Marlee Matlin Says There Needs to Be More Comedy Like Her ‘Seinfeld’ Episode
Marlee Matlin’s episode of Seinfeld, in which she plays Jerry’s new girlfriend and a surprisingly useful lip reader, made her a little nervous. After all, it was the first time the deaf actress had ever done a television comedy. But despite her trepidation, she told Doug Roland, her collaborator on the film Feeling Through, “the experience was awesome.”
Matlin had already won an Academy Award for Children of a Lesser God, but the opportunity to act on the biggest sitcom on television was a thrill. “Once I read the script, I realized, you know, it was perfect. It was perfect. The sense of humor from the writers, from myself, all fit together perfectly.”
“The Lip Reader” wasn’t shy about addressing the deafness of Matlin’s character, Laura. In typical Seinfeld fashion, George Costanza wasted no time in taking advantage of Laura’s ability to read lips, convincing her to secretly “eavesdrop” on a conversation with a former girlfriend. Was the show making her deafness the butt of the joke? Matlin didn’t see it that way.
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“That was the whole point of Seinfeld,” she explained. “That little group of friends would make fun of people and ended up making fun of themselves. It was perfect for me because there was nothing where I was pitied. I mean, it was the other way around. And that was a nice change for everyone to see a deaf character portrayed like that.”
Everyone is fascinated by Laura. Jerry is smitten after an awkward meet-cute when he sticks his foot in his mouth. (“What are you, deaf?” “Bingo!”) George sees her deafness as a superpower, employing her as his spy. Elaine loves the idea and asks if she can borrow Laura for a few hours. “No,” Jerry protests. “If I lend her to you, I have to lend her to everybody!”
Kramer wants in on the act as well. “Kramer with his ridiculous explanation that he knows sign language, making himself look like a fool,” Matlin remembered. “But I go with the flow, you know, in a nice way. I think there needs to be more comedy like that.”
Unlike some Seinfeld cringe, the episode’s edgy humor has held up. “It’s one of the few shows that I’m very comfortable watching over and over again,” Matlin says. “It hasn’t dated itself. I don’t cringe. ... And it’s a show that the deaf community has never been embarrassed of. I mean, it’s one of the first that really expresses a sense of humor when it comes to being deaf.”
That’s why Matlin still hears about the episode from friends and fans. “I still get texts. I still get tweets,” she said. ”Jerry told me one time at an Oscar party, ‘You know, Marlee, your episode is one of my top ten favorites.’ That was really nice to hear that from Jerry Seinfeld.”
