Emerson Irving Romero, also known by his screen name Tommy Albert, was a trailblazing Cuban-American silent film actor and an innovator in the field of accessibility for the deaf and hard of hearing. His life and work revolutionized the entertainment industry by introducing techniques that paved the way for modern captioning in films. Despite personal challenges, including losing his hearing at a young age, Romero’s influence remains a cornerstone in the history of accessibility in media.
Early Life and Education
Born on August 19, 1900, in Havana, Cuba, Emerson Romero grew up as the first cousin of famed actor Cesar Romero. Tragedy struck early in Romero’s life when a bout of whooping cough left him deaf at the age of six. Nevertheless, this did not hinder his academic ambitions.
He attended the Wright Oral School in New York City from 1907 to 1915, where he learned to communicate despite his disability. After completing his education there, he briefly attended Stuyvesant High School before transferring to Interlaken High School in Indiana and later graduated from Blair Academy in New Jersey in 1920.
His educational journey continued with a year of study at Columbia University, followed by a transfer to Lafayette College in Pennsylvania. Unfortunately, due to financial difficulties faced by his father, Romero had to leave Lafayette after two years.
Emerson Romero’s Acting Career
After leaving college, Romero initially found work at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York. However, his older brother Dorian, who had founded a film company in Cuba known as the Pan-American Film Corporation, encouraged him to explore acting. Emerson took this advice to heart and starred in a film written by his brother, “A Yankee in Havana.”
While the films he worked on in Cuba were not commercially successful, his acting skills garnered the attention of director Richard Harlan, who convinced Romero to move to Hollywood in 1926.
From 1926 to 1928, Romero appeared in over 24 two-reel comedies, such as Beachnuts, The Cat’s Meow, Great Guns, and Sappy Days. His talent for acting was coupled with his ability to perform stunts and do his own makeup, and he worked alongside notable actors like W.C. Fields. Despite his talent, the arrival of “talkies” in 1927 diminished opportunities for deaf actors.
As sound films became the norm, the intertitles used in silent films—which made films accessible to the deaf—disappeared. In response, studios began excluding deaf actors. This forced Romero to return to New York and his job at the Federal Reserve Bank in 1928.
A Visionary in Accessibility: Captioning for the Deaf
Romero’s return to New York marked the beginning of his most significant contributions to the deaf community. In 1934, he co-founded the Theatre Guild of the Deaf, where he acted and directed plays for the next 20 years. During this time, he also edited Digest of the Deaf in 1938 and 1939, demonstrating his dedication to supporting the deaf community.
It was in the 1940s that Emerson Romero made his most lasting impact. Frustrated by the exclusion of the deaf from enjoying movies, he began experimenting with captioning films.
In 1947, Romero developed the first method of captioning for films by splicing film strips and inserting images with captions between picture frames. This innovation allowed deaf viewers to follow the plot of sound films in a way similar to silent film title cards.
However, his technique had limitations. The inserted captions degraded the visual quality of the films and disrupted the soundtrack, making them unsuitable for hearing audiences.
Despite these challenges, Romero’s pioneering efforts inspired others, notably Edmund Burke Boatner, who later co-founded the Captioned Films for the Deaf program, backed by the U.S. government. This program laid the foundation for the modern captioning systems we see today.
Later Years and Legacy
Romero’s innovative spirit extended beyond film. In 1959, he invented the Vibralarm, a vibrating alarm clock designed for the deaf and hard of hearing. This product became part of a wider range of devices he created, including vibrating doorbells, smoke detectors, and baby alarms, all aimed at improving the lives of deaf individuals.
Romero retired in 1965 after working for Republic Aviation, where he had a career as a sheet-metal and template maker during World War II, contributing to the production of the Republic P-47 Thunderbolt fighter aircraft.
In 1970, Romero received the Civic Achievement Award from the New York City Civic Association of the Deaf, recognizing his relentless efforts in advocating for and supporting the deaf community. Romero and his wife relocated to Boulder, Colorado, in 1972, where he passed away on October 16 of that same year.
Conclusion
Emerson Romero’s life was one of resilience, innovation, and dedication. He broke barriers not only in the film industry but also in the realm of accessibility for the deaf. His early work in captioning, along with his inventions for the hard of hearing, has had a profound and lasting impact.
Though he faced numerous challenges, including losing his career as a silent film actor with the advent of sound films, Romero used his experiences to forge a path that improved the lives of countless deaf individuals. Today, his legacy continues to inspire advancements in accessibility, ensuring that the deaf and hard of hearing are not left behind in the world of entertainment.
Frequently Asked Questions
1. Who was Emerson Romero?
Emerson Romero was a Cuban-American silent film actor and an innovator in the field of accessibility for the deaf. He developed the first technique for captioning sound films, paving the way for modern captioning technology.
2. What caused Emerson Romero to lose his hearing?
At the age of six, Romero lost his hearing due to a fever caused by whooping cough.
3. What were Emerson Romero’s contributions to the deaf community?
Romero co-founded the Theatre Guild of the Deaf, developed the first film captioning technique, and invented several products for the deaf, including the Vibralarm.
4. What was Emerson Romero’s role in the development of film captioning?
In 1947, Romero created the first method of captioning films by splicing film strips and inserting captions between picture frames. His efforts inspired the later development of government-backed captioning programs.
5. How did Emerson Romero influence modern accessibility technologies?
Romero’s pioneering work in captioning and his inventions for the deaf, such as vibrating alarm clocks and doorbells, laid the groundwork for modern accessibility devices and techniques used today.
