Stars Join Rally by Striking Actors Guild

“Judging Amy” star Amy Brenneman was there with an arm around co-star Tyne Daly. A bearded Noah Wyle of “E.R.” sat with actor Richard Dreyfuss. Actor William Baldwin recited the line he uttered once in a New York lottery ad. Comedian Buddy Hackett said that in his hometown of Las Vegas, “We only fold in poker.”

As they do for telethons and awards shows, the stars came out Tuesday morning for a sweltering pep rally in the lobby of a Wilshire Boulevard building jammed with hundreds of noisy rank-and-file actors. The idea was to show that members of the Screen Actors Guild and the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists are still united despite the stalemate in their six-week strike against the advertising industry.

Actors, who chanted, “We won’t back down!” and, “Union united, we’ll never be divided!” timed the rally to coincide with a meeting in New York called by a federal mediator who is trying to push both sides back to the negotiating table.

Late Tuesday, both sides reported that despite lengthy discussions, their separate talks with the mediator ended with no new talks scheduled. Both sides had been expected to stay in New York had progress been made.

Advertisers are seeking to pay actors a flat fee that they say is higher than the current system that pays residuals each time a commercial airs on network TV. Actors consider that a rollback, and want to be paid residuals for commercials that air on both network and cable TV.

Hanging over the rally was the prospect of further labor strife next year, when SAG’s contract with the studios and networks expires.

The strike’s main casualty appears to be what had been a vibrant, growing commercial production business in Los Angeles. Film office officials estimate that 25% of commercial production has fled to other regions since the strike began May 1, costing the area about $50 million in lost production work.