TRIVIAL PURSUITS
TV host Johnny Carson
Patty Duke and Anne Bancroft played Helen Keller and Annie Sullivan, respectively, in William Gibson’s 1959 The Miracle Worker on Broadway. The Tony Award winner, based on Keller’s life, was made into a film in 1962, with the actresses recreating their roles as student and teacher. Arthur Penn directed both the Broadway play and the film.
The Miracle Worker shows a young Helen cut off since infancy from the world around her. Blind and deaf from an illness, the exceptionally bright child wreaks havoc on her family with frequent outbursts. As a last resort before sending her to an asylum, her parents turn for help to Boston’s highly respected Perkins Institute for the Blind. The school sends a recent graduate, 20-year-old Annie Sullivan, to the Kellers’ Alabama home.
A battle of wills arises after the two meet, with the indefatigable
Annie making measured progress through skill, persistence and brute strength in her attempts to reach the unhappy child.
One harrowing scene involves a nine-minute ordeal in which Annie is determined to force her recalcitrant charge to behave properly at the table. Annie seems to approach Helen as a wild colt to be tamed, and when the teacher gains the upper hand in the intense struggle, the dynamic changes. Helen finally accepts the teacher’s efforts to introduce her to language.
The story plays out much like a familiar Western—a heroic stranger arrives to tackle an overwhelming problem. In real life, Anne and Helen would continue to live and work together.
The Miracle Worker was nominated for five Academy Awards. Oscars went to Bancroft for Best Actress and to Duke for Best Supporting Actress.
Keller’s friend Mark Twain was the first to refer to Sullivan as a “miracle worker” in a postcard he wrote to Sullivan.