Five dollars. That’s the amount The Actors’ Fund of Canada launched with back in 1958. It was made up of $1 apiece donated by actors Jane Mallett, Barbara Hamilton, Donald Davis, Barry Morse and William Needles. Their goal was to start a charitable fund designed to help anyone in the Canadian entertainment industry that might be in need – not just actors, but also writers, directors, and all the behind-the-scenes people in Canadian TV, film, theater and radio.

The concept came from The Actors Fund in the U.S., which had approached the Canadian Actors’ Equity Association for fundraising help. After some discussion, the Canadians decided ‘that we could better look after those in need…if we raised such a fund and administered it ourselves,’ said Mallett at the time. So they did, and the fund was born with Mallett at its helm, where she remained until her death in 1984.

More than $500,000. That is how much the fund disburses annually to members of the Canadian entertainment industry in need. It can be for rent, an unexpected dentist’s bill, or to cover a gap caused by the cancellation of a show.

‘The Actors’ Fund of Canada is a registered charity that serves as the lifeline for Canada’s entertainment industry,’ says AFC executive director David Hope. ‘We provide short-term financial aid to help our clients maintain their health, housing, and ability to work.’

Dinah Christie is one of those people the fund has helped. In the 1970s, she and Tom Kneebone, her partner in a cabaret show, were driving to a gig in Newfoundland when a truck ahead of them hit a rock and they in turn hit the truck. Kneebone’s leg was broken in the accident, forcing the pair to cancel three performances.

Lacking the money to pay their musicians for the cancelled engagements, ‘we went to the Actors’ Fund and they helped us out,’ Christie recalls. ‘It was the only time I’ve had to ask them to help, and they were certainly there for us in a flash. Thanks to them, our band got paid.’

Last year, a Toronto house occupied by Craig Stewart, currently working security on CBC’s The Border, was torched by vandals. Although the house was engulfed in flames, Stewart refused to leave until he had ensured the other tenants had also left.

‘I went back and was halfway out my window when I felt the worst pain of my life and looked down to see the skin melting off my right foot,’ he explains. ‘Then I jumped 30 feet to great injuries on the cement and glass below. Five minutes later, the house blew up.’

Severely injured, and with all his possessions destroyed, Stewart found himself recovering in hospital. While there, a friend suggested he apply to the fund for help.

‘Within a week, they’d given me $1,000,’ Stewart says. ‘It seemed like a million dollars to me, and I’d never even heard of the Actors’ Fund before.’

Since his ordeal, Stewart has been given a couple of guitars signed by the likes of thesp Elisha Cuthbert, The Love Guru costars Mike Myers and Jessica Alba, and musicians Daniel Lanois and The Tragically Hip. He plans to sell them online with hopes of raising money for both himself and the fund.

In all, the fund has helped more than 10,000 people, filling a gap no one else does.

‘We artists have very few places to turn to,’ Christie says. ‘When you’re in trouble, it is amazing to have this fund.’

Requests for funding are judged by industry veterans, with an emphasis on responding quickly. According to the fund website (www.actorsfund.ca), where the application form can be found, the time between completing an application and getting a reply is typically a week or less.

The money that supports all of this good work comes from a mix of worker contributions, fundraisers and individual donations. In the early days, the fund’s coffers were boosted by performances at Toronto’s Crest theater (today called the Regent). The Stratford Festival also donated the proceeds from benefit shows, and extra money came in from a ‘Celebrity Train’ that ran from Toronto to London, ON.

‘The patrons would pay to see a matinee and to be served box lunches on the train by well-known TV and theater stars,’ says AFC president Graham Harley.

In more recent times, financial support has also come from the Shaw Festival, ACTRA, and Canadian Equity’s annual Theatre Ball in Toronto. This spring, the fund staged the 2008 Canadian Charity TV Challenge, which had crews on various productions competing to raise the most money. In September, the fund will be the beneficiary of the Big Swing Charity Golf Tournament. Previous year’s tourneys have raised $50,000 each.

Aiding all of this are gifts from various industry groups, such as the $15,000 donated in May by the Directors Guild of Canada, a total matched by IATSE Local 58 three days later. In the fiscal year ending March 2008, the ACTRA Fraternal Benefit Society gave the Actors’ Fund a total of $115,000.

Hope is grateful for all this support, but warns that more will be needed in the years ahead as the entertainment industry continues to grow.

‘The amount of assistance we have provided has more than doubled from $200,000 in 2000 to over $500,000 in 2007,’ he says. ‘When you’re in the business of giving out money, you have to have money to give. Thankfully, the Canadian entertainment industry and its fans have never let us down, and I don’t expect that they will in the future.’