Tommy Edison (born July 17, 1963) is an American

YouTuber A YouTuber is an online personality and/or influencer who produces videos on the video-sharing platform YouTube, typically posting to their personal YouTube channel. The term was first used in the English language in 2006. Influence Influe ...

, radio presenter and film critic known for his blindness and self-deprecating sense of humor in his internet presence. From 1994 until 2013 he worked as a traffic reporter for the station Star 99.9 in Bridgeport, Connecticut. Although he had never driven a car or seen a traffic jam, as a traffic reporter he used what he heard about traffic on police scanners and in calls with listeners on the road. Motivated to review films by his frustration with their

visual language A visual language is a system of communication using visual elements. Speech as a means of communication cannot strictly be separated from the whole of human communicative activity which includes the visual and the term 'language' in relation to ...

, he started a YouTube channel called Blind Film Critic with his friend Ben Churchill in 2011. His reviews focus on script, music and sound effects. The first film he reviewed was '' Scream 4''; his favorites include '' Hugo'', ''

Goodfellas ''Goodfellas'' (stylized ''GoodFellas'') is a 1990 American biographical crime film directed by Martin Scorsese, written by Nicholas Pileggi and Scorsese, and produced by Irwin Winkler. It is a film adaptation of the 1985 nonfiction book ' ...

'', ''

Clerks A clerk is someone who works in an office. A retail clerk works in a store. Office holder Clerk(s) may also refer to a person who holds an office, most commonly in a local unit of government, or a court. *Barristers' clerk, a manager and adminis ...

'' and ''

American Hustle ''American Hustle'' is a 2013 American historical black comedy crime film directed by David O. Russell. It was written by Eric Warren Singer and Russell, inspired by the FBI Abscam operation of the late 1970s and early 1980s. It stars Christ ...

''. In 2013,

audio description Audio description, also referred to as a video description, described video, or more precisely called a visual description, is a form of narration used to provide information surrounding key visual elements in a media work (such as a film or tele ...

allowed him to watch his first

silent film A silent film is a film with no synchronized Sound recording and reproduction, recorded sound (or more generally, no audible dialogue). Though silent films convey narrative and emotion visually, various plot elements (such as a setting or era) ...

, which he joked was "eye-opening"—however, he does not use it when preparing his reviews. He was endorsed by

Roger Ebert Roger Joseph Ebert (; June 18, 1942 – April 4, 2013) was an American film critic, film historian, journalist, screenwriter, and author. He was a film critic for the ''Chicago Sun-Times'' from 1967 until his death in 2013. In 1975, Ebert beca ...

in 2011, and has been featured on ''

The Howard Stern Show ''The Howard Stern Show'' is an American radio show hosted by Howard Stern that gained wide recognition when it was nationally syndicated on terrestrial radio from WXRK in New York City, between 1986 and 2005. The show has aired on Howard 100 a ...

'' and CNN. He also made videos answering viewers' questions about blindness on another channel entitled The Tommy Edison Experience, and has covered topics such as dreams, colors,

Braille Braille (Pronounced: ) is a tactile writing system used by people who are visually impaired, including people who are blind, deafblind or who have low vision. It can be read either on embossed paper or by using refreshable braille display ...

and assistive technology.

Early life and career

Edison was born completely blind, and was born with an underdeveloped optic nerve. He was born and raised in

Greenwich, Connecticut Greenwich (, ) is a New England town, town in southwestern Fairfield County, Connecticut, United States. At the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census, the town had a total population of 63,518. The largest town on Connecticut's Gold Coast (Conne ...

, and attended Canterbury School and the

University of Bridgeport The University of Bridgeport (UB) is a private university in Bridgeport, Connecticut. The university is accredited by the New England Commission of Higher Education. In 2021, the university was purchased by Goodwin University; it retain its own n ...

, where he studied music. He has credited his parents for treating him the same as his sighted sisters during his upbringing. His mother went to great lengths to make sure Tommy was put into a normal class rather than the school recommended special education class, stating "Tommy has a normal Cognitive Function, He is normal just like the other students, he just so happens to be blind." After developing an interest in local and New York radio stations, he was hired as a

disc jockey A disc jockey, more commonly abbreviated as DJ, is a person who plays recorded music for an audience. Types of DJs include Radio personality, radio DJs (who host programs on music radio stations), club DJs (who work at a nightclub or music f ...

for the station WJAZ in

Stamford, Connecticut Stamford () is a city in the U.S. state of Connecticut, outside of Manhattan. It is Connecticut's second-most populous city, behind Bridgeport. With a population of 135,470, Stamford passed Hartford and New Haven in population as of the 2 ...

in 1987, becoming its traffic reporter two years later. In 2016 he and his producer Ben Churchill moved to the Los Angeles area and began the next phase in his career as a public figure.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Edison, Tommy 1963 births American film critics American radio personalities American YouTubers Blind people from the United States Canterbury School (Connecticut) alumni Living people