RICHARD MASUR / ACTOR, S A G PRESIDENT

The proposed merger of the Screen Actors Guild and the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists failed, but SAG President Richard Masur still represents more than 12,000 people--some due to be honored on the SAG Awards telecast tonight. Masur, 50, has also been on screen for 25 years, in both comedy (TV’s “One Day at a Time”) and bad-guy roles (alongside Gene Hackman in “Under Fire”).

UNION LABEL: “One reason [for the awards show] was frankly so that people watching out in the world are reminded that everybody they see on screen or on television is a worker, a union member, not some distant entity that has nothing in common with their own lives.”

HUMAN TOUCH: “It’s hard for people to understand that [actors] are human beings with lives and families. It sometimes causes real unpleasant responses where someone’s privacy can be completely abused. People say, ‘They’re a movie star, they gave up those rights.’ That’s not true.”

COMFORT ZONE: “The Academy Awards is the granddaddy, very elegant and in a way staid--regardless of what Billy [Crystal] or Whoopi [Goldberg] might do. Ours is more relaxed, hopefully more humanish.”

YOUTH IS SERVED: “Unless you’re under 35, you’re really looking at a fairly weak future. If you look around, people over 40, let alone over 50, have all but disappeared from TV and largely in film. That’s good for stimulating new growth of talent, but the whole rest of the spectrum is being ignored.”

WORKING MAN: “People think this job is salaried, but it’s completely pro bono. So if I don’t act, there’s mortgage payments I miss. It’s a real juggling act. I’m going off to Manila to do a part in ‘Noriega’ by [director] Roger Spottiswoode for Showtime.”

CITIZEN MASUR: “There’s an assumption because of predecessors like George Murphy and Ronald Reagan and my immediate predecessor [recent congressional candidate] Barry Gordon that I have some interest in going into politics. But it’s not a career I’m looking to pursue.”

CALLING DAN QUAYLE: “We, the Directors Guild, the Writers Guild and AFTRA have been taking great pains to reach out to people in all parts of the political spectrum. Some of the people who don’t traditionally identify with this town or industry--which is to say conservative Republicans--have tried to reach out to us as well to say we have common interests.”