McCord to Run for SAG Presidency

Actor Kent McCord said Tuesday that he planned to run for the presidency of the Screen Actors Guild in November, challenging incumbent Melissa Gilbert.

McCord, currently SAG’s treasurer, has been an outspoken opponent of Gilbert’s more moderate regime. The actor recently led efforts to defeat a proposal to fold SAG into a new union with the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists. Although the plan received 58% of the vote, it required 60% to pass.

McCord began his acting career on TV’s “The Adventures of Ozzie & Harriet” in 1961 and has been active in the guild for more than 30 years. McCord is best known for starring as Officer Jim Reed on the show “Adam-12” in the late 1960s and early ‘70s.

Actor Esai Morales plans to run for secretary-treasurer on McCord’s ticket. Morales plays Lt. Tony Rodriguez on ABC’s “NYPD Blue.” He also starred in such films as “La Bamba.”

Gilbert, best known as a star of the 1970s television show “Little House on the Prairie” disclosed last week that she would run for a second term.

Actor James Cromwell, an Oscar nominee for best supporting actor for 1995’s “Babe,” is running on her ticket for secretary-treasurer.