Alan Hewitt papers

1936-1985

Alan Hewitt (1915-1986) was an American actor who worked in theater, television, and film. He was active in issues of actors' employment, and was involved with the Actors Equity Association (Equity) for most of his career. His work with Equity included serving on the council from 1940 to 1951 and serving as the organization's unofficial statistician. He also conducted income studies for the Screen Actors Guild (SAG). The Alan Hewitt papers concern his work with and on behalf Equity and SAG and his advocacy in matters of actors' employment. Subjects of the Equity files include a report on Equity employment statistics authored by Philip Ennis and John Bonin; Equity's policy on the employment of alien actors from 1951 to 1968; and the work of the Equity House Affairs Committee from 1976 to 1980, especially related to the matter of dues. Equity files primarily contain correspondence and clippings, but also include statistical reports, meeting minutes, annual financial reports, and Hewitt's notes and writings. SAG files contain correspondence and reports regarding the income of SAG membership in the late 1960s and 1970s. Some correspondence with SAG leadership concerning issues affecting both unions is also present in the Equity files. Hewitt was a proponent of a merger between SAG and AFTRA, and the collection contains files of correspondence, writings, and clippings regarding a potential merger, as well as materials about possibly mergers between Equity and other unions, dating from 1949 and 1958. The collection also includes a memoir by Maybelle Cliff (née Parker). Cliff was an American vaudeville performer who married British performer Laddie Cliff. The memoir recounts her experiences living in Great Britain from 1916 to 1941.