Real hero for people who struggle with stammering

Published: 14 January, 2011

• I BELONG to an e-list of people who stammer and I would like to inform you that your article (Film a hit with charity that helps stammering children, January 7) definitely made the rounds throughout all corners of the globe. People from many countries commented on it. 

The article should have stated that King George VI is a hero in terms of a role model to people struggling with stammering, while actor/philanthropist Michael Palin is a hero extraordinaire. Mr Palin’s philanthropy in forming The Michael Palin Centre for Stammering Children and acting as its guiding light for the last 18 years has done so much to further the cause of stammering in Britain. 

Mr Palin’s public statements about his father’s lifelong stammering definitely put a human face on this speech problem, which traditionally has been misunderstood by the public at large. Mr Palin is a hero, if there ever was one, for helping transform the lives of the countless young people who have gone to The Michael Palin Centre for speech therapy.

King George VI has been a hero to generations of stammerers and now as a result of The King’s Speech future generations will have him as an inspiration, too. 

In fact, the website of The Stuttering Foundation (www.

stammeringhelp.org) happens to have a list of famous people who stammer that showcases other inspiring role models. 

They include Bruce Willis, Marilyn Monroe, James Earl Jones, Eric Roberts and Carly Simon. 

Many British subjects are on the list: Emily Blunt, Lewis Carroll, W Somerset Maugham, Jane Seymour, Gareth Gates, Kim Philby, Indiana Gregg, Philip Larkin, Andrew Lloyd Webber, Charles Darwin and Winston Churchill. This website offers many great and free resources on stammering.

God bless the King… and Michael Palin, too!

MARVIN GOLDFARB
Bronx, New York