Wikipedia

Susan Nussbaum

Susan Ruth Nussbaum (December 12, 1953 – April 28, 2022) was an American actress, author, playwright, and disability rights activist.[1][2]

Susan Nussbaum
A young white woman with curly dark hair, smiling
Susan Nussbaum, from a 1984 newspaper photo
Born
Susan Ruth Nussbaum

(1953-12-12)December 12, 1953
Chicago, Illinois, U.S.
DiedApril 28, 2022(2022-04-28) (aged 68)
Chicago, Illinois, U.S.
Occupation(s)Playwright, novelist, activist
Parent
RelativesKaren Nussbaum (sister)

Early life and education edit

Nussbaum was born in Chicago and raised in nearby Highland Park, the daughter of Mike Nussbaum and Annette Brenner Nussbaum. Her father, a former exterminator, became a well-known actor and director;[3] her mother was a publicist.[2] Her sister Karen Nussbaum is a noted labor leader.[4]

Nussbaum studied acting at Roosevelt University and Goodman School of Drama, both in Chicago. Nussbaum used a wheelchair after she survived being hit by a car in her twenties.[5] "When I became a wheelchair user in the late '70s," she wrote in a 2012 essay, "all I knew about being disabled I learned from reading books and watching movies, and that scared the shit out of me."[6]

Career edit

As a performer, Nussbaum appeared a comic revue, Staring Back (1984),[7] as Emma Goldman in Frank Galati's She Always Said, Pablo (1987), in another comic review, The Plucky and Spunky Show (1990),[8] in her own one-woman show, Mishuganismo, directed by her father, in Activities of Daily Living (1994),[9] and in No One As Nasty (2000).[10] She worked with Marca Bristo on Access Living,[11][12] and started a group of disabled girls and young women, The Empowered FeFes.[13][14][15] She directed a production of Michael Vitali's G-Man! (1995),[9] and two productions of Mike Ervin's The History of Bowling (1999).[2][16]

Riva Lehrer painted a portrait of Nussbaum in 1998.[16][17] In 2008, Nussbaum was named one of Utne Reader's "50 Visionaries Who Are Changing Your World." Her debut novel Good Kings, Bad Kings (2013) won the 2012 PEN/Bellwether Prize for Socially Engaged Fiction.[18][19] The novel is set in an institution for disabled young people in the Chicago area.[20][21]

Works edit

  • Staring Back (1983, sketch comedy show, co-written with Lawrence Perkins)[7]
  • The Plucky and Spunky Show (1990)[8]
  • Mishuganismo (1992, play)[22]
  • Telethon (1993, play, co-written with William Hammack)[9]
  • Activities of Daily Living (1994, play, co-writer)[23]
  • No One as Nasty (2000, play)[10]
  • Crippled Sisters (play)[24]
  • "Why are Fictional Characters with Disabilities So Unreal?" (2012, essay)[6]
  • Good Kings, Bad Kings (2013, novel)[25]
  • Code of the Freaks (2020, documentary, co-written and co-produced by Nussbaum)[26]

Personal life edit

Nussbaum had a daughter, Taina Rodriguez.[24] She died from pneumonia in 2022, at the age of 68, at her home in Chicago.[1][2] She was buried at Westlawn Cemetery in Norridge Illinois.

References edit

  1. ^ a b Williams, Annabelle (May 12, 2022). "Susan Nussbaum, 68, Who Pressed for Disability Rights in Her Plays, Dies". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved May 28, 2022.
  2. ^ a b c d Kogan, Rick (April 29, 2022). "Author, disability activist and actor Susan Nussbaum dies, after a career of pushing boundaries". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved May 28, 2022.
  3. ^ Galloway, Paul (December 28, 1984). "Stage is the Nussbaums' Ticket". Chicago Tribune. pp. 55, 57. Retrieved April 22, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  4. ^ "Karen Nussbaum". Working America. Retrieved April 22, 2023.
  5. ^ Haupt, Jennifer (September 4, 2013). "Susan Nussbaum: My Disability Was Nothing Personal". Psychology Today. Retrieved April 22, 2023.
  6. ^ a b Nussbaum, Susan (November 21, 2012). "Why Are Fictional Characters With Disabilities So Unreal?". HuffPost. Retrieved April 22, 2023.
  7. ^ a b Koyama, Christine (September 12, 1984). "Disabled Actors Shine in 'Staring Back'". Chicago Tribune. p. 73. Retrieved April 22, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  8. ^ a b Christiansen, Richard (December 4, 1990). "Remains Theatre's Comedy Dead Serious About the Disabled". Chicago Tribune. p. 24. Retrieved April 22, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  9. ^ a b c Obejas, Achy (March 10, 1995). "Nussbaum settles into 'Telethon' role". Chicago Tribune. p. 224. Retrieved April 22, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  10. ^ a b Taubeneck, Anne (June 18, 2000). "The 'crip universe': Play finds humor in deep-seated problems". Chicago Tribune. p. 246. Retrieved April 22, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  11. ^ Terkel, Studs (August 28, 1981). "Interviewing Susan Nussbaum and Michael Pachovas". The WFMT Studs Terkel Radio Archive. Retrieved April 22, 2023.
  12. ^ Ogintz, Eileen (January 19, 1982). "Handicapped find organizing can make their presence felt". Chicago Tribune. p. 11. Retrieved April 22, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  13. ^ Ellison, Joy (May 10, 2022). "Rainbow Rant: Remembering Susan Nussbaum". Columbus Monthly. Retrieved April 22, 2023.
  14. ^ "Passages: Playwright/disability-rights activist Susan Nussbaum dies". Windy City Times. April 30, 2022. Retrieved April 22, 2023.
  15. ^ Brotman, Barbara (August 22, 2001). "Talking without Taboo". Chicago Tribune. p. 97. Retrieved April 22, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  16. ^ a b Ervin, Mike (May 12, 2022). "Susan Nussbaum, 1953-2022". Chicago Reader. Retrieved April 22, 2023.
  17. ^ Lehrer, Riva (1998). "Susan Nussbaum". Riva Lehrer Art. Retrieved April 22, 2023.
  18. ^ "Rewriting Images Of People With Disabilities". WBUR. December 24, 2013. Retrieved April 22, 2023.
  19. ^ "Interview with Susan Nussbaum". Washington Independent Review of Books. Retrieved April 22, 2023.
  20. ^ Brown, Emma (May 22, 2013). "Susan Nussbaum's Social Engagement". Interview Magazine. Retrieved April 22, 2023.
  21. ^ Wood, Caitlin (August 29, 2013). "An Interview With Disability Activist and "Good Kings Bad Kings" Author Susan Nussbaum". Bitch Media. Retrieved April 22, 2023.
  22. ^ Obejas, Achy (January 16, 1992). "Solidarity and Loneliness". Chicago Reader. Retrieved April 22, 2023.
  23. ^ Buck, Genevieve (July 29, 1994). "'Daily Living' With a Twist". Chicago Tribune. p. 183. Retrieved April 22, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  24. ^ a b Worley, Sam (May 30, 2013). "Susan Nussbaum's next act". Chicago Reader. Retrieved April 22, 2023.
  25. ^ Wegner, Gesine (May 20, 2013). "Review of Good Kings Bad Kings". Disability Studies Quarterly. 33 (3). doi:10.18061/dsq.v33i3.3786. ISSN 2159-8371.
  26. ^ "About the Film". Code of the Freaks. Retrieved April 22, 2023.

External links edit

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Susan_Nussbaum&oldid=1212322016"