Celebrating Emerson Romero

About the Doodle:

Emerson Romero was born on August 19th, 1900 in Havana, Cuba. At six years old, he was diagnosed with a whooping cough, which caused him to lose his hearing. A year later, his parents enrolled him in New York City’s Wright Oral School. After receiving further education in the United States, he earned a job at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York.

In 1924, Romero’s brother started a film company in Cuba, and he was invited to join. He initially worked as a stagehand behind the scenes but his brother inspired him to try acting. Romero’s athleticism allowed him to do his own stunts, and before he knew it, he starred in A Yankee in Havana. Romero’s performance drew attention from Hollywood film executives and shortly after, he moved to California to pursue more opportunities on the silver screen.

Over the next few years, Romero acted in over 20 short films including popular ones like Great Guns, Sappy Days, and The Cat’s Meow. In 1927, sound films, also known as “talkies”, became all the rage. Studios stopped selecting actors with hearing impairments and eliminated title cards. They also removed subtitles from finished films, making it impossible for people with hearing impairments to enjoy the movie.

Romero returned to his previous job at the bank and became a prominent force in the deaf community. He and his friends started the Theatre Guild of the Deaf in New York City. The company put on plays, many of which Romero acted in or directed. He also became editor of the Digest of the Deaf magazine and wrote weekly gossip columns for the Farmingdale Post.

He continued his support of the Deaf community by advocating for subtitles in films. In 1947, Romero developed the first captions for a “talkie” by slicing film strips and inserting images with captions in between frames. This innovative technique inspired those who went on to create advanced captioning methods.

Between starring in films, directing plays, and taking action to make movies more accessible, Romero left an incredible legacy behind. As Hispanic Heritage Month kicks off, we honor Romero for his many contributions!