Director of Publications

Actor, Entertainer, Author Tom Sullivan to Deliver Commencement Address

For Southern College of Optometry Graduates

MEMPHIS, Tennessee (April 23, 2008) – Noted actor, singer, entertainer and author Tom Sullivan will deliver the commencement address during Southern College of Optometry’s (SCO) 2008 graduation program at 3 p.m. on Friday, May 2, 2008 at Mississippi Boulevard Christian Church in Memphis.

Sullivan, one of the nation’s most requested motivational speakers, is known for the message of hope and possibility that he has delivered to more than 1,000 organizations.

Born prematurely in 1947, Sullivan became blind after being given too much oxygen while in an incubator. As a boy, Sullivan and his father invented “Sullivan’s Rules,” a set of principles that enabled him to meet any challenge.

His accomplishments include attending Harvard, teaching himself to play baseball, golf, skiing, bungee jumping, sky diving and other sports, and being inducted into the National Wrestling Hall of Fame.

After pursuing his dream of being a singer and entertainer, Sullivan gained national recognition as a favorite of Johnny Carson. The “Tonight Show” host invited Sullivan to appear on more than 60 episodes of his long-running late night variety program.

In 1976, Sullivan joined an elite group of entertainers who have performed during the Super Bowl when he sang “The Star Spangled Banner” during the game’s Bicentennial Celebration.

As a special correspondent for ABC’s “Good Morning America” for more than five years, he regularly appeared in “you can do it” inspirational repots that included snow skiing with his son and playing golf with Jack Nicklaus.

As an actor, his appearances include guest-starring roles that he helped write and develop to incorporate his blindness, including “Designing Women,” “Touched by An Angel,” “Highway to Heaven,” “Fame,” “M.A.S.H.,” “Mork and Mindy,” and “WKRP in Cincinnati.”

Nominated twice for Emmy Awards, he has also appeared on the “Oprah Winfrey Show” and in a regular role on the soap opera “Search for Tomorrow.” He also taught actor Ben Affleck about blindness for his role in the movie “Daredevil,” about a blind superhero.

Sullivan is the author of a number of eight best-selling books, including his 1975 autobiography, “If You Could See What I Hear.” The book was adapted into a 1982 TV movie starring actor Marc Singer as Sullivan. The film depicted episodes from Sullivan’s life, including the time he saved his infant daughter from drowning in the family pool by listening for air bubbles, an instance where his blindness led to a heightening of his other senses. A new feature film about his life story is currently in production.

He has served on the Board of Directors for The Blind Children’s Center in Los Angeles, the Muscular Dystrophy Foundation, the National Sports Center for the Disabled, and the Braille Institute. His honors include the American Foundation for the Blind’s Helen Keller Award for Lifetime Achievement and the Will Rogers Memorial Award.

Established in Memphis, Tennessee in 1932, Southern College of Optometry is an independent, not-for-profit institution of higher education with a mission to educate men and women in the art and science of optometry.

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