Actors Fund - History

History

The Fund was founded by Albert Marshman Palmer on June 8, 1882, largely due to the efforts of former New York University student Harrison Grey Fiske, editor of the New York Dramatic Mirror, who was aware of the many problems faced by those in the profession. Funds raised at the 1892 Fair, held at Madison Square Garden, enabled the charity to begin providing individuals and families with assistance, including burial plots in a Brooklyn cemetery and accommodations in the Actors’ Fund home. Throughout the next several decades, benefit performances held throughout the country raised significant amounts of revenue to subsidize the Fund's many projects. When the AIDS crisis hit the industry in the 1980s, it was there to help thousands of individuals who were affected.

The Fund sponsors many special events and performances, with numerous Broadway stars and Hollywood celebrities hosting, performing, and/or attending. Theatres throughout the country frequently pledge all the proceeds from a regularly scheduled performance to the charity.

Offices are maintained in New York, Los Angeles, and Chicago, and the Fund is associated with, and helps coordinate the work of, a wide range of sister organizations which are able to raise money through donation, including Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS, the guild/union relief funds of Actors' Equity, AFTRA; AGMA; AGVA; Episcopal Actors' Guild; The Jazz Foundation; the Professional Dancers Society; MusiCares, and Society of Singers.

The Fund has merged with the Actors' Work Program, which offers individual career counseling, workshops, tuition grants and scholarships for entertainment union members, and provides job listings.

The Fund operates the Aurora, a unique site which provides supportive housing to special low-income groups including seniors, working professionals and people living with AIDS. The Aurora opened in 1996 and The Actors Fund provides on-site social services for residents. The social services group provides information and referral to community resources, entitlement program advocacy, coordination of home care and medical services, outreach, health education and support groups. The on site social services staff includes two social workers, three case managers, and an activities coordinator. The Actors Fund developed this supportive housing project with its partner, The Related Companies, L.P.

The Palm View is a similar residential and medical facility which is located in West Hollywood, California. The Palm View, opened in 1998, is a 40-unit apartment complex that provides homes to low-income people with HIV/AIDS. The Palm View is a collaborative project between The Actors Fund, the West Hollywood Community Housing Corporation, Housing for Entertainment Professionals and various funders. The buildings are managed by the West Hollywood Community Housing Corporation.

The Fund also runs the 6-acre (24,000 m2) Lillian Booth Actors Home, in Englewood, New Jersey, which is a nursing home and assisted care facility for retired members of the entertainment community. The Home is licensed by the Department of Health and qualifies for Medicaid and Medicare. Individuals who have dedicated a major portion of their professional lives to the entertainment industry are eligible for admission, without regard to their ability to pay. The Actors Fund provides funds to subsidize the extraordinary care that residents receive.

There a wing is dedicated to American actor Edwin Forrest, for his Forrest Home for retired actors in Philadelphia was incorporated into the facility.

Canada also has an Actors' Fund that helps members of the Canadian entertainment industry.

England also "looks after their own" in the entertainment world (see below for their website).