversity of our faculty, and expanding our curricular offerings,”

said Leroy Nesbitt, special assistant to the president of the

College.

For more information about Holden’s

visit to campus, please contact Elizabeth Christensen, Americans

with Disabilities Act (ADA) coordinator, at 802-443-5851.