John Gore Foundation Donates $5 Million to Entertainment Community Fund for Rita Moreno Arts Building

Tony-winning producer John Gore, via The John Gore Foundation, has donated $5 million to the Entertainment Community Fund for the arts complex of The Hollywood Arts Collective that will be named after EGOT winner Rita Moreno.

The Fund is continuing construction on the $135 million housing and community arts project, which also includes 151 affordable housing units in The Cicely Tyson Residential Building. There is still $16 million to be raised to complete the project by fall 2024.

“It’s an honor to support the Fund in their tireless work of being a safety net for those in need in the performing arts–and even more meaningful to do so in recognition of the contributions to our industry by Rita Moreno, my fellow honoree at the 2019 Medal of Honor ceremony,” said Gore, the chairman and CEO of The John Gore Organization, in a statement.

“As The Hollywood Arts Collective gets closer to completion, the value of all it will bring to improve the lives of those in the entertainment community in Los Angeles keeps growing,” added Fund CEO and President Joe Benincasa. “We’re incredibly grateful to John Gore and The John Gore Foundation for their continued support of the performing arts and the impact they make across the entire country.”

Moreno has received all of the most prestigious awards in entertainment, including the Oscar, the Tony, two Emmys, and a Grammy. She received The Kennedy Center Honor for her lifetime contributions to American Culture and was honored by her peers as the 50th recipient of the Screen Actors Guild Life Achievement Award. Moreno was also awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by President George W. Bush and the National Medal of Arts by President Barack Obama.

Moreno earned a Tony for her work in Broadway's The Ritz; having earned an Oscar for her performance as Anita in the 1961 film adaptation of West Side Story, she returned to the musical in Steven Spielberg's remake as Valentina, a new take on the character Doc.

In 2019, Moreno and Gore both received the Fund’s Medal of Honor in recognition of their support and enrichment of the performing arts and entertainment community.

Located in the heart of Hollywood, The Hollywood Arts Collective comprises two buildings—The Cicely Tyson Residential Building and The Rita Moreno Arts Building—that together will provide affordable space for performing arts and entertainment professionals to live, work, and create. The complex will also house the Glorya Kaufman Performing Arts Theater.

Visit TheHollywoodArtsCollective.com.