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Guide to the Actors' Fund of America Records
WAG.036
Descriptive Summary
| Creator:
|
Actors' Fund of America. |
| Title: |
Actors' Fund of America Records |
| Dates [inclusive]: |
1880-2005 |
| Abstract:
|
Founded in 1882, largely through the leadership of Harrison Grey Fiske, the Actors’
Fund of America is a human services organization that makes available aid to professionals
in the performing arts and entertainment industry. In general, the Actors’ Fund acts
as a safety net, offering a range of social and health-related services for members
of the performing arts community who are in need or crisis. The Fund maintains a home
for the elderly with an extended care nursing facility, runs the Al Hirschfeld Free
Health Clinic in New York City, and directs a number of other programs and initiatives,
including the Actors Work Program, the AIDS Training and Education Project and the
Phyllis Newman Women’s Health Initiative. Over the years the Fund has raised money
to support its programs through annual galas, benefit performances of theatrical productions,
fairs, bazaars, auctions, and fundraising drives. The collection includes minutes,
annual reports, and general subject files of the Actors’ Fund from its founding to
2005. There is substantial documentation of fundraising activities, including files
on the planning of benefit performances and lavishly illustrated souvenir programs.
A series of scrapbooks, comprised mostly of clippings and printed ephemera about the
Actors’ Fund and its benefit performances, also includes obituaries of theater professionals
and memorabilia collected by individuals associated with the Fund. The collection
also contains records entrusted to the Fund by individuals or families and material
produced by related organizations, for example, the Basil Rathbone Family Papers,
the Aldrich Family Papers, and records of the Catholic Actors Guild and the Society
of Stage Directors and Choreographers.
|
| Quantity: |
45.25 linear feet in 51 boxes |
| Location note:
|
Boxes 1-38 are stored offsite and advance notice is required for use. Please contact
tamiment.wagner@nyu.edu at least two business days prior to research visit. Boxes
39-51 are located onsite at the Tamiment Library.
|
| Call Phrase: |
WAG.036 |
