Taking care of our own can take many forms, and MPTF supporter Scott Bobbitt truly personified that when he stepped in to save an industry institution in 2025. “I was in the business my whole life and got involved in my union,” he says of his work for set decorators and as a member of Local 44. “I was exposed to MPTF and the Heartbeat of Hollywood Golf Classic around twenty years ago, and it became a priority.” After working for two decades, Scott got into real estate in Atlanta—and then he got word of a new path. “I’m good friends with a liquidator in town who handles places that are in distress,” he says, “and I knew Earl Cooperman who started EC Prop Rentals. The company had been passed down through his family, and business had contracted enough that the current owner was ready to let it go.”
“It’s a staple prop house with this industrial feel to it. Shows like Fallout, Prison Break, and so on have used it all the time for very specific to things like industrial lighting, lockers, and police stations. Between Covid and the strikes, we’ve been trying to get the industry back to a better place— and we might have a chance as the industry evolves to its next stage. Every other prop house in business has shown an outpouring of support; in this community, they all want these places to survive. Lenny Marvin was a big part of them, and he spent his last years at MPTF. There’s a lot of intertwining there that makes it even more connected globally. I just spoke to a decorator in Georgia who said they still depend on this place. It’s more than just where you’re based; it affects everything nationally and even globally since we work with places in Australia. If it breaks even, I’ll be happy, but I hope it does better than that!” Thanks to Scott for stepping up and putting energy and financial resources into sustaining an important industry player.
