Lou Fant (December 13, 1931 – June 11, 2001) was a pioneering teacher, author and expert on

American Sign Language American Sign Language (ASL) is a natural language that serves as the predominant sign language of Deaf communities in the United States of America and most of Anglophone Canadians, Anglophone Canada. ASL is a complete and organized visual lang ...

(ASL). He was also an actor in film, television, and the stage. Natively bilingual in ASL and English, he often played roles relating to sign language and the deaf. His life centered on advocacy and teaching for the deaf.

Personal life and education

Fant was born December 13, 1931, in Greenville, South Carolina. He was the only child of deaf parents Louie Judson Fant and Hazeline Helen Reid. Though hearing, he learned

ASL American Sign Language (ASL) is a natural language that serves as the predominant sign language of Deaf communities in the United States of America and most of Anglophone Canada. ASL is a complete and organized visual language that is express ...

as a native language from his parents. They moved to Dallas in 1944 where he graduated from

Baylor University Baylor University is a private Baptist Christian research university in Waco, Texas. Baylor was chartered in 1845 by the last Congress of the Republic of Texas. Baylor is the oldest continuously operating university in Texas and one of the fir ...

, and later received his M.A. in Special Education from

Columbia University Columbia University (also known as Columbia, and officially as Columbia University in the City of New York) is a private research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manhatt ...

. At Baylor, he met and married Lauralea Irwin. They moved to New York, and later to Washington D.C. where he taught at

Gallaudet College Gallaudet University ( ) is a private university, private University charter#Federal, federally chartered research university in Washington, D.C. for the education of the Hearing loss, deaf and hard of hearing. It was founded in 1864 as a gramma ...

. They had four children and remained married until her death in 1988. Fant later married Barbara Bernstein, and was married to her until his death in Seattle of pulmonary fibrosis.

Career

He began his career teaching at the

New York School for the Deaf The New York School for the Deaf is a private school for the deaf in Greenburgh, New York, in Westchester County just north of New York City, United States. History The New York School for the Deaf was chartered in 1817 as the New York Institu ...

, then at

Gallaudet University Gallaudet University ( ) is a private federally chartered research university in Washington, D.C. for the education of the deaf and hard of hearing. It was founded in 1864 as a grammar school for both deaf and blind children. It was the first sc ...

in Washington, D.C. In 1967, Fant helped establish the

National Theater of the Deaf The National Theatre of the Deaf (NTD) is a Connecticut-based theatre company founded in 1967, and is the oldest theatre company in the United States with a continuous history of domestic and international touring, as well as producing original wor ...

Waterford, Connecticut Waterford is a town in New London County, Connecticut, United States. It is named after Waterford, Ireland. The population was 19,571 at the 2020 census. The town center is listed as a census-designated place (CDP) and had a population of 3,074 ...

and the

Registry of Interpreters for the Deaf The Registry of Interpreters for the Deaf, Inc (RID) is a non-profit organization founded on June 16, 1964, and incorporated in 1972, that seeks to uphold standards, ethics, and professionalism for American Sign Language interpreters. RID is current ...

. Fant was also a sign language poet, using creative alterations in space and time of ordinary signs to create a type of sign language performance art. Fant led the

Seattle Central Community College Seattle Central College is a public college in Seattle, Washington. With North Seattle College and South Seattle College, it is one of the three colleges that comprise the Seattle Colleges District. The college has a substantial international ...

Interpreter Training Program from 1989 to 2000, until his retirement.

Hollywood career

In the 1970s Fant relocated to Southern California to pursue his acting career. Fant took part in numerous television productions, including ''

General Hospital ''General Hospital'' (often abbreviated as ''GH'') is an American daytime television soap opera. It is listed in ''Guinness World Records'' as the list of longest-running television shows by category, longest-running American soap opera in pro ...

'' and ''

Little House on the Prairie The ''Little House on the Prairie'' books is a series of American children's novels written by Laura Ingalls Wilder (b. Laura Elizabeth Ingalls). The stories are based on her childhood and adolescence in the Midwestern United States, American M ...

'', and in film, such as '' Looking for Mr. Goodbar''. He was also sign-language coach for some well-known actors, including

Henry Winkler Henry Franklin Winkler, OBE (born October 30, 1945), is an American actor, comedian, author, executive producer, and director. After rising to fame as Arthur "Fonzie" Fonzarelli on the American television series ''Happy Days'', Winkler has ...

Diane Keaton Diane Keaton ('' née'' Hall, born January 5, 1946) is an American actress and director. She has received various accolades throughout her career spanning over six decades, including an Academy Award, a British Academy Film Award, two Golden Gl ...

, Robert Young and

Melissa Gilbert Melissa Ellen Gilbert (born May 8, 1963) is an American actress, television director, producer, politician, and former president of the Screen Actors Guild. Gilbert began her career as a child actress in the late 1960s, appearing in numerous co ...

. He coached actors in the use of sign language for Children of a Lesser God. He also appeared in television commercials. While in Southern California, he also co-hosted a talk show, "Off Hand," with Herb Larson, a deaf instructor at California State University Northridge, where Fant also taught ASL classes. GREEN

Publications

Fant published nine books, and contributed to eight films promoting use of sign language. His ''Ameslan: An Introduction to American Sign Language'' (1972)Fant, Lou (1972). ''Ameslan: An Introduction to American Sign Language.'' Silver Spring, MD: National Association of the Deaf was the first book designed to teach ASL as a unique language rather than as a mere lexicon of signs.

Filmography

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Fant, Lou 1931 births 2001 deaths 20th-century American educators Special education in the United States Writers from Greenville, South Carolina Baylor University alumni Teachers College, Columbia University alumni Deaf culture in the United States Educators of the deaf