NOT EVERYONE
WHO USES A CHAIR GETS 15 MINUTES
OF FAME
. . . but Christopher Reeve isn't the only wheeler widely recognized
Alan Toy, polio survivor, (above) is a successful actor on wheels. He's appeared in 21 movies, including M*A*S*H
and Born on the Fourth of July. He starred as Professor Finley
in the 1994 season of Beverly Hills 90210, and has also
performed in Matlock, The Sentinel, Airwolf,
Diagnosis Murder and The Profiler.
Ron
Kovic, 
author of 'Born on the Fourth of
July,' became the focus of public awareness of disability through Tom
Cruise's hit movie based on Kovic's book.
Raymond Burr, known as 'Perry Mason' 
to millions
of TV viewers, also starred for seven
seasons as paralyzed chief of detectives 'Ironside' -- one of the
few title roles ever for a wheelchair user. He was only pretending then, but ironically poor health
and burgeoning weight later made his walking difficult --
for real.
Mitch
Longley, actor, paraplegic and
activist with 
native American causes, recently completed a three-year assignment portraying a
wheelchair-using doctor in the ABC-TV series, Port Charles.
Senator Max Cleland of Georgia (above),
a triple amputee Vietnam veteran, is a unique
rolling member of Congress, and former director of the Veterans
Administration.
British
scientist Stephen Hawking's conquest of
an uncooperative body with an 
indomitable spirit and a talking
computer have made him a legendary figure worldwide, and
a poster boy for the 'can-do' attitude.
NBC's John Hockenberry
(below) is a highly visible chair user. In his recent book he
discusses some of the wrong notions
others have about life in a wheelchair. He currently writes a column on the
MSNBC site,
drawing on his years as reporter and commentator for NPR, ABC, and NBC.
Federal attorney Joe Hartzler of Springfield,
Illinois, a wheelchair-user since 
1989
because of multiple sclerosis, rode into the courtroom to
successfully prosecute the case of the Oklahoma City bombings.
Only in recent years have many wheelchair users found their way into the public spotlight . . .
Ethel Barrymore appeared on stage and in films in a wheelchair in the final years of her distinguished acting career.
George Wallace served two terms as governor of Alabama while using a wheelchair, the result of an assassination attempt in Maryland during the 1972 presidential campaign.
Roy Campanella's major league baseball career ended, but a new opportunity in public speaking and advocacy opened when an injury put him on wheels.
Franklin D. Roosevelt's use of a wheelchair remains today a controversial issue. In an elaborate system of staging, his chair was almost never revealed to the public, lest it make him appear weak as a national leader, although it was widely known that he had fallen victim to polio in young adulthood.
White House counsel Charles Ruff became an
instant celebrity through the Clinton impeachment
hearings, carried live on television worldwide.
A diving accident in 1967 left
Joni Eraekson a quadriplegic, and started an amazing pilgrimage
which would lead to her writing 26 books and
founding Joni and
Friends, a disability advocacy, ministry and education movement.
Joni's daily radio program and monthly magazine column reach millions.
In 1998, she received the first honorary doctorate ever bestowed by
Columbia University.
...and what shall we say about Hustler publisher Larry
Flynt? 
Not much, except that he, too,
is in a wheelchair.