About the Variety Club Children's Charity of Great Britain

The Variety Club of Great Britain - or Tent 36 - was set up by two Americans:
Robert S Wolff, chairman of RKO,  who became the club's first Chief Barker,
and C J Latta of ABC Cinemas/Warner Brothers. It was formed at an inaugural
dinner at the Savoy in October 1949 and by the end of 1950 had already raised
nearly £10,000.

From the start, Tent 36 - like the Variety Club as a whole - consisted of a group
of charitable individuals and companies. The majority of them were related to
showbusiness and were happy to give large sums of money for the cause -
sometimes as straightforward cash donations and sometimes through their
support for the Club's auctions and raffles with donated items.

The Club numbered a formidable array of film producers, agents and celebrities
within its ranks, all of whom were eager to give their time and services - free of
charge - to help towards making the increasingly varied and wide ranging
fundraising events as successful as possible.

Variety Club of Great Britain, along with the other members of Variety Club
Internationally, has long been characterised as "the Heart of Show Business".
Its membership over the years is drawn in large measure from the multi-faceted
 world of entertainment and the leisure industries.