SAG Elects Directors to National Board

Oscar-nominated actor James Cromwell and “ER” star Noah Wyle were the top vote-getters as members of the Screen Actors Guild elected 46 directors to its national board in results tilting heavily toward candidates supporting the moderate regime of President Melissa Gilbert.

The election, results of which were unveiled early Tuesday, is part of a reorganization that involves cutting the union’s 107-member board by more than one-third.

Directors were elected to represent the union’s Hollywood and New York branches, with the other 22 slots to be decided this month from among candidates representing regional offices nationwide.

“Law & Order” star Sam Waterston received the most votes in the New York branch. Other well-known TV or film stars winning election include Richard Dreyfuss, Jane Kaczmarek, Mike Farrell, Valerie Harper, Esai Morales and Cliff Robertson. Former SAG President William Daniels was elected as an alternate.

The election is expected to provide a boost to Gilbert and her less confrontational style as president.

Gilbert and her supporters have argued, for example, that actors were hurt by the six-month strike against advertisers in 2000, whereas another faction of the union believes that important gains were made.

Gilbert also sought to forge a pact governing relations between actors and agents that would have allowed agencies inroads into production. But her opponents persuaded members to vote it down, arguing that it could create conflicts of interest.

Under the union’s reorganization, the SAG board will have 69 members, including Gilbert, but only 62 votes because of a complicated formula aimed at giving additional weight to members of the union’s Hollywood and New York branches.