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Famous People Who Have or Had Speech Differences or Stutter

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  • Date: 2017/11/10 (Rev. 2018/10/12)
  • Disabled World - www.disabled-world.com
  • Synopsis : A list of well known and famous people who have and/or had speech differences including stuttering.

Main Document

Stuttering, also known as stammering in the United Kingdom, is a speech disorder in which the flow of speech is disrupted by involuntary repetitions and prolongations of sounds, syllables, words or phrases, and involuntary silent pauses or blocks in which the stutterer is unable to produce sounds.

Stuttering is generally not a problem with the physical production of speech sounds or putting thoughts into words. Despite popular perceptions to the contrary, stuttering does not affect and has no bearing on intelligence.

The disorder is also variable, which means that in certain situations, such as talking on the telephone, the stuttering might be more severe or less, depending on the anxiety level connected with that activity.

The severity of a stutter is often not constant even for severe stutterers. Stutterers commonly report dramatically increased fluency when talking in unison with another speaker, copying another's speech, whispering, singing, and acting or when talking to pets, young children, or themselves.

In rare cases, stuttering may be acquired in adulthood as the result of a neurological event such as a head injury, tumour, stroke or drug abuse/misuse.

List of Famous and Well Known People with a Speech Difference

  • Adrian Peterson
  • Aesop - Greek storyteller, and a huge collection of his fables
  • Alan R. Rabinowitz - conservationist
  • Alan Turing
  • Alfred Kazin - author, critic and teacher
  • Alvin Lucier - American composer
  • Aneurin Bevan - British Labor Party Leader in 1930's.
  • Anthony Quinn
  • Antonio Bassolino - Mayor of Naples
  • Aristotle
  • Arnold Bennett - British writer and journalist.
  • Arthur M. Blank - Owner of the NFL's Atlanta Falcons
  • Austin Pendleton - Actor.
  • Ben Johnson - Runner.
  • Bill Walton - professional basketball player, sportscaster
  • Bill Walton
  • Bill Withers
  • Bo Jackson - Football and baseball star.
  • Bob Love - Basketball star with Chicago Bulls in 60's and 70's.
  • Bob Sanders - Green Bay Packers' defensive coordinator
  • Bruce Oldfield - British fashion designer.
  • Bruce Willis
  • Budd Schulberg - "On the Waterfront," Oscar winner
  • Butch Baird - Golfer.
  • Carly Simon - Singer.
  • Charles Canon Kingsley - English orator, writer, and chaplain to Queen Victoria.
  • Charles Darwin
  • Charles Lamb - British essayist, on his stuttering.
  • Chris Trapper
  • Chris Zorich - the Chicago Bears defensive lineman
  • Christopher Robin Milne - Original Christopher Robin.
  • Clara Barton
  • Claudius - Roman Emperor.
  • Cotton Mather
  • Darren Sproles - San Diego Chargers' running back
  • Dave Taylor - Former hockey star with the L.A. Kings.
  • David Shields - American novelist
  • Dekanawida - Iroquois Indian leader in the 1500's
  • Demosthenes
  • Dr. Jonathan Miller - British director and critic.
  • Duane Thomas - Running back for the Dallas Cowboy's in the early 70's.
  • Edward Hoagland - essayist and contemporary nature writer.
  • Elizabeth Bowen - Irish writer
  • Emily Blunt - actress
  • Erasmus Darwin - Famous physician, scientist, and grandfather of Charles Darwin.
  • Eric Roberts
  • Field Marshall Lord Carver - British military leader.
  • Frank Wolf - Republican from VA.
  • Gareth Gates - pop star, UK
  • Garry Moore - game show host
  • General Joshua Chamberlain - one of the heroes of the Battle of Gettysburg.
  • George Washington -
  • Gordie Lane - hockey defenseman for the N.Y. Islanders
  • Greg Louganis - diving champion
  • Harley Earl - car designer
  • Harvey Keitel - actor
  • Henry James - American Novelist.
  • Henry Luce - Founder of Time magazine and Sports Illustrated
  • Henry Rogers
  • Horace Grant - Orlando Magic power forward
  • Howard Bingham - professional photographer and biographer of Muhammed Ali.
  • Howard Heyman - lab chief for the Newsweek photo lab
  • Howard Jones (born John Howard Jones) - Howard Jones had a stutter when he was young. Music helped him gain confidence and communicate, and eventually he stopped stuttering - (www.songfacts.com/facts-howard_jones.php).
  • Jack Harold Paar - US comedian & television host
  • Jack Paar - late show host
  • Jake Eberts - Film producer (Gandhi, Dances with Wolves)
  • Jake Steinfeld - Bodybuilder, television fitness trainer
  • James Earl Jones - Actor. Jones intones
  • James Griffin - the producer and presenter of the ABC TV's Last Word
  • Jeff Walz - basketball coach for the University of Louisville
  • Jermain Taylor
  • Jimmy Stewart
  • John "Scatman" Larkin - jazz musician
  • John F. Welch, Jr. - Chairman of General Electric.
  • John Melendez
  • John Montague - a Northern Irish poet, essayist, and story writer.
  • John Slaughter - Arizona sheriff in the 1880's
  • John Stossel - Reporter, ABC's 20/20.
  • John Updike -Novelist.
  • Johnny Damon - outfielder for the New York Yankees
  • Jorge Luis Borges - (1899-1986) author.
  • Joseph Priestley - (1733-1804) the English chemist and scholar who identified/discovered oxygen
  • Julia Roberts
  • Ken Venturi - Legendary golfer and commentator for CBS Sports
  • Kenneth E. Boulding - economist
  • Kenneth Tynan - British drama critic
  • Kenyon Martin - basketball star with the NBA
  • Kim Philby - British spy.
  • King Charles I - King of England, 1625-1649.
  • King George VI - King of England, 1937-1952.
  • Leigh Hunt - writer of the early Romantic period and a classmate of Charles Lamb.
  • Lenin -
  • Lester Hayes - defensive back for LA Raiders
  • Lewis Carroll - Author of Alice in Wonderland.
  • Lord David Cecil - Professor of English literature at Oxford in 1950s.
  • Louis II the Stammerer - King of France, 877-879
  • Ludwig Quidde - Nobel Peace Prize recipient, 1927.
  • Margaret Drabble - British novelist.
  • Marilyn Monroe - Actress.
  • Mario Savio - 1960's Free Speech leader at Berkeley
  • Marion Davies -
  • Mary Louise "Stuttering Sam" Dowell - became the most celebrated showgirl in New York City.
  • Mel Tillis
  • Michael Bentine - British comedian, script-writer.
  • Michael II - Byzantine Emperor 820-829.
  • Michael McCurdy - Book Illustrator / Author / Publisher / wood engraver
  • Michael Ramsey - Archbishop of Canterbury
  • Michael Spinks - light heavyweight boxing champion
  • Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra - author of Don Quixote de la Mancha.
  • Molotov - the Russian Foreign Minister under Stalin.
  • Moses Mendelssohn - Grandfather of the composer.
  • Moses
  • Napoleon the First -
  • Nat King Cole -
  • Nevil Shute (1900-1960) - English novelist and aeronautical engineer.
  • Niccolo Fontana - Italian mathematician famous for his algebraic solution of cubic equations
  • Nicholas Brendon
  • Nicolae Ceausecsu - President of Romania in the 1970's
  • Nino Salvatore - Past president of Medicine at the University of Naples
  • Noel Gallagher - guitarist from the rock band, Oasis.
  • P. F. Bentley - professional photographer
  • Pat Leahy - N.Y. Jets kicker.
  • Pat Williams - football player with the Minnesota Vikings
  • Patrick Campbell - British humorist.
  • Paul Johnson - Detective novelist, author of Killing the Blues
  • Peggy Lipton - actress from TV show "Mod Squad" and "Twin Peaks"
  • Peter Bonerz - Actor (Jerry the orthodontist) on The Bob Newhart show
  • Peter Straub - horror story author.
  • Philip Larkin - English poet, novelist and critic
  • Prince Albert of Monaco -
  • Proinsias De Rossa - a political leader of the Democrat Left in Ireland.
  • Raymond Massey - Actor.
  • Richard Condon - Novelist.
  • Robert Boyle (1627-1691) - British scientist.
  • Robert Heinlein - Science fiction writer
  • Robert Merrill
  • Robert Wilson - Sculptor and theater director
  • Ron Harper - Current star with the Chicago Bulls.
  • Rowan Atkinson
  • Rubin Carter
  • Sam Neill
  • Samuel L. Jackson
  • Senator Joseph Biden - Democrat from Delaware.
  • Shane Yellowbird
  • Sidney Gottlieb - controversial CIA psychologist
  • Sir Isaac Newton
  • Sir John R. Hicks - British economist who received the Nobel price in economics in 1972.
  • Somerset Maugham - British writer considered one of the best short story writers of all time.
  • Sophie Gustafson - Swedish Professional Golfer.
  • Steven Hawking - scientist
  • Theodore Roosevelt
  • Thomas Becket - Archbishop of Canterbury
  • Thomas Jefferson
  • Thomas Kean - Governor of New Jersey from1982-1990
  • Tiger Woods
  • Tom Sizemore
  • Tommy John - pitcher for Oakland A's former Yankee
  • Trumaine McBride - cornerback for the Chicago Bears
  • Vernon Hill- chairman and founder of Commerce Bancorp and Commerce Bank
  • Virgil - Roman poet.
  • Walter H. Annenberg - publisher, broadcaster.
  • Washington Irving
  • Winston Churchill

NOTE: If you know of a discrepancy in this list please contact us so we can amend the entry.


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