LISTEN: ‘The Studio’ Star Ike Barinholtz Tubthumps for the MPTF: ‘It Comes Very Natural to Me to Ask People for Money’
On today’s episode of “Daily Variety” podcast, “The Studio” star Ike Barinholtz discusses his tubthumping campaign to raise money for the Motion Picture and Television Fund. And we take a Vintage Variety look back at the birth of the MPTF as covered the pages of Variety.
Barinholtz shares that the work of backslapping and drumming up donations comes easily to the multihyphenate. “I don’t know what that says about my personality, but I have no qualms standing on a stage with a microphone and pointing to someone and guilting them into giving us a couple extra bucks,” Barinholtz says.
It was a deeply personal connection that led Barinholtz to volunteer for the MPTF which operates a retirement home in Woodland Hills and provides healthcare and financial support for industry workers of all ages. He’s representing the MPTF’s Second Act campaign that aims to generate six-figure donations for naming or dedication rights to cottages and apartments on the Lew Wasserman Campus in Woodland Hills.
“I had heard about them a little bit throughout the years. They have parties every year before the Oscars, the evening before the Emmys. And I went to one of those parties, and I learned a little bit more about what they do. And then a couple years ago, my beloved cousin, Michelle Rifkin, who was a writer and a member of the WGA for many years, she has since sadly passed away. Towards the end, like a lot of people in this business, she needed help,” Barinholtz says.
“And she reached out to the MPTF, and the MPTF was there. She actually spent some time at the residences. And so once I learned exactly what they do, I said to [MPTF leaders] Courteney Bailey and Bob [Beitcher], ‘What do you need from me? What can I do for you guys?,’ ” he says. “And I learned that it’s much more than just the residence. The MPTF is there for people in our business. And so when they came to me this year and said, ‘Hey, we’re starting our Second Act program, will you join the Board of Governors?’ I could not have said yes quickly enough.”
The episode also features a Vintage Variety segment taking a long look back at Variety‘s coverage of the MPTF from its earliest days, as Mary Pickford, Jean Hersholt and other Golden Age leaders of our industry worked to establish an institution that still helps showbizzers every day. Whatever you do, don’t let Louis B. Mayer down.
Listen to Daily Variety on iHeartPodcasts, Apple Podcasts, Variety’s YouTube Podcast channel, Amazon Music, Spotify and other podcast platforms.
Barinholtz shares that the work of backslapping and drumming up donations comes easily to the multihyphenate. “I don’t know what that says about my personality, but I have no qualms standing on a stage with a microphone and pointing to someone and guilting them into giving us a couple extra bucks,” Barinholtz says.
It was a deeply personal connection that led Barinholtz to volunteer for the MPTF which operates a retirement home in Woodland Hills and provides healthcare and financial support for industry workers of all ages. He’s representing the MPTF’s Second Act campaign that aims to generate six-figure donations for naming or dedication rights to cottages and apartments on the Lew Wasserman Campus in Woodland Hills.
“I had heard about them a little bit throughout the years. They have parties every year before the Oscars, the evening before the Emmys. And I went to one of those parties, and I learned a little bit more about what they do. And then a couple years ago, my beloved cousin, Michelle Rifkin, who was a writer and a member of the WGA for many years, she has since sadly passed away. Towards the end, like a lot of people in this business, she needed help,” Barinholtz says.
“And she reached out to the MPTF, and the MPTF was there. She actually spent some time at the residences. And so once I learned exactly what they do, I said to [MPTF leaders] Courteney Bailey and Bob [Beitcher], ‘What do you need from me? What can I do for you guys?,’ ” he says. “And I learned that it’s much more than just the residence. The MPTF is there for people in our business. And so when they came to me this year and said, ‘Hey, we’re starting our Second Act program, will you join the Board of Governors?’ I could not have said yes quickly enough.”
The episode also features a Vintage Variety segment taking a long look back at Variety‘s coverage of the MPTF from its earliest days, as Mary Pickford, Jean Hersholt and other Golden Age leaders of our industry worked to establish an institution that still helps showbizzers every day. Whatever you do, don’t let Louis B. Mayer down.
Listen to Daily Variety on iHeartPodcasts, Apple Podcasts, Variety’s YouTube Podcast channel, Amazon Music, Spotify and other podcast platforms.