1888 - 1964: Melbourne Spurr (USA)
Melbourne Erwin Spurr was born deaf on 22 December 1888 at Decorah, Iowa, His father was Ervin Willard Spurr, a celebrated photographer of artists and scientists.
In 1910, he began his photographic career with his father, before moving to Chicago where he opened his first studio.
In 1916, Melbourne Spurr went to Hollywood, with ambitions of being a film actor. However, film directors were not interested in working with deaf actors, because it was expected to be difficult to manage them.
Through the influence of his father, Spurr found work with renowned photographer Fred Hartsook, who worked taking photographs of rising celebrities.
Among Spurr's first Hollywood photographs were those of a young comedian named Charlie Chaplin. Impressed by photographs Spurr took of the actress, Mary Pickford, Fred Hartsook decided to assist Spurr to launch a career taking photographic portraits in Hollywood.
By the mid-1920s, Spurr was regarded as one of the foremost portraitists of celebrities in the world.
Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Melbourne_Spurr