Universal Appeal

Richard Biggs, in his role as Dr. Stephen Franklin on “Babylon 5,” is a master healer--a workaholic who can cure a human cold or bring ailing aliens back to life from inside a massive space station.

Off-camera, he knows healing is not so simple. He also knows that being a celebrity gives him powers of another sort: the ability to attract attention to others.

Biggs, 38, is putting his allure with sci-fi fans to work raising money for a struggling, 22-month-old private school in south Orange County that serves young children who are deaf and hard of hearing.

He has a genuine affinity for the children: Since childhood he has been deaf in one ear and partially deaf in the other.

Biggs lights up when he talks about how the small school brings together both deaf and hearing children to learn sign language. His enthusiasm has spread to co-workers on the Burbank set of “Babylon 5.”

On Saturday, 11 of the 13 cast members will be the stars of a fund-raiser in Rancho Santa Margarita for Rancho Viejo School for the deaf and hearing-impaired.

The event at the school, which will be interpreted in sign language, will feature a question-and-answer period, autograph signing and raffle of memorabilia from the show.

News of the appearance by the “Babylon 5” crew has spread via the Internet, and tickets have been sold to fans in Connecticut, Maryland, Alaska, Georgia, Alabama and Colorado.

“They are flying in from lots of places,” says school director Debbie Evans. “The cast members all contacted their fan club presidents.”

Evans is the sister of actress Mary Beth Evans, who has worked with Biggs and introduced the two.

A year ago, the school invited Biggs to make his debut as a director in a presentation of A.R. Gurney’s “Love Letters” at the Irvine Barclay Theatre. The production, which featured Mary Beth Evans and Steven Nichols--both of the daytime-drama “General Hospital”--raised about $10,000 for the school. The performance was interpreted in sign language.

Biggs and Evans met on “Days of Our Lives.” Evans played Kayla (1986-92), who lost her hearing in an explosion, and Biggs was Dr. Marcus Hunter (1987-92), who treated her.

Biggs is a USC drama graduate trained in Shakespeare and Moliere. He developed his deep resonant voice in the theater and worked on his diction at school.

His voice sinks lower when he talks about a day when, should he become completely deaf, he might have to leave acting for directing or writing. He tries to look at it as a positive thing. If it happens, he will adapt.

“It is a valid and a very real thing that I have to deal with,” Biggs says, “that one day maybe I do have to find another profession. . . . For 25 years I have dedicated my life to acting.”

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Devoted fans of “Babylon 5” are aware of Biggs’ hearing impairment: At sci-fi conventions, he carries a stack of photographs that he autographs and sells for $10 apiece. The money raised is given to the school, to pay for playground equipment and offset the cost of expensive equipment needed to test children’s hearing.

“He is a person with an incredible sensibility for deaf children,” says Carlos Olamendis, whose daughter Maria Christina attends the school. “This is a beautiful activity on their part, and really we are so thankful to find people who will work in the community in this manner.”

The school, started in May 1996, was a joint effort between parents and public school officials. At the time, there was no public school program nearby to meet the needs of hearing-impaired preschool children in South County.

The program, with preschool through third-grade students, now operates independently of the school district and needs funding to provide special services. Deaf and hearing children--often siblings--learn together. All teachers sign when they speak.

Biggs, whose hearing impairment was diagnosed at 13, wears a hearing aid in his right ear.

About three years ago, he began taking sign language classes.

“Doctors were telling me, ‘Eventually you are going to tune out like an old radio,’ ” Biggs recalls. “‘We can’t tell you when, but eventually a hearing aid will not help.”

Initially, Biggs chose to keep silent about his impairment, concerned it might affect his employability.

“I don’t think that it really interferes, and I don’t want it to come into play when someone is making a decision whether to hire me,” says Biggs who recently completed his fifth season with the show.

About two years ago, the director of photography noticed the hearing aid. Biggs was asked to remove it for the scene--but not because producers of the television series are politically incorrect, Biggs says. Rather, the primitive device would be obsolete in the 23rd century, when the series is set.

“We have episodes where I have a machine that heals everything,” Biggs explains. “So it would be kind of silly for me to be standing there wearing a hearing aid or with some glasses on.”

What: Guest appearance by the cast of TNT’s “Babylon 5” to benefit Rancho Viejo School. Actors appearing include Richard Biggs, Bruce Boxleitner, Mira Furlan, Stephen Furst, Peter Jurasik, Bill Mumy, Andreas Katsulas, Jason Carter, Marjorie Monaghan and Jerry Doyle.

When: 1:30 p.m., Saturday.

Where: 29782 Avenida de Las Banderas, Rancho Santa Margarita.

Cost: $15.

Call: (714) 459-0199.