Actors Organize: A History of Union Formation Efforts in America, 1880-1919

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This work offers a detailed history of American actors’ attempts to unionize in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Actors’ unions of this period faced many 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.