The Miracle Worker

Photo of Anne Bancroft as Annie Sullivan and Patty Duke as Helen Keller in the broadway play The Miracle Worker. In this scene, Miss Sullivan tries to teach Helen the meaning of "water".

The Miracle Worker is a cycle of 20th century dramatic works derived from Helen Keller's autobiography The Story of My Life. Each of the various dramas describes the relationship between Helen, a deafblind and initially almost feral child, and Anne Sullivan, the teacher who introduced her to education, activism and international stardom. Its first realization was a 1957 Playhouse 90 broadcast written by William Gibson and starring Teresa Wright as Sullivan and Patricia McCormack as Keller. Gibson adapted his teleplay for a 1959 Broadway production with Anne Bancroft as Sullivan. The first movie, also starring Bancroft, was released in 1962. Subsequent made-for-television movies were released in 1979 and 2000.

Source of the name

The title originates in Mark Twain's description of Sullivan as a "miracle worker". The famed American humorist and author was an admirer of both women, and although his own personal finances were problematic, he helped arrange the funding of Keller's Radcliffe College education by his friend, financier and industrialist Henry Huttleston Rogers.

Film

• The Miracle Worker (1962 film) with Anne Bancroft as Annie Sullivan and Patty Duke as Helen Keller
• The Miracle Worker (1979 film) with Patty Duke as Annie Sullivan and Melissa Gilbert as Helen Keller
• The Miracle Worker (2000 film) with Alison Elliott as Annie Sullivan and Hallie Kate Eisenberg as Helen Keller

Play

External links

• Playhouse 90 production at the Internet Movie Database
• The Miracle Worker (1962 film) at the Internet Movie Database
• The Miracle Worker (1979 television remake) at the Internet Movie Database
• The Miracle Worker (2000 television film) at the Internet Movie Database
• Helen Keller: The Miracle Continues at the Internet Movie Database