StutterNoise
01-20-2008, 11:41 PM
This is from the New York Post website.
http://www.nypost.com/seven/01202008/gossip/pagesix/pagesix_u.htm
Group Woos Celeb Stutter Sibs
January 20, 2008 -- WILL Julia Roberts and her once-estranged brother be joining together to go to bat for stutterers?
The Oscar-winning beauty, who stars in "Charlie Wilson's War," and Eric Roberts - whose credits include "Star 80" and "The Pope of Greenwich Village" - both suffered from the embarrassing speech affliction as kids. Now the Stuttering Foundation of America (SFA) is hoping to sign them as national spokespersons.
"The Roberts siblings stuttered as children and ironically give credence to the factor of the heredity/genetic link in the stuttering equation," gushed the foundation's recent newsletter. "[They have] no doubt inspired young people with the problem."
In an interview with the Memphis-based group, Eric revealed he still stutters on occasion and got into trouble on a late-night talk show. "I got on a stuttering jag and the audience got uncomfortable and started laughing," Eric, 51, confided. "I stayed relaxed, but I didn't have the presence of mind, until afterwards, to acknowledge the stutter and put the audience at ease."
Julia and Eric became estranged in the '90s. In 2001, Eric - father of adorable "Nancy Drew" star Emma Roberts - appeared on Howard Stern and said he hadn't seen Julia in six years. He said that while he didn't mind being her sibling, it irked him to be introduced as Julia's brother and not as an actor in his own right. He also said he hadn't been invited to her wedding.
They had a dramatic reunion in 2004 when Julia's twins were born, with Eric gushing to People, "What matters now is the children. Everybody's healthy, happy and wise. Julia was probably the best-looking pregnant broad on the planet."
SFA rep Jane Fraser said Julia had expressed an interest in helping a few years back and Eric graciously agreed to be interviewed. "It would be marvelous to have them participate," Fraser told Page Six.
Meanwhile, the SFA says in its newsletter, "The worldwide stuttering community will continue to be proud to have such a unique brother-and-sister combo among our ranks."
Other celebrities indentifed by the SFA as stutterers include: Bruce Willis, Carly Simon, Harvey Keitel, Jane Seymour, Andrew Lloyd Webber, Dominick Dunne, Peggy Lipton, Emily Blunt, Tiger Woods, Johnny Damon and "Stuttering John" Melendez.
http://www.nypost.com/seven/01202008/gossip/pagesix/pagesix_u.htm
Group Woos Celeb Stutter Sibs
January 20, 2008 -- WILL Julia Roberts and her once-estranged brother be joining together to go to bat for stutterers?
The Oscar-winning beauty, who stars in "Charlie Wilson's War," and Eric Roberts - whose credits include "Star 80" and "The Pope of Greenwich Village" - both suffered from the embarrassing speech affliction as kids. Now the Stuttering Foundation of America (SFA) is hoping to sign them as national spokespersons.
"The Roberts siblings stuttered as children and ironically give credence to the factor of the heredity/genetic link in the stuttering equation," gushed the foundation's recent newsletter. "[They have] no doubt inspired young people with the problem."
In an interview with the Memphis-based group, Eric revealed he still stutters on occasion and got into trouble on a late-night talk show. "I got on a stuttering jag and the audience got uncomfortable and started laughing," Eric, 51, confided. "I stayed relaxed, but I didn't have the presence of mind, until afterwards, to acknowledge the stutter and put the audience at ease."
Julia and Eric became estranged in the '90s. In 2001, Eric - father of adorable "Nancy Drew" star Emma Roberts - appeared on Howard Stern and said he hadn't seen Julia in six years. He said that while he didn't mind being her sibling, it irked him to be introduced as Julia's brother and not as an actor in his own right. He also said he hadn't been invited to her wedding.
They had a dramatic reunion in 2004 when Julia's twins were born, with Eric gushing to People, "What matters now is the children. Everybody's healthy, happy and wise. Julia was probably the best-looking pregnant broad on the planet."
SFA rep Jane Fraser said Julia had expressed an interest in helping a few years back and Eric graciously agreed to be interviewed. "It would be marvelous to have them participate," Fraser told Page Six.
Meanwhile, the SFA says in its newsletter, "The worldwide stuttering community will continue to be proud to have such a unique brother-and-sister combo among our ranks."
Other celebrities indentifed by the SFA as stutterers include: Bruce Willis, Carly Simon, Harvey Keitel, Jane Seymour, Andrew Lloyd Webber, Dominick Dunne, Peggy Lipton, Emily Blunt, Tiger Woods, Johnny Damon and "Stuttering John" Melendez.