Arthur French to Receive Equity's 2015 Paul Robeson Citation Award

Actor Arthur French has been named to receive the 2015 Paul Robeson Citation Award presented by the Actors Equity Foundation.

Created in 1971, the award honors individuals or organizations that best exemplify and practice the principles to which Mr. Robeson devoted his life: dedication to the universal brotherhood of all humankind, commitment to the freedom of conscience and of expression, belief in the artist's responsibility to society, respect for the dignity of the individual and concern for and service to all humans of any race or nationality.

Arthur French has been a working actor for more than 50 years, from his early work with the Negro Ensemble Company to his most recent appearance on Broadway in The Trip to Bountiful (2013). For his extensive body of work Off-Broadway he received an Obie Award for "Sustained Excellence" in 1997. In 2006, he received the Lucille Lortel Award for Outstanding Featured Actor in August Wilson's Two Trains Running. He's also appeared in productions of Dividing the Estate, Ma Rainey's Black Bottom, You Can't Take It With You, Death of a Salesman, The River Niger, The Iceman Cometh and Ain't Supposed to Die a Natural Death, among others.

In addition, he has worked on the road, been on the faculty of HB Studios, and has volunteered at senior centers.

The award will be presented at 2pm on Friday, October 16, 2015 at the Eastern Regional Membership Meeting of Actors' Equity Association on the 14th Floor at 165 West 46th Street.

Previous recipients of the Paul Robeson Citation Award include: Paul Robeson; Maya Angelou; Harry Belafonte; Ossie Davis and Ruby Dee; James Earl Jones; Athol Fugard; Lena Horne; Joseph Papp; Sidney Poitier; Pete Seeger; and, in 2014, Baayork Lee.

The Actors Equity Foundation, a philanthropic and humanitarian non-profit organization, was created in 1962 to aid and assist the members of the acting profession and to promote the theatre arts. It is separate from Actors' Equity Association and receives its funding from estate bequests and individual donations.