Philip J. Smith and Lorne Michaels Honored by St. Malachy's Church

Shubert Organization President Philip J. Smith and Saturday Night Live producer Lorne Michaels, both major figures in the entertainment industry, will be honored by St. Malachy's Church, a.k.a. the Actors Chapel, at the Father George Moore Benefit Dinner at Sardi's, 234 West 44th Street, on Monday, October 27, at 6:00pm.

"Each year, in honor of Father Moore's legacy, St. Malachy's hosts this dinner named for him to acknowledge leaders in our field who embody his commitment to community service, dedication to the arts, and love of people and community," said James J. Claffey, Jr., President of IATSE Local One, the stagehands union on Broadway and in television, the two fields of the honorees.  "The late pastor Father Moore ministered to people of all faiths and his legacy is an Actor's Chapel open to all, especially those who are members of the entertainment community.  I ask people in and out of our community to support this worthy cause."

The funds raised at this event will help to bring St. Malachy's into a new era.  One of the future projects is the development of a child care center for families of actors and stagehands in the entertainment community.  Funds from this benefit will also help St. Malachy's get closer to fulfilling the long range dream of Father Moore in serving the people of the theatrical and entertainment industry, including his work with The Actors' Fund and St. Malachy's outreach ministry to the Actors' Home in New Jersey.

Individual tickets for the benefit are $300 each and include cocktails at 6:00pm, dinner at 7:00pm and a cabaret performance by Marilyn Maye.  Tickets can be purchase by contacting Suzanne Katusin at (212) 489-1340 or development@actorschapel.org.

Background on St. Malachy's

Located on West 49th Street, between Broadway and Eighth Avenue, St. Malachy's Roman Catholic Church www.actorschapel.org was founded in 1902.  And although the years have seen many changes in the neighborhood of the church, St. Malachy's remains today, an active, integral part of its most unusual, most dynamic community.

St. Malachy's Church, a.k.a. The Actors' Chapel

St. Malachy's service to its community was comparable to that of most other Catholic churches in New York City up until about 1920. Then the Theatre District moved in. Suddenly, actors, dancers, musicians, craftsmen, and tourists were filling the seats, replacing the types of parishioners St. Malachy's had seen in previous years.

Fortunately, the priests and leaders of St. Malachy's have all been men and women of their times, and so, adapted St. Malachy's to meet the needs of its new parishioners. Masses, confessions, missions were all rearranged to accommodate the rigors of theatre and nightclub schedules. And, finally, with the construction of the Actors' Chapel below the main church in 1920, St. Malachy's became famous as a haven of worship for the entertainment community….

Douglas Fairbanks married Joan Crawford at St. Malachy's. Herb Shriner's children were baptized here. Thousands jammed West 49th Street outside the church in final tribute to Rudolph Valentino. George M. Cohan, Spencer Tracy, Perry Como, Irene Dunne, Hildegarde, Florence Henderson, Elaine Stritch, Lawrence Luckinbill, Rosiland Russell, Danny Thomas, Bob and Dolores Hope and Ricardo Montalban, all worshipped at St. Malachy's. Fred Allen, Don Ameche, Cyril Ritchard, Pat O'Brien and Jimmy Durante served many a mass.

For 122 years, Local One www.iatselocalone.org has been the premiere stagehand union of the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees representing 3,000 property persons, stage and studio electricians, set carpenters, sound designers, audio technicians, moving-light operators, riggers and special effects people in New York.

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