April 21, 1922 – January 23, 2008
Eric Malzkuhn, commonly known as Malz, was a dedicated and exemplinary actor, teacher, sign language master, and playwright. By all accounts Malz’s love for ASL and the English language was infectious. He graduated from Gallaudet University (’43) and later was awarded an honorary doctorate. Malz was involved in the National Theatre of the Deaf and assisted with several translations of classics. He is most well known for his performance in the Gallaudet production of Arsenic and Old Lace, which was performed on Broadway, and for his translation work on the Jabberwocky into ASL and George Veditz’s Preservation of Sign Language ASL speech into English.
MSSD, the Deaf high school on Gallaudet’s campus, has its auditorium named in Malz’s honor due to the many years he taught there and directed their productions. We are very fortunate to have his play Color of Love in this on-line collection of Deaf plays.
Photo courtesy of Melissa Malzkuhn
