An actor's disappointments and heartaches can be stated in cold statistics. In its current issue, the Broadway trade magazine Equity surveys the fortunes of 6,235 Actors' Equity members for the year ending June 1, 1951. Of these, 1,124 got no theater work at all. Those who found stage jobs averaged about ten weeks with pay, made $790 for the year. In an average week, 82.3% of the union's hopefuls were just hoping. Twenty-four stars made $50,000 or better, but only one actor in eight beat the $5,000 mark.
How does the average Equity member manage to exist? Actress Shirley Peterson, 25, came...
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