LOL Sorry for the confusion :)
a Wag (n.) is a 19th-to-20th century term. A wag is a person fond of making jokes. His jokes may or may not be as funny as he thinks they are, but that never stops him.
And since Marlee Matlin is deaf and therefore rarely tries to actually speak, the composer of that Times headline was making a (feeble) joke.
Sidebar: Ms. Matlin HAS been known to say a word or two in rare instances although, for obvious reasons, it is not easy to understand her.
