Alan Eisenberg, the longest-serving executive director of Actors’ Equity Association, died October 7, 2023 at the age of 88 in Rhinebeck, NY. During his time at Equity, which spanned 1981 to 2006, Eisenberg lead the union to tremendous growth in membership, workweeks and member earnings, and steered Equity through several firestorms including the 1990 Miss Saigon controversy, the uncertain times for the industry following September 11, 2001 and the challenges of increased non-union touring.

The job at Equity, which Eisenberg started in 1981, finally combined his dedication to unions and his longtime love of the arts. Between 1981 and the time he announced his retirement in 2005, 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.

Eisenberg was a shrewd negotiator driven by the goal of getting the best possible benefits for the greatest number of artists. When the Equity Health plan faced $16 million in debt in 2003, Eisenberg’s forceful negotiation for increased employer contributions stabilized the fund and ensured its continuation for another generation of members. He was also instrumental in securing 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. In 1990, when a British production of Miss Saigon sought to cast white actors in Asian roles, Eisenberg vociferously objected, eventually reaching a compromise between artistic integrity and increased opportunities for actors of color. Finally, he guided the union through the 2003 Broadway musicians’ union strike, ensuring Equity’s support of Local 802 of the American Federation of Musicians. His role in founding the Coalition of Broadway Unions and Guilds (COBUG) the previous year, which he also co-chaired, ensured the musicians could count on solidarity from all the other unions working in the industry as well.

Eisenberg always said that to be an artist was the highest calling. “It has been an honor and a privilege to represent the council and American stage actors and stage managers,” he 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.” Read more here.

  Actors’ Equity Association, memoriam