Television Bove appeared in an episode of
Happy Days as Allison,
Arthur Fonzarelli's deaf love interest. She also performed on the
soap opera Search for Tomorrow, with the latter role making her one of the first deaf actors to become a regular on a
soap opera series. She also performed as a member of the
National Theatre of the Deaf,
Sesame Street Linda, portrayed by Bove, was a character on the children's program
Sesame Street. When Bove debuted on
Sesame Street with NTD in April 1971 (Episode 0243) as
the Deaf character of her namesake, she was the first deaf performer on the show. Initially appearing sporadically, she became a regular member of the cast in 1975, and she continued to appear until 2002, making Linda the longest-running deaf character and Bove the longest-working Deaf actor on a single series in television history. In 2019, Linda returned to the franchise in the television special ''
Sesame Street's 50th Anniversary Celebration'', 17 years after her last appearance. She has introduced millions of children to
sign language and issues surrounding the Deaf community, increasing public awareness of Deaf culture and to reassure others who are Deaf to be proud of who they are. Her character owns a very playful dog,
Barkley. Linda communicated only in
American Sign Language and interacted with other members of the
Sesame Street community as a citizen and resident of the community. The person who most often interpreted for her was
Bob and eventually, he and Linda were portrayed in a romantic relationship. Linda made her living as a
librarian, and had an assistant, Micki Barnett, who would read stories to the children, while Linda signed them. The staff writers at
Sesame Street were initially unsure of how to write for her. Bove said: In addition to playing Linda, Bove appeared frequently in various sketches and silent segments, where she was often paired up with
Maria, played by
Sonia Manzano, often playing a supporting role in Manzano's
Charlie Chaplin silent film sketches (with occasional voiceovers), usually just as a woman in the sketch, but played a second
Tramp if two were needed (e.g. the mirror sketch and the opening umbrellas sketch). Manzano and Bove worked in many other sketches together, both with and without dialogue, on-camera, or voiceover.
Theatre In the 1970s, Bove and some of her colleagues started the Little Theatre of the Deaf to attract more deaf people, including children, to theater and the company gained national and international attention. It dealt with communication among deaf people and the importance of teaching sign language to deaf children. In 1979, Bove and NTD traveled on a world tour. Their biggest success was in Japan, where their show was attended by the royal family and they were invited to appear on a Japanese television show. In 1991, Bove and her husband
Ed Waterstreet founded
Deaf West Theatre in
Los Angeles, the first theater company run by deaf actors. While working with DWT, she starred in George Bernard Shaw's
Saint Joan, based on
Joan of Arc. The company performs plays in sign language and adjusts dialog accordingly. Signed dialog is interpreted into spoken language in order to bridge the gap between the deaf and hearing communities. She appeared in several roles in the national tour of the Deaf West production of
Big River in 2005. Bove was also involved in a number of other projects in the Deaf community, several related to children. She had a brief role in
The Land Before Time IV: when the dinosaur characters would speak, Bove would appear in a
picture-in-picture box in the lower corner of the screen signing the dialog. She has also made many videos in
American Sign Language such as
Sign Me a Story and has starred in several productions of the play
Children of a Lesser God.
Interpreting In 2004, Bove obtained credentials as a
Certified Deaf Interpreter from the
Registry of Interpreters for the Deaf. Since then she has worked in that role in a variety of settings, including legal settings and
White House briefings. == Personal life ==