Robbins and partner Susan Sarandon often speak out

Robbins called on the state governor Gray Davis to preserve arts funding, saying children would suffer most, and any saving would not make much difference to the state's $38.2bn (�23bn) budget deficit.

The actor presented a letter urging Mr Davis to reconsider a proposed 73% cut in funding for visual art, theatre, film, dance, music, literature and arts in education.

The letter had 46 signatures including actress Anjelica Huston, West Wing creator Aaron Sorkin, and actors Michael York, Elliott Gould and Jimmy Smits.

PROPOSED US ARTS CUT Oregon 20% California 36% Missouri 75% New York 15% Minnesota 32% Wisconsin 10% Michigan 50% Virginia 45%

Actress Fran Drescher also spoke at the event, which was attended by entertainment executives, arts advocates and a Los Angeles school board member.

"For the state to remove financing from arts organisations is going to be disastrous," Robbins said at the Actors' Gang Theater in Hollywood.

But Mr Davis' spokeswoman Hilary McLean said it was important to look at his record in arts funding and "the big picture."

Arts funding The arts receive $354m (�214m) a year from the different US states The US federal government supplies an extra $116m (�70m) a year The funding is equivalent to $1.67 (�1) per person By contrast, the arts in England alone receive �335m a year The funding is equivalent to �6.70 per person

"There aren't good choices," she said. "The governor would personally rather not be cutting any funding for the arts.

"This is a year in which we just don't have enough money to do all the things we want to do."

Publicly-funded arts organisations across the US are facing potential cuts of $100m (�69m) from coffers this year, as state governments slash budgets in order to save costs.

In the last 12 months, 42 states have cut their funding to the arts, wiping 13% off the total amount of funds available.

The situation is made much worse for many arts organisations as it follows a decade of funding growth.

Between 1993 and 2001, arts funding rose from $211m to $446m.