Remembering Jack Welch

Jack Welch passed away on March 1, 2020. The former CEO of General Electric was a person who stuttered and an example to others. He openly talked about his personal struggles with stuttering.

Below is the letter Stuttering Foundation President Jane Fraser sent to Mr. Welch in 1993 thanking him for his help in placing public service ads on NBC, which was owned by GE at the time.

June 7, 1993

Mr. John F. Welch, Jr.
Chairman and Chief Executive Officer
General Electric Company
3135 Easton Parkway
Fairfield, CT 06431

Dear Mr. Welch,

Last night at 8:50 p.m. NBC aired our public service announcement - and ever since, all the phones have been ringing off the hook.

We took over 2,000 calls last week when our toll-free number was on The Today Show in conjunction with NBA star Bob Love, and we expected this week to be much calmer.

Thanks to NBC's help, it isn't!

Our warmest thanks to you and the National Broadcasting Company for your excellent public service program which is making such a difference in the lives of those who stutter.

Sincerely yours,
Jane Fraser
President

CELEBRITY FOCUS

Lewis Carroll

The recent Disney version of Lewis Carroll’s classic, Alice in Wonderland, garnered a great deal of media hype. Even though the mainstream media has not made mention that Carroll was a person who stuttered, his family history gives credence to the discovery of the genetic link to stuttering. Carroll was born to parents who were first cousins; almost all of their eleven children, three girls and seven boys, struggled with stuttering past childhood.

Mel Tillis

Mel Tillis, born Lonnie Melvin Tillis, was an influential figure in country music, both as a songwriter and a performer. His journey to fame was marked by overcoming personal challenges, including a stutter that he turned into a defining part of his public persona.

Jack Paar

While Jack Paar is among the most prominent of the entertainers on the Stuttering Foundation’s list of Famous People Who Stutter, he deserves special recognition as he was among the first to openly address his stuttering in public. As host of The Tonight Show from 1957-1962, he spoke of his difficulties as a stuttering child and teenager, giving hope to young people.

Marilyn Monroe

From Edward S. Herrington's letter to Southcoasttoday.com

I am writing in response to "The importance of voice" (May 29), which mentioned that famous actor James Earl Jones struggled with stuttering. Another famous voice that you cited was the trademark breathy voice of Marilyn Monroe; however, you did not make mention of the fact that Marilyn Monroe also struggled with stuttering at various points in her life, sometimes very painfully.

King George

In November 2010, worldwide movie audiences were presented with a most interesting and unusual movie release with The King’s Speech, starring Colin Firth as King George VI and Helena Bonham Carter as his wife Elizabeth.

Unfortunately, history may have forgotten the courageous and inspiring story of Prince Albert who stuttered badly and never dreamed that he would ever be king when his older brother, King Edward VIII, abruptly abdicated the throne in 1936 to marry Wallis Simpson, an American divorcee.