Actors' Equity Association
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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| Founded | 1913 |
|---|---|
| Members | 45,000 actors and stage managers |
| Country | United States |
| Affiliation | AFL-CIO |
| Key people | Mark Zimmerman, president |
| Office location | New York City, New York |
| Website | www.actorsequity.org |
The Actors' Equity Association (AEA), commonly referred to as Actors' Equity, is an American labor union. As of 2007, the association represents over 45,000 theater artists and stage managers.
Actor's Equity was founded by 112 professional theater actors, who adopted the association's constitution and elected the group's first president, Francis Wilson, on 26 May 1913 at a meeting held at the Pabst Grand Circle Hotel in New York City.[1] [1] A handful of influential actors -- known as The Players -- held secret organizational meetings at Edwin Booth's old mansion on Gramercy Square leading up to the establishment of the association.
In 1919, Actors' Equity joined the American Federation of Labor (AFL) and called a strike seeking recognition of the association as a labor union.[2] The successful strike of 1919 ended the dominance of the Theatrical Syndicate, including theatre owners and producers like Abe Erlanger and his partner, Mark Klaw. The strike increased membership in the association from under 3,000 to approximately 14,000. The Chorus Equity Association, which merged with Actors' Equity in 1955, was founded during the 1919 strike.
Actors' Equity stood against segregation as early as the 1940s.[3]
When actors were losing their jobs in the 1950s due to McCarthyism and the Hollywood blacklist, Actors' Equity Association refused to participate. Although its constitution guaranteed its members the right to refuse to work alongside another actor who was a Communist, or a member of a Communist front organization, Actors' Equity never banned any of its members. At a 1997 ceremony commemorating the 50th anniversary of the blacklist, Richard Masur, then President of the Screen Actors Guild, apologized for his union's participation in the ban, noting: "Only our sister union, Actors Equity Association, had the courage to stand behind its members and help them continue their creative lives in the theater. For that, we honor Actors Equity tonight."[4]
In the 1960s, Actors' Equity played a role in gaining public funding for the arts, including the founding of the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA).[5]
Actors' Equity fought the destruction of historic Broadway theaters. It also played a major role in the recognition of the impact the AIDS epidemic was having on the stage.[6]
The association's national headquarters are at 165 West 46th Street in New York City with regional offices in Chicago and Los Angeles and satellite offices in San Francisco and Orlando.
Presidents of Actors' Equity Association:
| Name | Year Started | Year Ended |
|---|---|---|
| Francis Wilson | 1913 | 1920 |
| John Emerson | 1920 | 1928 |
| Ralph Morgan (acting president) | 17 June 1924 | 12 August 1924 |
| Frank Gillmore | 1928 | 1937 |
| Burgess Meredith (acting president) | 1937 | 1938 |
| Arthur Byron | 1938 | 1940 |
| Bert Lytell | 1940 | 1946 |
| Clarence Derwent | 1946 | 1952 |
| Ralph Bellamy | 1952 | 1964 |
| Frederick O'Neal | 1964 | 1973 |
| Theodore Bikel | 1973 | 1982 |
| Ellen Burstyn | 1982 | 1985 |
| Colleen Dewhurst | 1985 | 1991 |
| Ron Silver | 1991 | 2000 |
| Patrick Quinn | 2000 | 2006 |
| Mark Zimmerman | 2006 |
[edit] See also
- British Actors' Equity Association
- Clarence Derwent Awards
- Philip Loeb Humanitarian Award
- Paul Robeson Award
- St. Clair Bayfield Award
- Stage Managers' Association
[edit] Notes
- ^ Actors' Equity: A 90 Year Celebration
- ^ Actors' Equity: A 90 Year Celebration
- ^ Actors' Equity: A 90 Year Celebration
- ^ Krizman, Greg. "Hollywood Remembers the Blacklist", Screen Actor, January 1998 (special edition)
- ^ Actors' Equity: A 90 Year Celebration
- ^ Actors' Equity: A 90 Year Celebration
