Celestine Tate Harrington

Celestine Tate Harrington (1956 - Feb. 25, 1998) was a quadriplegic street musician who was well known for playing the keyboard with her lips and tongue on the Atlantic City boardwalk.

Biography

Harrington was born with Arthrogryposis. In 1976, she won the right to raise her own daughter when she demonstrated in court how she could change a diaper using only her mouth.

In 1991 she was married to Roy Harrington, a casino maintenance worker. In 1996 she published a book, "Some Crawl and Never Walk."

Music

She learned to play the keyboard at Philadelphia's Settlement Music School and performed at the Atlantic City Boardwalk on a portable keyboard using her tongue.

Death

On February 19, 1998 she was struck by a car while riding down a city street on her motorized gurney. She succumbed to her injuries six days later. She was 42.

References

* http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9F0CEEDD1630F934A35750C0A96E958260