Bob Hiltermann

Bob Hiltermann is a true success story. He was born in Wiesbaden, Germany, the 10th of 11 children. Spinal meningitis left him deaf at the age of 4, but without that knowledge, his family just assumed he was "slow". They moved to Canada when he was 5 years old, making communication even more difficult for Bob. His family finally discovered he was deaf when he was 10 years old! But it wasn't until Bob was 18 years old and went to Gallaudet University that he learned sign language, and it changed his life. Bob was raised in a family of classical musicians, which inspired his love for music. He learned to play drums at the age of 16. He gravitated toward performance, and is well known for his pioneering work in the award-winning sign language musical theater, "MUSIGN." Bob is the drummer with the wildly popular all-deaf rock band "Beethoven's Nightmare" which performs around the world. He also plays percussions, harmonica, piano, and electric keyboard. As an actor, he has starred in several award-winning documentary films, TV, soaps, stage productions, and feature films. Bob's credits include, a year's run on TV soap, "All My Children," several features that include, "Children of a Lesser God," "The Heart is a Drum Machine," and "The Hammer." He is one of four deaf entertainers starring in the well-received documentary, "See What I'm Saying." Bob is the star of the new educational DVD's sign language series, "Shut Up and Sign," and has received interest as a TV series.