Boardwalk musician, author
Celestine Tate Harrington, who wowed Boardwalk tourists for years playing an electric organ with her tongue, died Feb. 25 from injuries suffered in a traffic accident in Atlantic City. She was 42.
Harrington was struck by a car Feb. 19 while riding down a city street.
She was born with stunted, useless arms and legs. She lived, performed and traveled face down on a motorized hospital-style gurney.
In 1976, the 4-foot-10 inch, 191-pound woman won the right to raise her own daughter when she demonstrated in court how she could change a diaper — using only her mouth. She has two daughters of her own and two adopted, all of whom are now adults.
In 1984 she began working the Boardwalk, using a bucket to collect donations from those who wandered by and stopped to watch her play “Amazing Grace,” “Born Free” and “Stormy Weather” on her battery-operated keyboard.
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In 1996 she published a book, “Some Crawl and Never Walk.”
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