Alan Eisenberg Dies: Longtime Exec Director Of Actors’ Equity Was 88

Alan Eisenberg, the longest-serving executive director of Actors’ Equity Association, died October 7 in Rhinebeck, New York. He was 88.

His death was announced by Equity. A cause was not disclosed.

Eisenberg led Equity from 1981 to 2006, a time of significant growth in membership, workweeks and member earnings, according to Equity.

Among the notable events that Eisenberg confronted during his tenure were the 1990 Miss Saigon controversy over the casting of white actors in Asian roles, the uncertain times facing the theater industry following September 11, 2001, and the challenges of increased non-union touring.

Eisenberg was raised in a secular Jewish household in Brighton Beach, Brooklyn, later attending the University of Michigan and graduating from New York University Law School. While practicing law in New York, he embraced the bohemian Greenwich Village art scene of the 1960s, and took a second job as a night espresso operator at the famed Café Figaro.

He next worked in labor law, later saying in an interview for the oral history library of the American Jewish Committee at the New York Public Library, “If I was going to be a lawyer, I decided I was going to be a labor lawyer because it had an inherent drama to it, like literature.”

After a few years representing employers, Eisenberg returned to representing unions, eventually spending four years working as a staff attorney for the National Labor Relations Board, where he argued in front of the Supreme Court.

He later became a senior partner at Spelman, Eisenberg, Paul and Wagner, a Washington, D.C. firm specializing in labor law, representing trade unions. He represented the Newspaper Guild and was the lead lawyer during the 1975 Washington Post strike.

Retaining his interests in the arts, Eisenberg began his job with Equity in 1981, announcing his retirement in 2005. During his time at the union, according to Equity, membership increased from 28,678 to 46,000, workweeks increased by more than 70,000 weeks annually, earnings for stage managers and actors jumped from $118.6 million to $250.3 million, and Equity investments increased in value from $1.7 million to more than $22 million.

Along with Equity President Patrick Quinn, Eisenberg helped create the Experimental Touring Program in the Production Contract which averted the loss of the road to non-union tours. “Alan’s contributions to Equity were immeasurable,” said Actors’ Equity Association President Kate Shindle.

Regarded as a shrewd negotiator in seeking benefits for the greatest number of artists, Eisenberg fought for and won increased employer contributions that stabilized the Equity Health Plan fund when it faced a $16 million debt in 2003.

Eisenberg also spearheaded the securing of domestic partnership benefits as a part of Equity’s health care coverage, extending crucial care to members and their loved ones during the HIV/AIDS crisis.

The Miss Saigon debacle took place in 1990, when British producer Cameron Mackintosh sought to cast white actors in Asian roles, most notoriously Jonathan Pryce wearing eye prosthetics and makeup to change the color of his skin. Eisenberg vociferously objected, eventually reaching a compromise that saw Pryce perform without the offensive cosmetics; the show in subsequent stagings has been committed to casting the role of the Engineer with Asian actors ever since.

Eisenberg also guided the union through the 2003 Broadway musicians’ union strike, ensuring Equity’s support of Local 802 of the American Federation of Musicians. He was instrumental in the founding and leading of the Coalition of Broadway Unions and Guilds (COBUG) the previous yea.

After his retirement, Eisenberg was made a Life Member of Actors’ Equity Association, a rare honor granted by the union’s National Council to those who have made exceptional contributions on behalf of actors and stage managers.

“His dedication to Equity and his clear vision for our union have benefited our members immeasurably,” said Equity President Patrick Quinn in 2005. “Alan’s service to our union has been historic.

Eisenberg also served as vice president of Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS and of Theatre Authority and as a board member for the Actors’ Equity Foundation, the Actors’ Fund of America (now known as the Entertainment Community Fund), the Actors Work Program, Career Transition for Dancers, the Eugene O’Neill Theatre Center and the Non-Traditional Casting Project. He served as chair of the Broadway Alliance, a member of the Tony Awards administration committee and a vice president of the Department for Professional Employees of the AFL-CIO.

He also taught at the Yale School of Drama as a visiting professor for many years, as well as at the University of Michigan Theatre Department where, in 2007, he and Equity created an annual award in his name to recognize outstanding talent and career potential in a graduating senior from the University of Michigan’s Musical Theatre Department.

In his retirement, he was a dedicated volunteer mentor with Open Doors, a program of the Theatre Development Fund in which mentors take high school students from underserved New York City high schools to Broadway or off-Broadway shows and facilitate discussions about the productions.

“It has been an honor and a privilege to represent the council and American stage actors and stage managers,” Eisenberg said at the end of his tenure with the union. “I have always tried to carry out this responsibility with dedication to, and pride in, the membership. I have always been and continue to be committed to helping all our Actors.”

Eisenberg is survived by wife Claire Copley, and daughters Mollie Copley Eisenberg and Emma Copley Eisenberg.