Edwin Forrest Society

The Actors Fund established the Edwin Forrest Society to give special recognition to those selfless individuals who have made provisions for estate gifts to The Actors Fund.

Membership in the Edwin Forrest Society is granted to those who have included a gift to The Actors Fund in their estate plan. The gift can be made through a will, a trust, an insurance policy or your retirement plan. Gifts can consist of real estate, royalties, jewelry, stock, cash or any other thing of value.

A simple statement of intent is all we need. Your pledge indicates that you have set aside a portion of your estate so thousands of performing arts and entertainment professionals can rely upon The Actors Fund as a safety net in the years to come. The members of the Society are listed in a special section of The Fund's Annual Report each year.

To find out how to join the Edwin Forrest Society, please call Barbara Toy, Director of Individual Giving 212.221.7300 ext. 108 or e-mail btoy@actorsfund.org.

The Legacy of Edwin Forrest, "America's Greatest Actor"
Edwin Forrest was the first true star of rhe American theatre. Today, with so many famous personalities and multitalented performers, it may be hard to imagine a time when the world of entertainment was not seen as exciting and glamorous. But in 1806, when Forrest was born in Philadelphia, and through most of the rest of the 19lh century, American actors and other entertainers performed only in theatre, variety and traveling circuses, and members of the profession were not highly respected. During his long and successful career, Edwin Forrest did a great deal to change that perception.

Forrest was fascinated with the theatre at a very early age and made his first professional appearance on the stage of Philadelphia's Walnut Street Theatre when he was only 14 years old. Six years later he debuted in New York as Othello and became an overnight sensation with both critics and audiences.

The fame of his initial triumph and the power of his performances brought him sold-out houses in city after city. Within two years, and still in his early twenties, Edwin Forrest had become the most highly paid performer in the United States: both his professional and financial positions would be secure for the rest of his life.

For fifty years, Edwin Forrest remained the most highly paid and most popular actor in America. When he toured England and Europe, he was the first American to be acclaimed an international star.

During his lifetime, Forrest was a major supporter of both The General Theatrical Fund and the American Dramatic Fund Association, two charities that were predecessors of The Actors Fund. His principal dream, though, was to create a retirement home for the elderly members of the profession he so loved, and he left the bulk of his enormous estate to be used for the realization of that dream.

The Edwin Forrest Home opened its doors in Philadelphia in 1876, four years after Mr. Forrest's death. It continued to serve retired members of the profession until the 1980s, when its Board of Managers decided to close the home, sell the property, and contribute its sizable assets to The Actors Fund for the construction of a new nursing home in Englewood, New Jersey, whose main section has been named the "Edwin Forrest Wing."

For more information, contact Barbara Toy.