Lynn Manning
Encyclopedia
Biography
Lynn Manning's life was turned upside down when he was blinded in a Hollywood bar in 1978 at age 23. He has since gone on to make a name for himself as a playwright and actor.He is best known for his semi-autobiographical work Weights, which premiered in Los Angeles in 2001. The play has won three NAACP Theatre Awards including Best Actor for Lynn's role in the play, and has since been performed throughout the country, including at the Theater By The Blind in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
.
Lynn's latest play, Up From The Downs had its world premiere at the Los Angeles Design Center on May 7, 2005.
Early life
Lynn Manning was born in Fresno, CaliforniaFresno, California
Fresno is a city in central California, United States, the county seat of Fresno County. As of the 2010 census, the city's population was 510,365, making it the fifth largest city in California, the largest inland city in California, and the 34th largest in the nation...
, but raised in Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
, and has eight siblings. At a young age he and his siblings were placed into foster homes. At 23 years of age, he lost his eyesight after suffering a gunshot to the face.
Accomplishments
He is an award winning playwright, poet, actor, and former world champion of blind judo. He represented the United StatesUnited States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
at the 1988
1988 Summer Paralympics
The 1988 Summer Paralympics were the first Paralympics in 24 years that take place in the same city as the Olympic Games. They took place in Seoul, South Korea. This was the first time the term "Paralympic" came into official use.- Sports :...
and 1992 Summer Paralympics
1992 Summer Paralympics
The 1992 Summer Paralympics were the ninth Paralympic Games to be held. They were held in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain.- Sports :The games consisted of 487 events spread over fifteen sports. Powerlifting and weightlifting were considered to be a single sport...
, winning a silver medal and receiving the U.S. Olympic Committee's award for Blind Male Athlete of the Year. Weights is Manning's first story winning three theatre awards, one being for best actor, and has written twelve other plays to date. Manning’s talent can be seen on shows such as Seinfeld, Dream On, and 8 Simple Rules, and commercials such as Nike and Bank of America advertisements. His poetry also appears in many magazines and anthologies like Staring Back and Grand Passion.
'Weights'
Manning’s play “Weights” was first performed in the year 2000. The play illustrates his life story from a young child in poverty to today, as a blind man writing poetry, plays, appearing in television and commercials, and the suffering and hard times he had encountered throughout his years.Lynn Manning appeared in "Weights" at the Millfield Theatre
Millfield Theatre
Millfield Theatre opened in 1988 in the grounds of Millfield House on Silver Street in Edmonton, North London. It seats up to 362 in a variety of stage layouts....
in London in July 2008.