SAG-AFTRA

Fall 2014

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38 SAG-AFTRA | Fall 2014 | SAGAFTRA.org The Philanthropist I n 1955, a group of performers felt frustrated by the widely held perception of young Hollywood stars as partiers and philanderers. They set out to cultivate a new, more accurate perception of young actors, and The Thalians were born. Named after the Greek muse of comedy, Thalia, the organization, which is both social and charitable in nature, raises funds for mental health programs. Among the group's founders is Debbie Reynolds, who continues to be the face of the organization. She has spent decades alternating between that role and chair of the board with best friend Ruta Lee (the two perform an annual duet at the organization's gala). While Reynolds currently holds the title of president emeritus, she has been deeply involved in the organization for decades, raising funds and presiding over The Thalians' annual gala. In its nearly 60 years, The Thalians have donated millions to mental health programs, such as The Thalians Mental Health Center at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center and to UCLA's Operation MEND, which helps returning soldiers with severe facial injuries get reconstructive surgery and mental health care. HBO telefilm Behind the Candelabra. Off screen, Reynolds fulfilled a personal role as mother to actor and author Carrie Fisher and producer Todd Fisher. Reynolds expanded her film and television career to the stage as well. From her live performances in Vegas — including at the Debbie Reynolds Hotel & Casino, which she owned and operated from 1993 to 1998 — to Broadway, starring in such hits as Irene, Annie Get Your Gun and Woman of the Year, as well as a revival of The Unsinkable Molly Brown. "The film work dried up in the '70s and I had to make a living, so I went back to the stage," Reynolds told The Philadelphia Inquirer in 1997. "Films were changing: they were making very dramatic movies with a lot of nudity I didn't care for. I was in my 30s and everybody was out when the studio system crashed. Some of the men, like Kirk Douglas, went into producing their own films, but we didn't know how to do that. The women sat at home and waited for their agents to call, and they didn't." But perhaps Reynolds' greatest contributions — and the ones she is most proud of — include the work she has done as an advocate for the treatment of mental illness, her work in preserving the history of Hollywood and founding the dance studio that bears her name. In 1955, Reynolds, along with Jack Haley Jr., Hugh O'Brien and other young stars, founded a charity to fight the stigma of mental illness, calling themselves The Thalians, after the goddess of comedy, Thalia. Today, The Thalians still thrive and have raised more than $30 million for mental health programs (see sidebar at left). Reynolds also collected memorabilia of Hollywood throughout her years at MGM and other studio lots. After displaying it at her now-closed casino and making numerous attempts over five decades to establish a permanent home for the collection, Reynolds sold it in a series of auctions between 2011 and 2014 (see sidebar at right). Her legacy still remains in North Hollywood, where the Debbie Reynolds Dance Studio is located. The studio provides comfortable space for dancers to rehearse and attend professional classes. Asked in 2002 by The Vancouver Sun if she ever thinks of taking a break or giving up her career, Reynolds responded, "What would I do? And what would I want to do? This is what I love to do. I don't know anything but the entertainment business." Reynolds and Donald O'Connor at The Thalians gala, 1991. MGM/GETTY IMAGES RON GALELLA, LTD./WIREIMAGE

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