Descriptive Summary
	Creator:	Associated Actors and Artists of America.
	Title:	Records
	Dates:	1909-1995
	Abstract:	The Associated Actors and Artists of America was founded in 1919 as an umbrella organization composed of nine autonomous performing arts unions. The main purpose of the Four A's since its founding has been to represent the affiliates' common interests, and to resolve jurisdictional problems. These records include the Four A's constitutions, correspondence, financial records and meeting minutes.
	Quantity:	11 linear feet (11 boxes); 9.5 linear feet unprocessed.
	Call Phrase:	Wagner 110

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Historical/Biographical Note

The Associated Actors and Artistes of America (AAAA, also known as the 4A's), chartered in 1919 by the American Federation of Labor, is a New York-based umbrella organization of several autonomous unions representing different types of performing artists, including the Actors Equity Association, the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists, the American Guild of Musical Artists, the American Guild of Variety Artists, and the Screen Actors Guild.

The Four A's was founded out of a conflict between the White Rats Actors Union of America, an old variety performers' union formed in 1909, and the Actors' Equity Association of America, an organization formed in 1913 to represent performers of the legitimate stage, over the acquisition of a charter from the American Federation of Labor. The gradual demise of the White Rats as an industry force led that union to merge with Equity and a number of smaller unions by July 1919, resulting in the formation of the Associated Actors and Artistes of America.

The main purpose of the Four A's since its founding has been to represent the affiliates' common interests, and to resolve jurisdictional problems between and among them, and in regard to individual actors working a range of entertainment sectors. When ethnic and foreign language theater still flourished, the Four A's affiliated included not only Actors Equity, Chorus Equity, and the Grand Opera Choral Alliance, but also the (German) White Rats, the Hebrew Actors Unions, the Hebrew Chorus Unions of New York and Philadelphia, the Hungarian Actors and Artists Association, the Italian Actors Union, the Polish Actors Union, and the Yiddish Playwrights League.

Technological changes in performance industries gave rise to new or growing affiliates including the American Federation of Radio Artists (AFRA), the Screen Actors Guild (SAG), the Screen Extras Guild (SEG), and the Television Authority (TVA), which later merged with AFRA to become the American Federation of Radio and Television Artists (AFTRA).

The demise of variety fields and the rise of television were the major issues to between the late 1930's and the early 1970's. Variety unions have been historically weak and controversial members of the Four A's, and there were repeated allegations of internal corruption and mismanagement, reflected in the 1960's and 1970's in an investigation of AGVA by the United States Senate, and in an internal 4A's investigation. The Four A's formed a Television Committee as early as 1938, and later the Television Authority, a temporary organization made up of five affiliates: Actor's Equity, Chorus Equity, the American Guild of Musical Artists, the American Guild of Variety Artists, and the American Federation of Radio Artists. The inability of these and other unions to decide upon an acceptable merger strategy led AFRA to extend a merger invitation to the TVA in 1952 and to form a new affiliate, AFTRA.

Sources:

Thomas Colley, "A Historical Study of the White Rats of America" (Master's Thesis, Wayne State University, 1967), copy in Box 7, Folder 20.

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Scope and Content Note

The collection is organized into the following seven series, which reflect everything from the day-to-day operations of the Four A's to larger social concerns that affiliates engaged.

Series 1: Constitutions, 1916-1995. Arranged chronologically. Contains both original drafts and published copies.

Series 2: Minutes, 1920-1992. Arranged chronologically. Contains minutes of international board meetings and annual conventions, but it does not reflect complete records of either one. Researchers should also consult the Four A's minutes on microfilm at the Robert F. Wagner Labor Archives (Wagner reel numbers 5020-5028).

Series 3: Correspondence, 1919-1990. Arranged chronologically within each name, title or topic. Contains the correspondence of the president and other officers, and correspondents include political figures and legal counsel, the AFL and AFL-CIO, the U.S. Department of Labor, and various exchanges re the Taft-Hartley Law.

Series 4: Financial Records, 1920-1984. Arranged chronologically. Mainly of copies of annual audits from 1937 through 1984, as well as letters and memos concerning specific financial matters.

Series 5: Community Activities, 1930-1962. Arranged chronologically within topics. Contains files on various organizations that the Four A's allied itself with or otherwise engaged. The material on the Federal Theater Project contains one letter from Hallie Flanagan. There is substantial material on the World's Fair and the contemporaneous San Francisco Exposition.

Series 6: Subjects, 1937-1993. Arranged alphabetically by subject, and chronologically within subjects. Includes files on the unsuccessful attempts to merge the various affiliates, the Committee on Integration of Negro in Theatre, and the Television Committee.

Series 7: Affiliates, 1909-1993. Arranged alphabetically by organization name. Comprises almost two-thirds of the processed materials, and is nearly equally divided between records of American Guild of Variety Artists (AGVA) affiliates, which principally concerns ongoing allegations and investigations of corrupt practices (1940s-1970s), and files pertaining to other affiliates, including smaller and/or more ephemeral groups such as the American Federation of Artists (Charter Revocation, 1939-42), the Burlesque Artists Association, Chorus Equity Association, Grand Opera Choral Alliance, Motion Picture Players/Screen Players Union, Screen Extras Guild, the Television Authority (1949-52), the White Rats Actors Union, and several ethnically-based affiliates, including the Hebrew Actors Union, Hungarian Actors and Artists Association, Italian Actors Union, Polish Actors Union, Puerto Rican Artists and Technicians Association, and the Yiddish Playwrights League.

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Arrangement
	The files are grouped into 7 series: I, Constitutions; II, Minutes; III, Correspondence; IV, Financial Records; V, Community Activities; VI Subjects; VII Affiliates.
	Folders are arranged alphabetically within each series.

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Separated Material

Four original charters and 3 photos were transferred to the Tamiment/Wagner Non-Print collections.

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Restrictions

Access Restrictions

Open for research without restrictions.

Use Restrictions

There may be some restrictions on the use of the collection. For more information, contact
Tamiment Library/Robert F. Wagner Labor Archives
Elmer Holmes Bobst Library
70 Washington Square South
New York, NY 10012
Phone: (212) 998-2630
Fax: (212) 995-4225
E-mail: gail.malmgreen@nyu.edu

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Access Points
	Subject Organizations:
		Actors' Equity Association.
		American Federation of Television and Radio Artists.
		American Guild of Musical Artists.
		American Guild of Variety Artists.
		Associated Actors and Artists of America.
		Hebrew Actors Union.
		Italian Actors Union.
		Screen Actors Guild.
		Screen Extras Guild.
	Subject Topics:
		Collective labor agreements -- Actors -- United States.
		Collective labor agreements -- Entertainers -- United States.
		Collective labor agreements -- Motion picture industry -- United States.
		Collective labor agreements -- Stagehands -- United States.
		Entertainers -- United States.
		Entertainment industry.
		Performing arts -- United States -- Entertainers.
		Trade-uinons -- Entertainers -- United States.
		Trade-unions -- Actors -- United States.
		Trade-unions -- Musicians -- United States.
		Trade-unions -- Screenwriters -- United States.
	Document Types:
		Constitutions.
		Correspondence.
		Financial records.
		Minutes.

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Administrative Information

Provenance

The records of the Associated Actors and Artistes of America were transferred to the Robert F. Wagner Labor Archives in June of 1995 from the organization's New York office at 165 West 46th Street. The transfer was facilitated by Harriet Barry, Executive Assistant. There are no restrictions on the use of this collection.

Preferred Citation

Published citations should take the following form:

Identification of item, date (if known); The Associated Actors and Artistes of America (Four A's) Records; Wagner 110; box number; folder number;
Tamiment Library/Robert F. Wagner Labor Archives
Elmer Holmes Bobst Library
70 Washington Square South
New York, NY 10012, New York University Libraries.

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Container List

[The following section contains a detailed listing of the materials in the collection.]

Series 1: Constitutions.
Box	Folder	Title	Date
1	1	Constitutions	1916-1935
1	2	Constitutions	1937-1938
1	3	Constitutions	1939, 1951, 1962-1965
1	4	Constitutions	1970, 1976-1978
1	5	Constitutions	1980-1989
1	6	Constitutions	1990-1995

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Series 2: Minutes.
Box	Folder	Title	Date
1	7	Minutes	1920-1937
1	8	Minutes	1938
1	9	Minutes	1939-1940
1	10	Minutes	1941-1943
1	11	Minutes	1944-1948
1	12	Minutes	1949
1	13	Minutes	1950
1	14	Minutes	1951-1954
1	15	Minutes	1955-1960
1	16	Minutes	1961-1965
1	17	Minutes	1966-1973
1	18	Minutes	1980-1982
1	19	Minutes	1983-1984
1	20	Minutes	1985-1986
1	21	Minutes	1987-1990
1	22	Minutes	1991-1992
1	23	Minutes	ca.1919-1971
1	24	Minutes	ca.1992-1997

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Series 3: Correspondence
Box	Folder	Title	Date
2	1	President	1925-1929, 1937-1938
2	2	President, Jan-Aug 1939	1939
2	3	President, Sep-Dec 1939	1939
2	4	President	1940
2	5	President	1941-1943
2	6	President	1944-1950
2	7	President	1951-1955
2	8	President	1956-1959
2	9	President	1960-1989
2	10	Frank Gillmore, Personal	1938-1943
2	11	Exec Secretary	1919-1925
2	12	Exec Secretary	1926-1990
2	13	Treasurer	1919-1921
2	14	Treasurer	1922-1923, 1950-1951
2	15	First Vice-Pres, Misc	1925-1960
2	16	Legal Counsel, Misc	1937-1947
2	17	Legal Counsel, Misc	1953-1963
2	18	Legislative Committee	1947
2	19	Legislative Committee	1959-1960
2	20	Legislative/Political	1937-1942
2	21	Legislative/Political	1943-1955, 1957-1963
Box	Folder	Title	Date
3	1	Federations of Labor	1920-1925
3	2	Federations of Labor	1926-1928
3	3	Federations of Labor	1929-1934
3	4	Federations of Labor	1935-1940
3	5	Federations of Labor	1941-1955
3	6	AFL-CIO, 1956-May 1959	1956-1959
3	7	AFL-CIO, June-Dec 1959	1959
3	8	AFL-CIO	1960
3	9	AFL-CIO	1961-1964
3	10	Departments of Labor	1920-1930, 1938, 1944-1964
3	11	Taft-Hartley	1947-1951
3	12	Taft-Hartley	1952-1964

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Series 4: Financial Records
Box	Folder	Title	Date
3	13	Finance Committee	1920-1964, 1983
3	14	Annual Audits	1937-1947
3	15	Annual Audits	1948-1958
3	16	Annual Audits	1959-1969
3	17	Annual Audits	1970-1984

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Series 5: Community Activities
Box	Folder	Title	Date
4	1	Theater Authority	1939-1940
4	2	Theater Authority	1941-1942, 1944, 1949-1951
4	3	Theater Authority	1953-1957, 1960-1962
4	4	Actors' Fund of America	1940-1942, 1953, 1955
4	5	San Francisco Exposition	1938-1940
4	6	World's Fair	1937-1940
4	7	International Theater Convention	1938-1939
4	8	National Theater	1975, 1979-1981
4	9	Camp Shows, Inc.	1941-1942, 1948, 1951-1952
4	10	ILO/UNESCO	1956-1959
4	11	ILO/UNESCO	1960-1962
4	12	Theater Arts Committee	1930, 1938-1940
4	13	National Child Labor Committee	1939-1941
4	14	Federal Theater Project	1938-1940
4	15	American Theater Council	1937-1939
4	16	League of New York Theaters	1938, 1941, 1949-1953
4	17	American Theater Wing	1948-1951, 1958

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Series 6: Subjects
Box	Folder	Title	Date
4	18	American Federation of Musicians	1938-1944, 1948, 1954
4	19	Committee on Greek Actors	1938-1943
4	20	Committee on Models Federation of America	1952-1953
4	21	Comm. on Integration of Negro in Theater	1957-1958
4	22	Comm. on Integration of Negro in Theater	1957-1958
4	23	Comm. on Integration of Negro in Theater	1957-1958
4	24	Comm. on Integration of Negro in Theater	1957-1958
4	25	Misc. Memos and Reports	1939, 1960-1961
4	26	Merger-Petitions	1939
4	27	Merger	1944-1948
4	28	Merger	1949
4	29	Merger	1950-1951
4	30	Merger, Jan-June 1952	1952
4	31	Merger, Aug-Dec 1952	1952
4	32	Merger	1955-1993
4	33	Television Committee	1938-1940
4	34	Television Committee, 1947-July 1949	1947-1949
4	35	Television Committee, Aug-Nov 1949	1949
4	36	Television Committee Minutes, Feb-Nov 1949	1949

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Series 7: Affiliates
Subseries: General
Box	Folder	Title	Date
5	1	American Artists Federation (AAF)	1919-1923, 1926, 1930
5	2	Actor's Equity Association (AEA)	1919-1929
5	3	AEA	1937-1938
5	4	AEA	1939-1940
5	5	AEA	1941-1949
5	6	AEA	1950-1953
5	7	AEA	1954-1964
5	8	Actors Betterment/American Federation of Actors (AFA)	1933-1934
5	9	AFA	1935-1938
5	10	AFA	1939
5	11	AFA: Charter Revocation, Jan-May 1939	1939
5	12	AFA: Charter Revocation, June 1939
5	13	AFA: Charter Revocation, July 1939	1940
5	14	AFA: Charter Revocation; Legal Fees	1939-1942
5	15	AFA: Charter Revocation; Trial Exhibits	1939
5	16	AFA: Charter Revocation; Clipping File	1939
5	17	American Federation of Radio Artists (AFRA)	1937-1939
5	18	AFRA	1940-1944
5	19	AFRA	1945-1952
5	20	AFTRA	1952-1957
5	21	AFTRA	1958-1965
5	22	American Guild of Musical Artists (AGMA)	1937-1947
5	23	AGMA	1948-1964, 1977
Box	Folder	Title	Date
6	1	Burlesque Artists Association (BAA)	1933-1939
6	2	BAA,	1940-1957
6	3	Chorus Equity Association	1919-1940
6	4	Chorus Equity Association	1941-1955
6	5	Grand Opera Choral Alliance	1919-1923
6	6	Grand Opera. Choral Alliance	1924-1929, 1937-1939
6	7	Grand Opera Artists Association	1935-1941
6	8	Hebrew Actors Union	1919-1922
6	9	Hebrew Actors Union	1923-1929, 1937-1938
6	10	Hebrew Actors Union	1939-1953, 1958-1962
6	11	Hebrew Chorus Union, Philadelphia	1919-1933
6	12	Hebrew Chorus Union, NY	1919-1929, 1938-1940, 1943
		1945
6	13	Hungarian Actors and Artists Association	1924-1942, 1946-1950
6	14	Italian Actors' Union	1937-1939
6	15	Italian Actors' Union	1940-1950, 1956, 1960-1961
6	16	Motion Picture Players/Screen Players Union	1919-1923
6	17	Polish Actors' Union	1919-1922
6	18	Puerto Rican Artists and Technicians Association (APATE)	1961
6	19	APATE, Mar 1961-1974	1961-1974
6	20	Screen Actors Guild (SAG)	1934-1938
6	21	SAG	1939-1940
Box	Folder	Title	Date
7	1	SAG	1941-1945
7	2	SAG	1946-1948
7	3	SAG	1949-1956
7	4	SAG	1957-1965, 1969-1970
7	5	Screen Extras Guild (SEG), 1944-May 1945	1944-1945
7	6	SEG, Jun-Aug 1945	1945
7	7	SEG, Sep-Dec 1945	1945
7	8	SEG	1946
7	9	SEG	1947-1965, 1990, 1993
7	10	Singers Guild of Los Angeles	1930-1936
7	11	Television Authority (TVA), Nov 1949-1950	1949-1950
7	12	TVA	1951
7	13	TVA	1952
7	14	TVA Minutes, Jan-Aug 1951	1951
7	15	TVA Minutes, Sep 1951-Jan 1952	1951-1952
7	16	TVA -- Minutes, Feb-Sep 1952	1952
7	17	Yiddish Playwrights League	1918-1925
7	18	White Rats Actors Union	1909-1926
7	19	White Rats Actors Union	1927-1939
7	20	White Rats Actors Union - History	1967
Subseries: American Guild of Variety Artists (AGVA)
Box	Folder	Title	Date
8	1	AGVA	1939-1940
8	2	AGVA	1941
8	3	AGVA, Jan-Aug 1942	1942
8	4	AGVA, Sep-Dec 1942	1942
8	5	AGVA	1943-1944
8	6	AGVA	1945
8	7	AGVA	1946-1948
8	8	AGVA	1949-1950
8	9	AGVA	1951-1957
8	10	AGVA	1958-1962
8	11	AGVA	1963-1969
8	12	AGVA	1970-1976
8	13	AGVA: Four A's Committee on AGVA Elections	1941-1942
8	14	AGVA: Financial Reports	1942-1944
8	15	AGVA: Financial Reports	1945
8	16	AGVA: Financial Reports	1954, 1961, 1969-1970
Box	Folder	Title	Date
9	1	AGVA: Shelvey Ouster: Background and Evidence	1939-1941
9	2	AGVA, Background and Evidence	1942-1944
9	3	AGVA, Background and Evidence	1945-1946
9	4	AGVA, Background and Evidence, Jan-Apr 1947	1947
9	5	AGVA, Background and Evidence, May-Jun 1947	1947
9	6	AGVA, Background and Evidence, Jul-Sep 1947	1947
9	7	AGVA, Background and Evidence, Oct-Dec 1947	1947
9	8	AGVA, Local Convention Nominations: Akron-Columbus	1947
9	9	AGVA, Local Convention Nominations, Dallas-Montreal	1947
9	10	AGVA, Local Convention Nominations, New Jersey-Youngstown	1947
9	11	AGVA, Litigation Fees	1948-1950
9	12	AGVA, Litigation Fees	1951-1957
9	13	AGVA, Conference Proceedings	1942
9	14	AGVA, Member Petitions	1946
9	15	AGVA, Four A's Executive Committee	1947-1948
9	16	AGVA, Background for Congressional Inquiry	1948
9	17	AGVA, Clipping File	1947-1948
9	18	AGVA, Continued Litigation	1948-1951
Box	Folder	Title	Date
10	1	AGVA: National Leadership Crisis: Background and Evidence	1968-1969
10	2	AGVA, Background and Evidence	1970-1971
10	3	AGVA, Background and Evidence, Jan-Jun 1972	1972
10	4	AGVA, Background and Evidence, Jul-Dec 1972	1972
10	5	AGVA, Background and Evidence	1973
10	6	AGVA, Background and Evidence, Jan-Mar 1974	1974
10	7	AGVA, Background and Evidence, April 1974-1975	1974-1975
10	8	AGVA, Member Correspondence	1968-1971
10	9	AGVA, Member Correspondence	1972-1974
10	10	AGVA, Roberts and Miller Reports	1972
10	11	AGVA, Clipping File and Basic Agreements	1968-1976
10	12	AGVA, VEGA Dispute	1975-1976
10	13	AGVA, Finance Memos	1972-1974
10	14	AGVA, Alan Cory Litigation	1978-1979
10	15	AGVA, Penny Singleton Charges	1959-1963
10	16	AGVA, Richard Jones Charges	1950, 1958-1968
Box	Folder	Title	Date
11	1	AGVA: National Leadership Crisis: Minutes, Special Four A's Meeting, Feb 1972	1972
11	2	AGVA: Senate Committee Hearings	1962
11	3	AGVA: House Committee Hearings, 1948, Vols 1-2	1948
11	4	AGVA: House Committee Hearings, 1948, Vols 3-4	1948
11	5	AGVA, House Committee Hearings, 1948, Vols 5-6	1948

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