Hollywood Canteen
[14][17] Other officers included Jean Lewin as secretary, Al Ybarra as treasurer, and musicians' union leader J.K. Wallace as another vice-president.
[20] They also enlisted support from 42 different guilds and unions within Hollywood's creative community,[21] who sponsored the endeavor and amended their by-laws, which then enabled those individuals to volunteer their time and labor free of compensation.
[22][23] Numerous carpenters, electricians, plumbers, and other trades within the industry worked alongside the stars with donated materials to refurbish the building.
[19] Davis also contacted the Hollywood Victory Committee, which was associated with the Screen Actors Guild and chaired by James Cagney,[25] in which entertainers were often sent out to military camps and on war bond drives.
[1][25] The first fundraiser for the new canteen came the month prior to its opening, courtesy of the film premiere of The Talk of the Town (1942),[19] starring Cary Grant, Jean Arthur, and Ronald Colman.
[12][22] Davis was remanded on medical bedrest for exhaustion a week prior to the grand opening,[16] following the completion of filming Watch on the Rhine (1943).
[27] Irene Dunne presided over a Hollywood Canteen committee luncheon at the Ambassador Hotel in Los Angeles, in which local merchants and vendors gathered to discuss various supplies to donate for the following week's opening.
[30] Eddie Cantor was the master of ceremonies on opening night,[24] while president Bette Davis gave a speech thanking everyone from all the unions and guilds for their hard work and contributions.
[30] More than 3,000 celebrities and industry personnel volunteered to be anything,[6] from hostesses, waiting staff, busboys, cooks, and dishwashers to cigarette vendors, soda jerks, dancing partners, and mopping at the end of the night.
[32] Maria Riva, Marlene Dietrich's daughter, recalled an anecdote where her mother decided to wash dishes and was joined by Hedy Lamarr.
[7][11] Cantor donned a Santa Claus suit at the first Christmas gathering, and handed out a variety pack of gifts to each enlisted serviceman, which included cigarettes, candy, chewing gum, a diary, razor blades, a wallet, a sewing kit, and articles of clothing.
[11] By the end of 1942, vice-president John Garfield noted that the canteen was serving approximately 5,000 guys each night on weekends;[6] and 20,000 throughout the rest of each week.
"[25][30] Although segregation still occurred elsewhere in the 1940s, including USO policies,[18] both the Stage Door and Hollywood Canteens permitted integrated socialization and mixed dancing.
[21] Kay Kyser and Bette Davis led a chorus of "Auld Lang Syne" in commemoration of the past three years of service, in which the Hollywood Canteen and its thousands of volunteers had entertained more than 3,000,000 in uniform.
[42] Lehr also had her own rotation of volunteers,[32] and was able to elicit contributions throughout the war from generous celebrities and benefactors as well,[15] such as Tom Breneman (who paid for a swimming pool); Greer Garson (who donated a bamboo bar); and Lew Ayres (who wrote a check for $750, when the guild's bank account was overdrawn).
[48] In 1983, the United States Department of Defense presented Davis with the Distinguished Civilian Service Award for her "dedicated, continuing support of the American armed forces".
