About William ian grubman

William Ian Grubman is a retired businessman, philanthropist, artist, author, art collector, and performing artist from Los Angeles, California, and in every sense of the word, a renaissance man.

He spent the better part of his life in the wholesale paper industry - - - grocery bags to be exact. At the same time, he developed real estate for commercial and industrial use.

In his free time, William developed a unique hobby. While on vacation in Snowmass, Colorado, he learned to fly a hot air balloon. That experience sparked his interest in aviation. Upon returning to Los Angeles, he sought out the services of a local flight school and began the journey to becoming a jet pilot.

When William isn’t working, he dedicates his time to the Dream Street Foundation, a California-based non-profit organization he co-founded in 1988 with his sister. Dream Street was established to provide summer camping programs for children with life threatening and chronic illnesses. Within a few years, Dream Street expanded, adding camping programs in Arizona, Arkansas, Massachusetts, Mississippi, and New Jersey, hosting hundreds of children from across the country and other nations. The organization is still thriving to this day.

After Dream Street was up and running, William, an avid student of art history, donated his time serving as a docent for the Armand Hammer collection, lecturing on 18th and 19th century master paintings and drawings.

Several years ago, William joined with two friends to begin a new journey. All three had dreamed of a life in musical theater, but real-life responsibilities moved them along different paths. At a time when most people would be planning for retirement, they made a bold decision to resurrect their faded dreams. The trio, ACT THREE, performs standards from Broadway, Jazz, and The Great American Song Book. They have performed at UC Irvine, The Samueli Theater at the Orange County Performing Arts Center, The Metropolitan Room in New York, Vitello’s Supper Club, The City of Beverly Hills Concerts In The Park series, and New York’s Carnegie Hall.

ACT THREE is also the subject of the award-winning documentary film, ONCE UPON A DREAM, directed by Carl Borack and narrated by Richard Dreyfuss, which chronicles the group’s journey to Carnegie Hall. The singers debut CD was recently released.

William lives in Los Angeles and has two children – a future doctor and a future lawyer, he beams proudly.