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I was tempted to lead off with Porky Pig, but after Joe Biden’s public confession last week during the Democratic National Convention, it seemed timelier to kick off the list with him. Stuttering encompasses much more than just Porky-style sound repetition. If you experience those long pauses before speaking, sometimes called blocks, or if you mmmmmilk various sounds for all their worth, you might be considered a stutterer (or stammerer) too. But as this list proves (and there are other famous stutterers too), a speech impediment isn’t an impediment to success. (P.S. – I had one growing up, too!)
1. Joe Biden
A keynote speaker at a National Stuttering Association convention in 2004, Biden grew up with a stutter and was teased by his Catholic school teacher. Apparently, the nun called him B-B-B-Biden in front of the whole class. When young Joe told his mom what happened, she stormed back to school and chewed out the woman. Over the years, Biden practiced reading out loud in front of a mirror and, later, in law school, became friends with another stutterer and the two worked together on their speech.
2. Moses
Who can really say if Moses stuttered or not. But if you believe the Good Book, here are some lines that indicate he most certainly may have:
Exodus 4:12
…I am slow of speech and of a slow tongue…
Exodus 4:14-15
And the anger of the Lord burned against Moses and he said, Is not Aaron the Levite they brother? I know that he can speak well… thou shalt speak to him, and put the words in his mouth…
Read on for more on Winston Churchill, James Earl Jones, and Marilyn Monroe…
3. Isaac Newton
Though not as widely known as his work with gravity and mechanics, Sir Isaac Newton was a Member of Parliament for the University of Cambridge to the Convention Parliament of 1689, and again in 1701. Apparently Sir Isaac was so self-conscious about his speech impediment, he asked that the windows of the Parliament building be closed so people on the street wouldn’t hear him stammer.
4. Lewis Carroll
Many people know Lewis Carroll’s real name was Charles Lutwidge Dodgson. But how many people know that this son of a clergyman wanted to become a priest? Apparently he was unable because his stutter would have made it very hard come sermon time. Carroll is, of course, best known for his Alice in Wonderland books, but here’s a lesser-known poem he penned that mentions his affliction:
Learn well your grammar,
And never stammer,
Write well and neatly,
And sing soft sweetly,
Drink tea, not coffee;
Never eat toffy.
Eat bread with butter.
Once more don’t stutter.
5. Claudius
We’re talking Claudius Nero Germanicus here, Roman Emperor between 41-54 A.C.E. Many people know the famous story about his wife Agrippina murdering him with the poison mushrooms (to allow Nero to ascend), but did you know he stuttered too? He was also known to limp, drool and was hounded by nervous tics. In Robert Graves’ historical novel I, Claudius, Graves has Claudius say:
“I stammered badly as a child and though, by following the advice of specialists in elocution, I gradually learned to control my speech on set public occasions, yet on private and unpremeditated ones, I am still, though less so than formerly, liable every now and then to trip nervously over my tongue…”
6. Marilyn Monroe
Several books on stuttering and stutterers, including Benson Bobrick’s Knotted Tongues, suggest that Marilyn’s breathy, sensual delivery was actually a way of dealing with a stammer. Apparently she was instructed by a speech coach to use exaggerated mouth movements to keep her mild stutter in check.
7. Winston Churchill
There seems to be a lot of controversy as to whether or not Churchill had a lisp, a stutter, or both. One way or the other, Churchill definitely was self-conscious about his elocution and practiced speaking diligently, rehearsing his speeches and avoiding, whenever possible, words that began or ended with an S. Apparently, he nonetheless pronounced Nazis, Nahsies. (I’ve also seen it written as Narzees.)
8. James Earl Jones
Some actors who stutter are able to curb their speech impediments while on script, but continue stuttering in everyday conversation (it’s called situational fluency – and is probably similar to what Claudius experienced and Graves wrote about above). Such is reportedly the case with one of Hollywood’s most famous voices, James Earl Jones. If you saw him in that movie A Family Thing, then you know he can pull off a believable stutter. That’s because he really does. The story goes like this: Jones accidentally stammered while reading lines to the film’s director Dick Pearce. Pearce thought the trip-ups made the character seem more vulnerable and asked Jones to keep doing it.
Shhh…super secret special for blog readers.
Comments (27)
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Fascinating! I think Henry Luce might have suffered from a stutter as well, but overcame it on his way to founding Time.
posted by Mangesh on 9-2-2008 at 9:28 am
Can I assume Claudius drooled? Maybe he was also droll . . .
posted by Jessica on 9-2-2008 at 10:44 am
I used to stutter, too! According to my speech therapist, my brain was moving faster than my mouth did and I simply couldn’t keep up with myself. I have read that this is a common thing with kids who learn to read at an early age (though that may be anecdotal and not based in science).
I outgrew it eventually, but I do sometimes still have problems when I’m nervous or really excited/agitated about something.
posted by Rachel on 9-2-2008 at 10:45 am
Claudius was “Roman Emperor between 41-54 A.C.E.”? When did the “BCE/CE” dichotomy gain an “A”?
posted by dagwud on 9-2-2008 at 12:43 pm
I had a friend in college who stuttered. She went through great pains and treatment to stop it. Her stutter went away – only to be replaced by a very hard, frequent blink, poor thing. It was an odd manifestation of the neural hardwiring.
Also, Mel Tillis comes to mind. If you listen to him sing, you’d never know. It only shows up when he speaks.
posted by glen on 9-2-2008 at 1:01 pm
I have an uncle that stutters pretty badly. Then, maybe 15 years ago, he became a preacher. I was young then, and I remember thinking “how is he going to preach when he can hardly talk?” Well, it turns out that when he steps into the pulpit, his stutter completely disappears. Over the years, I’ve noticed that he stutters much less during regular conversation as well. (He also has a great singing voice.)
Just a note, as far as I can tell, my uncle never suffered from any self-esteem issues. He’s got the one of the biggest egos this side of the Mississippi!
ReCAPTCHA: missionary at
posted by Liz on 9-2-2008 at 1:17 pm
And another: John Stossel mentions in his books about how he overcame his stuttering problem.
posted by catherine ann on 9-2-2008 at 1:18 pm
I recently developed a slight stammer, but it doesn’t come out too often. I used to have no problems with public speaking or being in front of people but not so much anymore. I am only 35 but feel sometimes like I can’t remember very simple words that are used in every day language. I think my job is actually making me dumber.
posted by Ian on 9-2-2008 at 1:40 pm
Stuttering John couldn’t make this list? He has “stuttering” in his name. Honor his sacrifice!
posted by erichansa on 9-3-2008 at 4:55 am
Don’t forget John Paul Larkin! (scatman john)
h**p://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scatman_John
h**p://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mpHLEm9-0bg
posted by pacolaco on 9-3-2008 at 5:43 am
Country singer Mel Tillis should have made the list. In very classic stutterer form, he’s could barely speak in interviews, but when he sang, was completely fluent.
posted by One4Mel on 9-3-2008 at 6:12 am
bruce willis was one also
posted by coxii on 9-3-2008 at 6:36 am
You forgot Scatman John!
posted by John on 9-3-2008 at 7:01 am
Wow, I had no idea! James Earl Jones and Marilyn Monroe? Wow!
Just
http://www.privacy.mx.tc
posted by Josh on 9-3-2008 at 7:25 am
I heard Thomas Jefferson as well; anyone else?
posted by Lynn on 9-3-2008 at 8:47 am
Dagwud,
C.E. stands for Common Era.
Since nobody really knows, and many don’t care, when Jesus was born or died, this more benign form of dating is used in academics. It is slowly spreading to the rest of the world.
It’s fair enough, you can’t expect non-christians to date things according to the life of Christ.
posted by Bassman on 9-3-2008 at 9:32 am
A more complete list can be found here.
http://www.mnsu.edu/comdis/kuster/famous/famouspws.html
posted by Westchester Computer Services on 9-3-2008 at 12:45 pm
A more complete listing can be found here
http://www.mnsu.edu/comdis/kuster/famous/famouspws.html
posted by Westchester Computer Services on 9-3-2008 at 12:49 pm
Bassman, it’s pretty clear from his posting that Dagwud understands the Common Era dating. His question was why “A.C.E.” instead of the generally accepted “B.C.E.” (Before the Common Era). I’ve never seen it either, and I wondered too.
posted by Liza Jane on 9-3-2008 at 12:59 pm
Ian – if you find that you “lose words” frequently, have your thyroid checked out; it’s a common symptom of an underactive thyroid. I randomly developed a stammer in my 20s, but now that the thyroid issue has leveled off with medication, it’s gone… maybe not for everyone, but just a friendly FYI.
PS – I also thought my job was making me dumber :)
posted by Megan on 9-3-2008 at 1:29 pm
Bassman,
I think Dagwud knows that C.E. stands for Common Era, and I think Dagwud knows what he’s talking about. He was pointing out that the blogger wrote “A.C.E.,” which does not exist in either the B.C. (Before Christ)/A.D. (Anno Domini/The Year of our Lord/after Christ’s birth) system or the B.C.E. (Before Common Era)/C.E. (Common Era) system.
posted by Beth on 9-3-2008 at 1:32 pm
A.C.E. = after the common era
posted by David K. Israel on 9-3-2008 at 2:10 pm
It’s been mentioned already, but seriously – a list over famous stutterers that *doesn’t* mention Scatman John? I think I speak for all of the internets when I say to you:
FAIL!
posted by SantaBJ on 9-3-2008 at 5:04 pm
Wait, when did the Common Era end, so that something could have happened after it?
posted by Erik on 9-3-2008 at 5:28 pm
thomas jefferson did too
posted by shannon on 9-3-2008 at 7:27 pm
I learned in med school that stuttering may be related to the fact that (especially in “the old days”), children were all forced to write using their right hand. Some children who were actually left-handed developed stutters after this change was forced upon them.
posted by Katherine on 10-28-2008 at 9:52 pm
Nicholas Brendon (or Brandon, I can’t remember), who played Xander on Buffy the Vampire Slayer had a bad stutter as a child and got into acting partly to learn to control it.
posted by Chelsea on 12-30-2008 at 5:42 pm