Actors Organize

by Segrave, Kerry

• ISBN13: 9780786432837
• ISBN10: 0786432837
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2007-10-10
• Publisher: McFarland Publishing

Summary

This work offers a detailed history of American actors¿ attempts to unionize in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Actors¿ unions of this period faced a staggering amount of struggles, including a heavy industry reliance on the blacklist, severe media attacks on individual actors, and the frequent formation of illegitimate company unions. This work focuses specifically on the two main unions of the time, the White Rats Actors¿ Union of America and the Actors¿ Equity Association. The author chronicles the formation of the unions along with their achievements in the following decades and outlines the roles of union leaders Harry Mountford and Francis Wilson.

Author Biography

Kerry Segrave is the author of numerous works of social history, including Women Swindlers in America, 1860-1920 (2007), Ticket Scalping: An American History, 1850-2005 (2007), America on Foot (2006), Endorsements in Advertising (2005), Suntanning in 20th Century America (2005) and Women and Smoking in America, 1880-1950 (2005) among many other works exploring American culture. He lives in British Columbia.

Table of Contents

Preface	p. 1
General Conditions, 1880-1900	p. 3
Early Efforts to Organize, 1880-1900	p. 18
The White Rats Emerge, 1900-1901	p. 29
Years of Stagnation, 1902-1907	p. 44
Mountford Arrives; the White Rats Resurface, 1908-1911	p. 59
Years of Stagnation Return, 1912-1915	p. 80
Mountford Returns, a War of Words, 1916	p. 89
Rats Strike Oklahoma, 1916	p. 106
Rats Strike Again, Then Fade Away, 1917-1919	p. 127
Actors' Equity Association, the Beginnings, 1913-1919	p. 144
Actors' Equity Association Strike, 1919	p. 154
Conclusion	p. 177
Chapter Notes	p. 183
Bibliography	p. 195
Index	p. 205
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