Celebrating the Anniversary of 479’s Charter

1986 was a momentous year for our nation, filled with highs and lows. The Cosby Show was the number one program in NBC’s “Must See TV” lineup, President Ronald Reagan had entered his 6th year in office, the centennial of the dedication of the Statue of Liberty was celebrated in New York Harbor, and the crew of the Space Shuttle Challenger perished in a terrible explosion shortly after launch, reminding the nation of the costs of exploration.

Set amidst these events was the slow but steady growth of Georgia’s motion picture and television industry, spurred on by President Carter’s establishment of a film office the previous decade.

While our early membership ranks were minuscule in comparison to today’s numbers, many of those early members had been working in the business since the 1970s, with more than 150 film and television projects being filmed in Georgia since the movie Deliverance propelled the state back into Hollywood’s sights.

1986 was a relatively slow year for Georgia’s film and television market when compared to the preceding and succeeding years, and you may only recognize one or two of the projects: Pals, Mosquito Coast, Made in Heaven, Leader of the Band, Friday l3th: Jason Lives, Dick and Tracy, Dead Aim, and Resting Place.

In Atlanta, the men and women working in our state’s expanding film and television industry decided to organize and petition the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees and Moving Picture Machine Operators of the United States and Canada for a Charter to be granted to Atlanta, the award of which was made official on October 1, 1986.

The text of that original document is presented in this article, and a quick check of the local’s books reveals that several of these charter members are still actively working in our industry – you may in fact work with these founding members!