Biography
John Maucere, a seasoned international performer, graduated from California School for the Deaf, Riverside and attended Gallaudet where he was one of the rally leaders who led Gallaudet through the 1988 Deaf President Now (DPN) movement. His contribution was recognized in the published book titled “The Week the World Heard About Gallaudet.” This sparked his lifelong passion, to inspire and believe that deaf people can do anything.
John broke through Hollywood stereotypes and became the first deaf actor in ABC’s Talent Development Program, attended by the likes of Tom Hanks and Arsenio Hall. From there, John appeared on several television series, such as NBC’s “Law and Order” and “Brand New Life,” USA Network’s “Pacific Blue,” and ABC’s “Parker Kane,” and “10-8.” John founded DEAFYWOOD, which culminated its 13-year tour on the 2007 sold-out Deaf Freedom Cruise attended by 4,000 passengers where he was also its cruise director. Since then, John has voyaged around the world on several cruises with Passages Deaf Travel (PDT) as its cruise director and entertainer. He will be cruisin’ again with PDT to the Greek Isles, July 2013.
John continued to flourish as an international star, performing at the 2006 World Deaf Rugby Championship in New Zealand, 2007 Deaflympics, 2007 World Deaf Golf Championship in Canada, 2008 Deaf Canada Convention and in the 2009 New Zealand Comedy Festival along with the famed comedian, Wayne Brady. John had emceed for several pageants, most notably the 2002 Miss Deaf America Pageant, the 2007 Deaf Seniors of America, the 20th Anniversary of the DPN movement, the 20th Eastern Deaf Timberfest, the 80th Anniversary of the Los Angeles Club for the Deaf, the 40th Anniversary of the National Institute of Technology, the 2007 Deaf/Hard of Hearing in Government Gala, the 100th Anniversary of PS47 and the 2010 DeafNation World Expo participated by 23,000 people from around the world. His latest international venue was at the 2011 Festival Clin d’ Oeil in France as a stand-up comedian. John is scheduled to appear in Turkey, July 2012 at the World Deaf Football Championships and as an emcee for the Miss/Mister Deaf International Pageant. He toured Norway with Teater Manu, a famed theatre company, for over two weeks in November 2012 before traveling to India to perform “The John Maucere Show” for India Deaf Expo 2012. He currently is being filmed for PepsiCo’s Human Experience slated for release after Super Bowl. You will also find him in SouthLAnd‘s next episode as Ray Chavez on TNT scheduled to air on February 27th, and ABC Family’s hottest family drama, Switched at Birth as Adam on March 4th.
On top of performing and emceeing, John is the creator and host of “Live in Hollywood: The John Maucere Show” and in various locations such as New York and Hawaii. His interviews with notable special guests is telecasted live through the internet. John is often seen at various DeafNation Expos as game show host and entertainer. His work has garnered him recognition by fans for iPerson of the Month by iDeaf News.
In addition to John’s theatric portfolio is some of his published ASL works; a series of Signing Naturally, the latest 7-12 unit to be released in 2013; Number Signs for Everyone: Numbering in American Sign Language; Fingerspelled Word Recognition Through Rapid Serial Visual Presentation (RSVP), all of which are published by DawnSignPress. Directing is another forte of John’s. He has directed several original productions such as Deafhood, written by Ella Mae Lentz, and his own creation, The Gift.
In 2008, John was recognized by the City of Los Angeles for his exemplary service to the Deaf and Hard of Hearing community. John is renowned for his hilarious character, Superdeafy, now playing in a series of webisodes, through www.superdeafy.com. John’s newest venture is expanding his artistic portfolio by creating and performing original ASL poems at academic institutions as well as through the internet. He is slanted to appear in a starring role, Deaf Ghost, a movie to be produced in late 2012.
