Gil Eastman was born deaf to a hearing family in Middletown, Connecticut. He attended the American School for the Deaf from 1937 to 1953, and after graduating went on to Gallaudet College. At Gallaudet he became well-known as a student actor, graduating in 1957 with a bachelor’s degree in art. He stayed on at Gallaudet as a teacher, helping create Gallaudet’s drama department and becoming its chair in 1963. In the same year, he became the first deaf person to earn a MFA degree in drama, from the Catholic University of America.

Over the course of his theatrical career, Eastman was involved in over 50 productions in a variety of roles, including stage manager, writer, actor, director, and ASL translator. He wrote six plays, including an ASL version of Sophocles’ Antigone that was performed at the Kennedy Center, Sign Me Alice, and Laurent Clerc: A Profile. In 1967, he became one of the founding cast members of the National Theatre of the Deaf.

In 1985, Eastman became cohost, with Mary Lou Novitsky, of the Gallaudet-produced deaf news program Deaf Mosaic. This program was extremely popular in the deaf community and ran for seven years until 1992. Eastman and Novitsky won local Emmy awards in 1988 for their reporting on the Deaf President Now protests.

After retiring from Gallaudet in 1992, Eastman remained a popular speaker and workshop instructor around the country. He published several books on ASL and deaf culture, including From Mime to Sign (1989) and Just a Deaf Person’s Thoughts (1996). He received Gallaudet’s Laurent Clerc Award in 1993 and an honorary doctorate in 2001.

Gallaudet’s Gilbert C. Eastman Studio Theatre in the Elstad Center is named in his honor. He was also made a member of the American School of the Deaf Hall of Fame shortly before his death in 2006.