Motion Picture & Television Fund - History

History

The need for a fund to benefit colleagues who fell on hard times was seen by many in the early days of motion pictures. It began with coin boxes at studios, where industry workers would drop their spare change for their colleagues.

The Motion Picture & Television Fund was created by such industry luminaries as Charlie Chaplin, Mary Pickford, Conrad Nagel, Milton Sills, Douglas Fairbanks, and D.W. Griffith, among others. In 1921, the Motion Picture Relief Fund (MPRF) was incorporated with Joseph M. Schenck as first president, Pickford was vice president and the Reverend Neal Dodd (who portrayed ministers in more than 300 films) as administrator, each with a benevolent spirit intent on providing assistance to those in the motion picture industry who were in need.

The original Board of Trustees included many of the biggest names in Hollywood such as Charles Christie, Cecil B. DeMille, Douglas Fairbanks Sr., William S. Hart, Jesse L. Lasky, Harold Lloyd, Mae Murray, Hal Roach, Donald Crisp and Irving Thalberg.

The advent of talkies in the late twenties brought many changes to the film industry. While talkies launched many new careers, hundreds of actors, directors and writers who had not foreseen the change to the industry or their livelihood, became unemployed. MPRF came to their aid. As more requests for assistance were made, celebrity-packed benefits were held. Celebrity balls, benefit movie premieres, polo matches, fashion shows and card parties were all means of raising funds for MPRF with talent provided by the likes of Charlie Chaplin, Mary Pickford, Douglas Fairbanks, Will Rogers and many other stars. These events raised thousands of dollars in aid, but it wasn't enough to keep up with the demand for assistance. Other methods of fundraising were needed.

In 1932, Pickford began the Payroll Pledge Program, a deduction plan for those earning over $200 a week. Studio workers were asked to pledge one-half of one percent of their earnings to the Fund. In 1938, participation in the program was increased by including talent groups, unions and producer representatives. SAG greatly improved this effort by ruling for compulsory contributions by its Class A members.

Then-President Jean Hersholt was seeking an opportunity to supplement the income produced through Payroll Pledge. Dr. Jules C. Stein came up with the idea to have major movie stars appear on a new radio program The Screen Guild Show, whereby they would donate their normal salaries to MPRF. Members of the Directors and Writers Guilds also contributed their services to the show, which premiered on over 61 CBS stations in 1939.

The first program starred such greats as Jack Benny, Judy Garland, and Joan Crawford, and quickly became one of the most popular programs on network radio, raising $5.3 million for MPRF during its 13-year run. Every major star participated at least once: Humphrey Bogart, Barbara Stanwyck, Gary Cooper, Bing Crosby, Natalie Wood, Bob Hope, Betty Grable, Clark Gable, Carole Lombard, Tyrone Power, and many others.

In 1940, Jean Hersholt found the property for the future Motion Picture & Television Country House and Hospital. It was 48 acres (190,000 m2) of walnut and orange groves, selling for $850 per acre. The Board was able to purchase the land thanks to the money raised from The Screen Guild Show. They immediately sold 7 acres (28,000 m2) to offset the costs for the first buildings of the Country House, designed by architect William Pereira. On September 27, 1942, three thousand members of the film community gathered in Woodland Hills for its dedication.

In 1948, the Motion Picture & Television Hospital was dedicated. Eventually, the Fund offered services to those working in television, and in 1971 the Motion Picture Relief Fund became Motion Picture & Television Fund.