She may have missed the Writer’s Strike of 2007-2008, but Greta got to stick it to the man anyway this week at her first official protest rally! That’s right, amigos, our little red-shirted cutie joined Mommy and Daddy at the “Hole in the Heart of Hollywood” rally in support of saving the beleaguered Motion Picture and Television Hospital in Woodland Hills.
For those of you who might be unaware of the situation, the MPTF Hospital has been a Hollywood institution since the 1940’s and a place where elderly actors, directors, writers and other film industry veterans can retire among their peers. Set on a sprawling campus in Woodland Hills, the home is now in danger of disappearing forever sometime very soon.
The bigwigs at the Motion Picture and Television Fund are crying poor and saying that in today’s economic climate, they just don’t have the money to keep the home open. But the problem with that claim is that when the families and supporters of keeping the home open approached the MPTF about starting up some possible fundraising efforts, the board declared that no amount of money could keep the home open. Huh?
If the problem is money and you won’t let anyone from arguably one of the most creative communities in the world help you raise it, then what is really going on here? My guess is that the MPTF has already sold the land — which they own outright, by the way! — to some developer and therefore has no real intest in keeping the home open.
But no matter what the back-all shenanigans are here, the situation for the folks still living in the home is dire to say the least. Of the dozens of residents who have already been “removed” from the home, 18 have died within a matter of weeks due to something called “transfer trauma”. WTF, man?!!
These people paid their dues, worked for years in “the biz”, prepaid for their care and are entitled to live out their golden years with their peers. I don’t pretend to know all the details on this one, but what I do know is that if there is a way to keep this place open then we need to do it! If for no other reason than because it is the right thing to do.
I mean, seriously, the motto on the sign out front says it all “Taking Care of Our Own”! So, come on, guys, let’s put the greed aside for a change and get back to the business of doing just that.
For more information on what you can do to help save the home, please visit SavingTheLivesOfOurOwn.org. And to see more pics from Greta’s first protest rally, including many more shots of the celebrity guest speakers, John “Dukes of Hazzard” Schneider and Frances “Titanic” Fisher, click here.
And in the meantime, que viva los viejos a la casa de MPTF!
make. see. eat. do. 
I think it’s awesome Greta has already started following in her parents’ activist footsteps, decked out in red like you guys! Love love the pic where Frances Fisher is holding Greta’s foot because she just couldn’t resist. And doesn’t John Schneider look EXACTLY the same from his Dukes days? I sat next to him recently and tried not to stare openly at him because I was trying to figure out if he was a vampire or something.
I meant to say also that the closing of the home makes me heartsick. I was crushed when I got that letter. I’ve been there and contributed to the fund and hate what’s happening to those residents. They worked their whole lives and waited years for a spot in the home.
I think you’re right about the land being sold already. Sounds mighty fishy.
Yeah, surely there is more to the reason they want to shutter the place than the cost. Not sure what their logic is.
Who cropped that top picture by the way? I’m dying to know what your signs say!
Terrible shame what’s happening out there.
That Calabasas land must be so insanely valuable that I have to agree there must be a secret deal with a developer. Just like the back end of Pierce College, the developers will keep hammering until they get it.
PC Nerd– I worked on a PSA with John Schneider at his house a couple of years back, and he does look great.
He had a General Lee in his garage that he showed us… and now that I think of it, maybe it’s his Portrait of Dorian Grey.
Damon,
Yes! He must have a portrait in the attic. And it must be pretty gnarly for him to look that good.
Ha! Everything you guys are saying about Bo Duke is totally hilarious and totally true…the dude looked pretty damn good!
Also, James, not sure what the top of my picket sign said, but the lettering in the middle said something like: “Please join us to spread the word” and at the bottom someone added: “Elder abuse = Crime”. Awesome, huh?
Christine’s picket sign read: “Shame on you MPTF Board, residents deaths are on your heads!”
I’ll let you guys know next time there is a rally, it’d be cool to have some more industry folks out there supporting the home!!
Stick it to the man! Hey, was David Clennon there?
This is just disgraceful! Shame on the people involved in closing this historic, not to mention important, place! People’s lives depend on it and with all of the money still being made in Hollywood these days, someone (Spielberg, Lucas, Turner, Howard, ………) should step in and help!
This kind of injustice just makes me so angry!
If the land is already sold, that’s even worse. Criminal!
I’m totally with you, Aunt Debbie! The fact that no big stars or producers, writers or directors are standing up for the residents and the home is kinda shocking! I mean, come on, people like Tom Hanks and Spielberg could save this thing with a phone call…I don’t get it…
Here’s hoping that public opinion can sway the MPTF to change their minds…