SAG Timeline

1864

• British-born stage comedian William Davidge (in America since 1850) chairs meetings at the Astor House Hotel and Cooper Institute (now the Cooper Union) in New York of the Actors' Protective Union, formed due to the "long-existing necessity for an equitable status" for actors, along with the wish to establish a standard minimum salary for players.
• William Davidge (1814-1888) as "Pistol" in Shakespeare's Henry V. Engraved from a daguerreotype by Mead Brothers, New York, and reproduced from an original in the Screen Actors Guild Archives. The Houghton Library of Harvard University and the New York Public Library both hold collections of Davidge's personal papers.

1886

• First stagehands union, the Theatrical Protective Union, No. 1, founded April 25.
• Congress approves incorporation of trade unions, June 29.
• American Federation of Labor founded December 8.

1891

• Thomas Edison granted a patent for his first moving-picture camera, the Kinetoscope.

1894

• National Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employes (becomes International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employes in 1902) receives American Federation of Labor charter.
• Actors' Protective Union organized in May.

1896

• American Federation of Labor grants first actors' union charter, to Actors National Protective Union
• On January 4. Actors Society of America formally organized
• May 19. Major theatrical producers join forces to create a "Theatrical Syndicate" [Al Hayman of San Francisco, Mark Klaw, Abe Erlanger and Charles Frohman of New York, Samuel F. Nixon-Nirdlinger and partner J. Fred Zimmerman of Philadelphia] giving them unprecedented control of theatre bookings coast-to-coast. This took the theatrical business completely out of the hands of the actor-managers who had their own companies, including Francis Wilson (who would become the first President of Actors' Equity in 1913).
• American Federation of Musicians founded.

1899

• Hebrew Actors Union founded by Jewish labor leader Joseph Barondess

1900

• White Rats of America, composed largely of vaudeville performers, founded by George Fuller Golden.
• White Rats of America founded by George Fuller Golden and 7 others

1912

• Actors Society of America disbands in December.

1913

• Actors' Equity Association founded May 13 — Francis Wilson first president.

1914

• Richard W. Tucker (future member #1 of Screen Actors Guild) and Ralph Morgan (future first president of Screen Actors Guild, then appearing in play "Under Cover") accepted into Actors' Equity together on April 20.
• Someone had to be first, and Richard Tucker (NOT to be confused with the famous opera singer) holds the distinction of being Screen Actors Guild Member number ONE. The Guild founders drew their numbers from Jimmie Gleason's hat, and Tucker attempted to surrender his #1 to Guild's first president, Ralph Morgan, and exchange it for the high #19 that Ralph drew. But Ralph wouldn't hear of such a thing, and that was that! Coincidentally, Tucker and Morgan were accepted into the year-old Actors' Equity Association together in April, 1914, and here they were again, nearly 20 years later, at the creation of yet another actors union. Veterans of the union struggle, Tucker and Morgan were also two of 185 actors named in a mass lawsuit in 1919 by the producers association for their roles in the Equity strike. Throughout the 1920's, Tucker was in Hollywood, as a well-known actor in silent films, and became a Guild founder after learning from Equity's repeated failures to be recognized by the film producers.

1916

• White Rats walk out on strike, which fails — members blacklisted.

1917

• United States enters World War I.
• Russian Revolution.
• Equity's first Standard Contract signed with United Managers Protective Association-which will be rarely used by the managers.

1918

• Producing Managers Association formed.
• American Federation of Labor issues charter in New York to Motion Picture Players Union, representing extra players.
• Worldwide influenza epidemic kills millions.
• World War I ends.
• Variety prints lists of the theatrical & film world's influenza deaths.

1919

• White Rats give up their American Federation of Labor Charter, allowing creation of new organization, Associated Actors and Artistes of America (Four A's)
• July 18 - Four A's first act is to issue charter to Actors' Equity Association. Actors loyal to managers, resenting Equity's acceptance into organized labor, (resign Equity membership to form Actors Fidelity League (Equity dubs these deserters "Fidos").
• August 7, Equity goes on strike for recognition, against members of the Producing Managers Association. Actors compared with Bolsheviks, and taunted as practicing "amateur Sovietism" for striking. Equity recognized – strike ends
• September 6, soon American Federation of Musicians and International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employes walk out in sympathy.

1920

• Equity's Secretary, Frank Gillmore, makes first trek to Hollywood to meet with the Screen Actors of America in January. American Federation of Labor declares Actors' Equity Association has sole jurisdiction over motion picture principal performers.
• Motion Picture Players Union relinquishes charter to Equity. First regular radio broadcasting begins in the United States.
• Tireless, tenacious, blond, bespectacled Brit, Frank Gillmore, is a most important name in actor union history. Born in America on May 14, 1867, to British actress Emily Thorne, he was taken back to grow up in England. He returned to America in the 1890's. In December, 1912, after the Actors Society of America disbanded, he joined a "Plan and Scope Committee" with five others to devise a replacement actors organization. They met for months at the Players Club in New York, and the 1913 result was the Actors' Equity Association. Gillmore became Equity's Executive Secretary and, later, President. Throughout the 1920's, Gillmore persevered in attempts to get the Hollywood motion picture producers to recognize Equity as bargaining agent for film players--making coast-to-coast train trips from New York each time, which took about four days one way. Gillmore really did not fail: his work laid the foundation on which the Screen Actors Guild was built, and he deserves our eternal gratitude. On May 29, 1943, he died at age 78. Gillmore's wife was American actress Laura MacGillivray, and their eldest daughter, Margalo, became a successful stage actress. In 1964, Margalo penned a memoir of life in the Gillmore household, published in 1964: Four Flights Up.

1922

• Motion Picture Producers and Distributors of America created in March, with former U.S. Postmaster General, Will Hays, appointed head -- will become known as the "Hays Office."

1924

• Ralph Morgan briefly acting president of Actors' Equity. Equity goes on second strike to win "Equity Shop", resulting in agreement that no less than 80% of any signatory cast be Equity members.
• September - newspapers report Association of Motion Picture Producers (AMPP) president Joseph Schenck's "Order Bans Over Work of Film Actors."
• Joseph M. Schenck was president of United Artists, and married to silent-film star Norma Talmadge. His brother Nicholas M. Schenck, was also a top movie executive. Joe Schenck's "order" read: "No more overworking of screen players in order to make economy records for producers or directors...I don't want actors to be afraid. They need have no fear of being blacklisted. It is our purpose to correct this evil. It is not fair to the actor or to the public to expect a player to work 18 hours a day and then be called to the set the next morning." Schenck invited any player who felt ill-used to make his complaint personally to himself, or to the group's secretary, Fred W. Beetson. No doubt, few actors availed themselves of this intimidating offer. In 1937, when Joe Schenck was chairman of the board of 20th Century Fox, he and Louis B. Mayer, MGM's Vice-President in Charge of Production, would be the first producers to formally recognize the Screen Actors Guild.

1925

• Masquers Club founded in Hollywood, May 25.
• Petitions signed by 100 prominent Hollywood film actors and actresses, requesting Equity be recognized as bargaining agent for motion picture actors (one signer is Richard W. Tucker, who will become Screen Actors Guild member #1 in 1933) Equity's Frank Gillmore again approaches Will Hays, and AMPP president Joseph Schenck, without success, in July.
• Hollywood's abuse-laden Service Bureau for Extras eliminated and replaced by creation of Central Casting on December 4 by Association of Motion Picture Producers.

1926

• Stage actor Kenneth Thomson comes to Hollywood under silent-film contract to Cecil B. DeMille (Thomson's house will be primary "secret meeting" place for Screen Actors Guild in 1933).
• Studio Basic Agreement signed between Association of Motion Picture Producers and motion picture crafts unions IATSE, IBEW, Carpenters, Painters and Musicians.
• 1926 brought the tall, brown-eyed actor a one-year silent film contract with Cecil B. DeMille’s company--and he left Broadway to take it. But the year's end saw him a young widower after the death of his wife, popular stage actress Lola Fisher (who'd played opposite Ralph Morgan in "Under Cover" in 1914.) A 1927 Variety reviewer wrote: “Kenneth Thomson...reminds of Wallace Reid and may be somebody’s ‘find’ along similar lines...” but although he played leads with popular actresses like Jetta Goudal, Bebe Daniels, Pola Negri, and Billie Dove, Ken never rose to stardom. Increasingly cast as a lascivious playboy in the talkies, the Los Angeles Times ran an interview with him in September 1929: “Smiling Villainy Pays.” In March 1928, he ran for the new West Coast advisory board of Actors’ Equity: against a large field of candidates, he was not chosen. At the time, he was rehearsing a play in Los Angeles called “The Captive,” which he knew ran the risk of being raided for “indecency,” once it opened. Ken and the cast were hauled off to jail several times, and the show closed. But actress Alden Gay agreed to marry lonely Ken two months later--and the two of them would provide a safe home base for starting the Screen Actors Guild, with Ken as its first Secretary.

1927

• Anti-union Los Angeles Times prints scathing article blaming theatrical labor unions, particularly Actors' Equity for disastrous decline in legitimate theatre & box office receipts.
• Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences founded May 10.
• June 23 "16 prominent producing corporations" announce intent to reduce salaries for motion picture workers by 10 to 25%, resulting in renewed enthusiasm by actors for Equity. Equity derailed when salary cuts withdrawn upon recommendation of Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences.
• October 6, Warner Bros. premieres The Jazz Singer, a silent film with talking and singing segments, whetting audiences' appetite for films with sound.
• Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences issues first-ever uniform contract for freelance film actors in December, to become known as the Academy Contract. Equity discovers much of the contract's wording originally proposed by Equity, and dubs the Academy "The Motion Pictures' Company Union."

1928

• Actors' Equity moves to establish regulation of theatrical Talent Agents.
• More "talking pictures" produced, luring stage actors to Hollywood where most are filmed. "Talkies" require significantly longer working hours than silent pictures and the stage, and reports of abuses flow into the Equity office.

1929

• Equity polls California members as to whether they support "Equity Shop" for motion pictures. Results in April: 1120 in favor versus 98 against.
• June 5: Actors' Equity declares strike for recognition in Hollywood, but insists its contract players must not break their contracts to join the strike.
• Equity thanks Eddie Cantor for offering "to address a public statement to the motion picture producers, urging them to accept Equity and its contract."
• August 17: Equity strike ends in failure, Frank Gillmore returns to New York.
• October: stock market crashes, soon resulting in Great Depression.
• MGM releases talkie Hallelujah with all-black cast. Daniel Haynes & Nina Mae McKinney

1930

• Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences adds 12-hour rest period to its contract for free lance film actors.

1931

• Great Depression continues to take its toll
• "Efficiency experts" brought in by studios, actors salaries cut by as much as 50 percent.
• Broadway hurt by Depression, even more stage actors come to Hollywood.
• Variety slashes cover price from 25 cents to 15 cents.
• Boris Karloff experiences hellish 25-hours straight shooting on Frankenstein and files complaint with Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences.
• Ralph Morgan arrives in Hollywood under contract to Fox Films.

1933

• March 4: Franklin Delano Roosevelt begins first term as President and declares "Bank Holiday", closing all banks for several days.
• March 7: Producers Association announces temporary salary cuts of 50% for studio employees-including actors. Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences soon proposes sliding scale of cuts.
• Six actors [Berton Churchill, Grant Mitchell, Ralph Morgan (all three members of Actors' Equity Council), Charles Miller (Actors' Equity's West Coast representative, Kenneth Thomson and his wife Alden Gay) meet in the Thomsons' Hollywood hills home to discuss formation of self-governing organization of film actors-membership would be open to all , as opposed to the "by invitation only" membership of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences.
• Roosevelt's National Industrial Recovery Act (NIRA) passed June 16, creating the National Recovery Administration (NRA).
• June 30: SAG Articles of Incorporation filed. 21 actors become the Guild's first officers and Board of Directors, with Ralph Morgan as President.
• Actor Ivan Simpson gives the Guild a motto: "He best serves himself who serves others."
• Protests against provisions in NRA's proposed Motion Picture Code of Fair Competition result in mass exodus of stars from the Academy in October.
• All officers, including President Ralph Morgan, and 2/3 of the SAG Board of Directors resign to allow bigger stars with "clout" to take as many Board seats as they will -- Morgan yields SAG presidency to Eddie Cantor, one of the most popular theatre, film and radio stars in the country.
• FDR suspends objectionable provisions of this Code after persuasive visit from Cantor, who knows Roosevelt well.
• Screen Actors Guild agrees to admit extras as members, but they will not be "voting members", primarily because the Guild believes their greater numbers would give them too much control over Guild matters.
• First SAG newsletter, Screen Actors' News issued.
• Geo. Raft, Warner Oland, Fredric March, Adolph Menjou, J. Cagney, Groucho Marx join Guild
• July 10, 1933 - group application signed by 17 SAG founders
• Mar. 8, 1933: the "50% cut"- catalyst for forming the Guild
• NRA Code of Fair Competition for the Motion Picture Industry

1934

• SAG's first magazine, The Screen Player debuts.
• SAG joins with Screen Writers Guild to jointly publish The Screen Guilds' Magazine.
• Studios practice self-censorship through new enforcement of the 1930 Production Code
• Certificates of approval now required for each film.
• First Screen Actors Guild ball fundraiser a success.
• Eddie Cantor, Richard Tucker, James Cagney, Boris Karloff, Ann Harding, Dick Powell and Mary Astor host SAG's 3-day "Film Stars Frolic" fundraiser in May-a failure, which wipes out the Guild treasury! Several stars, including Cantor, Cagney, Harding, Fredric March, and Robert Montgomery, loan the Guild the money to restore the funds.
• SAG proposes Code of Fair Practices.
• Actors' Equity surrenders its film jurisdiction to the Guild.

1935

• Guild granted an American Federation of Labor charter by the Associated Actors and Artistes of America (Four A's).
• Membership passes 5,000.
• Robert Montgomery succeeds Eddie Cantor as Guild President.
• Monthly balloting by actors on "the outstanding work of their fellows" produces first Guild Awards for the "Best Performances of the Month", results published in SAG Magazine and winners are recognized at the Guild Balls at the Biltmore Bowl and Cocoanut Grove.

1936

• SAG boycotts the Oscars
• Producer-dominated Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences denounced for "selling the actor down the river" by representing itself as a bargaining unit for talent; one year later, the Guild and the Academy work together to produce the first Academy Players Directory.

1937

• Negotiating Committee: Robert Montgomery, Aubrey Blair, Franchot Tone, Kenneth Thomson, and Guild attorney Laurence W. Beilenson
• Screen Actors Guild recognized May 9 after thousands of stars, contract players and extras vote 96% to strike at midnight, May 10, if Guild not recognized.
• Willie Bioff, the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employes (IATSE) "Hollywood Representative" encourages movie moguls Louis B. Mayer and Joseph Schenck to accept Guild demands
• President Montgomery declares Guild recognition "the victory of an ideal."Thirteen producers sign first SAG Contract, pay minimum $25 per day; $35 for stunts, $5.50 for extras, and portions of the 1935 contract of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences become part of the new SAG contract
• SAG opens New York office June 21
• American Federation of Radio Artists (AFRA) founded with Eddie Cantor as first president
• August: IATSE's Bioff puts pressure on President Montgomery to reinstate a suspended Guild member, Montgomery refuses, Bioff threatens him
• September: Bioff announces IATSE intends to take over jurisdiction of all motion picture workers (including actors), and demands producers place IA "logo" on all motion pictures
• Interim Labor Committee launches investigation of IATSE, Robert Montgomery testifies for the Guild.
• 1937: Montgomery, Blair, Tone, Thomson announce Guild recognition
• 1937: Schenck/Mayer letter recognizing Screen Actors Guild

1938

• Montgomery launches investigation of IATSE's Willie Bioff, which eventually unearths his criminal past.
• Guild discusses merging all branches of the Associated Actors and Artistes of America.
• Ralph Morgan elected Guild President in September.
• 1938: Board members Paul Harvey, Joan Crawford & Gloria Stuart
• 1938: Pres. Robert Montgomery and Executive Secretary Kenneth Thomson

1939

• Through creation of the Screen Guild Theatre radio show (1939-1952), SAG members raise money for the Motion Picture Relief Fund to build a facility and hospital for actors in need.
• IATSE International President George Browne and Willie Bioff, announce their second strong-arm attempt to take over all actor unions, after granting an IATSE charter to the American Federation of Actors. Takeover thwarted by Guild strike threat. IATSE's attempt results in increased motivation to merge the performer unions.
• Guild enacts first Agency Regulations.
• Sep. 1939: Guild newsletter announces battle with IATSE
• August, 1939: exhausted Guild President Morgan explains battle with IATSE to reporters
• Aug.1939 flyer announces meeting to discuss IATSE takeover threat

1940

• Guild merger plans : "1940 Goal: 'One Big Union'," do not happen
• Special Committee on Un-American Activities, headed by Congressman Martin Dies, comes to Hollywood to expose alleged Communist influences in movies
• Guild works on autonomy plan for extras
• Equity, AFRA and SAG decide jurisdiction over development of television to be shared jointly
• Central Casting re-organized after SAG investigation
• Smith Act requires aliens to register, makes it illegal for any individual or organization to advocate overthrow of U.S. government by force
• President Roosevelt signs Selective Service Act
• Edward Arnold elected SAG President.
• Guild's Board and Officers in board room, 7046 Hollywood Blvd.

1941

• USO (United Service Organization) formed
• Guild fights four anti-labor bills in Sacramento
• Ronald Reagan joins Guild Board as an alternate
• Cartoonists Guild members walk out in strike against Walt Disney Studio
• Japan moves into French Indochina
• Roosevelt freezes Japan's U.S. assets and halts trade between the two
• Jack Tenney, chair of the California Legislature's Joint Fact-Finding Committee on Un-American Activities opens brief hearings on "Reds" in Hollywood, with Herb Sorrell testifying
• Sorrell organizes Conference of Studio Unions (CSU)
• Japanese bomb Pearl Harbor
• U.S. declares war on Japan, then Germany and Italy, and enters World War II.
• Courageous and charismatic ex-boxer, Herbert Knott Sorrell was business manager of the Motion Picture Painters union, Local 644. A December 1941 Screen Actor magazine article: "Painters Strengthen Labor Ties" stated "...Sorrell's Painters long have been recognized for their straightforward, above board tactics." Sorrell had organized the successful strike against the Walt Disney Studios in 1941, resulting in creation of the Screen Cartoonists Guild, and followed it up with organizing the Conference of Studio Unions (CSU). Authors Larry Ceplair and Steve Englund in "The Inquisition in Hollywood" state the CSU "represented the only hope for a democratic labor union in Hollywood".

1942

• James Cagney elected Screen Actors Guild president in September
• As anti-inflationary measure, Roosevelt signs executive order freezing wages & salaries, including ceiling of $25,000 on earnings
• SAG Executive Secretary Kenneth Thomson becomes chair of the Hollywood Victory Committee.
• 1942: WWII Hollywood Victory Caravan - Thomson, Arnaz, Groucho, etc.

1943

• Academy-Award winning actress Hattie McDaniel requests the Guild form a committee to discuss the problems faced by black performers in films
• Olivia de Havilland sues Warner Bros. for extending her contract beyond its seven years
• SAG President James Cagney offers "Class B" members (extras) choice of local charter or independent union to be known as the Motion Picture Extras Association
• Extras vote to remain in the Guild
• Group of extras desiring to break with SAG form Screen Players Union, request jurisdiction over extras who also do speaking bits, and petition National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) for certification
• Kenneth Thomson resigns as Executive Secretary, replaced by Jack Dales at year's end.

1944

• NLRB hearings for Screen Players Union in Washington, Kenneth Thomson testifies
• D-Day invasion begins in France
• George Murphy elected Guild president
• James Cagney's entire presidential "farewell address" at membership meeting emphasizes extras issue as "one of the Guild's most serious internal problems"
• Extras vote in NLRB hearing, choose Screen Players Union as bargaining agent over Screen Actors Guild.

1945

• Supreme Court hands down "de Havilland Decision", declaring studios may no longer hold contract players more than seven years
• NLRB orders new hearing on Screen Players Union
• Screen Extras Guild formed and applies to Associated Actors and Artistes of America for charter
• Set Decorators align with Conference of Studio Unions (CSU), not IATSE, causing jurisdictional dispute
• IATSE's Richard Walsh sends Roy Brewer to Hollywood to investigate CSU situation
• In violation of unions' wartime "no strike" pledge, CSU strikes, under leadership of Herb Sorrell the day Brewer arrives–SAG declares CSU/IATSE conflict (with violent brawls and overturned vehicles outside studios) jurisdictional and will not honor CSU picket line
• Screen Players Union supports CSU's cause
• President Franklin Roosevelt dies in office, succeeded by Harry Truman
• WWII ends as Germany surrenders in May, U.S. drops first atomic bombs, on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Japan surrenders in August.
• 1945: TV-talk at SAG Annual meeting. Rex Ingram, John Garfield, Walter Abel

1946

• California Legislature's Joint Fact-Finding Committee on Un-American Activities attempts to prove Herb Sorrell Communist Party member
• Winston Churchill makes "Iron Curtain" speech
• Screen Extras Guild Certified by NLRB
• CSU strikes three days in July
• Guild adopts new conflict of interest by-law: those actors with a "primary and continuing interest" in film production may not serve on Board of Directors
• CSU strikes again in September
• Robert Montgomery elected SAG president
• Ronald Reagan impresses Guild board with handling of CSU strike situation.
• 1946: Annual Mtg. - Board members Boris Karloff and Louise Beavers confer.
• Sep. 1946: Conference of Studio Unions (CSU) strikers
• On September 15, 1946, the Guild membership voted in favor of adopting this "conflict of interest" resolution: "Whereas, the Screen Actors Guild is about to start negotiations with the producers for a new basic contract, [the 1937 contract was for 10 years, with modifications at intervals] and to forestall any reflections upon the good faith of the Guild negotiators, now therefore be it resolved that no actor or actress who becomes a motion picture producer or director and who, in the judgment of the Board of Directors after a hearing and full examination of the facts, is found to have primarily and continually the interest of an employer, rather than that of an actor, shall hold office in the Screen Actors Guild." Resolution is passed by 756 to 210. Before commencement of the '47 negotiations, seven of the Guild's most prominent board members submitted their resignations, due to this new by-law: President Robert Montgomery, and Board members James Cagney, Franchot Tone, Dick Powell, Harpo Marx, John Garfield, and Dennis O'Keefe. A "secret ballot" vote by the Board of Directors saw Ronald Reagan emerge as the choice to replace Montgomery.

1947

• Robert Montgomery resigns Presidency, due to by-laws change
• Ronald Reagan replaces him
• Edward G. Robinson and other stars appear on AFL radio show, opposing anti-union Taft-Hartley Law
• Taft-Hartley passed, over labor opposition and Truman's veto
• Guild officers sign non-Communist affidavits, as Taft-Hartley requirement
• House Committee on Un-American Activities (HUAC) hearings begin in Washington
• S.A.G. Pres. Reagan, and former Presidents George Murphy and Montgomery testify as "friendly witnesses
• SAG 1st VP Gene Kelly, Board members Marsha Hunt and Humphrey Bogart, and others fly to HUAC hearings in support of "Hollywood Ten"
• Studio heads fire "Hollywood Ten" for refusing to cooperate with HUAC.
• 1947: Movie star Edward G. Robinson opposes Taft-Hartley legislation
• Originally dubbed the "Unfriendly 19," the group was whittled down to the "Hollywood Ten." All were current, or former members of the Communist Party: Alvah Bessie (screenwriter, drama critic for New Masses magazine); Herbert Biberman (playwright, screenwriter, director, a founder of the Screen Directors Guild, married to actress Gale Sondergaard. Both were Party members); Lester Cole (screenwriter, was running for re-election to executive board of Screen Writers Guild when subpoenaed); Edward Dmytryk (director, Tender Comrade, Murder My Sweet, Crossfire, who withdrew from the Party in 1945 after brief membership, married to actress Jean Porter); Ring Lardner, Jr. (screenwriter, son of writer Ring Lardner. Co-wrote Tracy/Hepburn classic Woman of the Year); John Howard Lawson (screenwriter, playwright; former president of Screen Writers Guild, head of Hollywood branch of Communist Party); Albert Maltz (writer, screenwriter, O. Henry Award winner for short stories, contributor to Marxist periodicals); Sam Ornitz (screenwriter, playwright, novelist); Adrian Scott (screenwriter-producer; produced Crossfire and Cornered, both with Dmytryk, and Murder My Sweet). Dalton Trumbo (screenwriter; novelist, Tender Comrade, Johnny Got his Gun; Kitty Foyle; Thirty Seconds Over Tokyo, Our Vines Have Tender Grapes).

1948

• Television becomes major SAG issue
• Soviets invade Czechoslovakia
• Death of Hollywood "studio system" as Supreme Court "Paramount decision" orders the major studios to divest themselves of their theatre chains
• Television broadcasting goes national
• Studio contract players drop to 463 in 1948, 37% decline
• Soviets blockade US-controlled West Berlin
• SAG 1948 agreement with producers includes "stop-gap clause" (for negotiations on wage scales and working conditions on films made-for-TV, and eventually on residuals for feature films they may later license to TV)
• Kenneth Thomson returns to SAG as TV Administrator.
• UNITED STATES v. PARAMOUNT PICTURES, Inc., 334 U.S. 131 (1948), a Supreme Court case commonly referred to as the “Paramount Decision” or “Paramount Decree” was the culmination of over 20 years’ pursuit by the U.S. government to end various monopolistic practices in the motion picture industry. All major film producers and distributors were involved in this anti-trust suit in addition to Paramount, including Warner Bros., RKO (Radio-Keith-Orpheum), Universal, Twentieth Century-Fox, Columbia, United Artists, Loew’s Inc. (Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer), and the American Theatres Association. The U.S v. PARAMOUNT PICTURES, Inc. case was decided May 3, 1948, and forced dismantling of the vertical integration of major motion picture studios, leading to the end of Hollywood’s “studio system.” RKO was the first to agree to divorce its film exhibition business from the production and distribution side, including the selling off of interest in over 200 theatres. Paramount acquiesced in 1949, and the others were forced to follow.

1949

• Ronald Reagan & Kenneth Thomson (for SAG), Roy Brewer & Dick Walsh (for IATSE) visit Harry Truman at White House to discuss Runaway Production
• Filmed TV jurisdiction becomes major SAG issue, as it declines to join the Television Authority (TvA)
• Soviets explode their first atomic bomb
• Guild membership drops to lowest level since recognition: 6533
• Communists led by Mao-Tse-tung (Zedong) declare victory in mainland China.
• Runaway Production discussed at White House - Thomson, Reagan, Walsh.
• C. 1949: Guild TV delegation to New York. Chandler, Abel, Holden.

1950

• Senator Joseph McCarthy declares State Department riddled with Communists
• SAG's parent organization, the Associated Actors and Artistes of America adopts resolution vesting ALL TV jurisdiction in its "trusteeship" the Television Authority (TvA)
• Korean War begins as Communist North Korean forces invade South Korea
• Red Channels: The Report of Communist Influence in Radio And Television published
• McCarran Act passed, requiring Communists, and Communist-front organizations to register with the US Attorney General
• Richard Nixon becomes senator, defeating former actress Helen Gahagan Douglas, accusing her of pro-Communist leanings. He calls her "The Pink Lady." She calls him "Tricky Dick"
• At NLRB hearings in LA, SAG claims right to filmed TV jurisdiction, stating "...motion picture actors are motion picture actors whether they appear in films for theatres or films for television, and the Guild is the only logical bargaining agent for motion picture actors, no matter where their films may be exhibited."
• 1950 - Red Channels published in June

1951

• House Committee on Un-American Activities (HUAC) hearings resume in Washington, DC
• Gale Sondergaard (wife of "Hollywood Ten" member Herbert Biberman, and first winner of a "Best Supporting Actress" Academy Award) writes SAG Board of Directors requesting support before appearing in front of HUAC in March
• SAG board member Anne Revere appears before HUAC, resigns Board seat next month
• First commercial color TV program debuts in New York.
• 1951 - actress Gale Sondergaard will appear before HUAC

1952

• Monogram Studios makes agreement with SAG to pay television residuals on 70 feature films made since August 1, 1948
• SAG reports TV contracts signed
• Music Corporation of America (MCA), an agency, granted blanket waiver by SAG to also produce filmed TV programs in Hollywood
• SAG defeats Television Authority in final NLRB election over filmed TV programs
• In September, SAG granted jurisdiction over filmed TV by the Associated Actors and Artistes of America, which declares: "Jurisdiction is hereby confirmed in SAG over all actors (including singers, announcers, stunt men, and airplane pilots) employed in the motion picture field including, without limitation, all motion pictures produced for use over television; also over all extras employed in such motion picture field in the state of New York." AFRA (American Federation of Radio Artists) merges with Television Authority, gaining live television jurisdiction, becoming AFTRA
• Walter Pidgeon elected SAG President, leads first-ever strike, over filmed television commercials, Dec.1, 1952 to February 18, 1953
• SAG signs contract with Association of TV Producers providing for first residuals for television show reruns.
• 1952 - first SAG strike begins

1953

• Schoolteacher in New Mexico writes Guild that film (The Salt of the Earth) is being made locally by communists
• Newspaper columnist Victor Reisel reports Salt of the Earth story nationally
• Hollywood AFL film Council calls on federal government to investigate Salt of the Earth filming
• Joseph Stalin, dictator of the Soviet Union, dies in March
• Guild appoints "Anti-Communist Discipline Committee"
• Academy Awards televised for first time
• AFTRA adopts rule that any AFTRA member refusing to cooperate with HUAC is subject to disciplinary proceedings
• Guild protests six year-old Taft-Hartley law, which "has permitted and is continuing to permit thousands of persons who are not professional actors, and who have no intention of trying to make a livelihood in motion picture work, to deprive professional actors of sorely needed jobs."
• Charged as guilty of selling atomic secrets to the Soviet Union, Ethel & Julius Rosenberg executed for espionage/treason to the United States
• 96% of Guild members vote to approve requiring anti-communist "loyalty oath" of all actors joining the Guild: "I am not now and will not become a member of the Communist Party nor of any other organization that seeks to overthrow the government of the United States by force and violence"
• First dues increase since 1935
• At annual meeting, Guild pledges continuing fight against Runaway Production, and Kenneth Thomson declares "Although it did not set out to do so of its own volition, the Screen Actors Guild has now of necessity become a nationwide organization, with branches and membership not only in Hollywood and New York - but also in Chicago, Detroit, San Francisco, Cleveland, Cincinnati, Pittsburgh and Boston."

1954

• AFTRA wins pension & health benefit
• Screen Writers Guild merges with TV writers guild and radio writers guild to form Writers Guild of America
• Harold Hoffman succeeds Florence "Bobbie" Marston as head executive of SAG's New York branch.

1955

• Screen Extras Guild votes to expel any member who refuses to testify before HUAC
• SAG declares second strike (against TV producers). Executive Secretary Jack Dales tells Guild membership: "The producers, so far as we were able to judge, are led, surprisingly enough, in their thinking and in the stand they have taken not by the majors but by the Television Alliance-a young, aggressive, confident-I would say overconfident-group of producers. They have adamantly refused throughout the six weeks of negotiations to consider any formula, any formula at all which would require the paying of one cent on the second run of the film. It isn't a question of amount, they have said they cannot and will not buy any such formula. We quite aggressively refuse to budge from our position that some payment on the first rerun of television films is a must in these negotiations."
• 1955: SAG Television Strike - R. Reagan, Dales, Pidgeon, N. Reagan, Ames

1956

• New SAG headquarters opens
• AFL chief George Meany joins president Walter Pidgeon to dedicate first office built exclusively for the Guild
• HUAC investigates "so-called blacklisting" in radio, TV and film, Gale Sondergaard testifies again
• SAG Television Strike for increased TV show residuals Aug. 5-15, 1955
• AFL and CIO merge.

1957

• SAG makes deal for residuals with C & C Television Corporation and Associated Artists Corporation, covering payments for "82 RKO Pictures and 12 Warner Bros. pictures produced after August, 1948 and released to television."
• Senator Joseph McCarthy dies
• SAG president-elect Leon Ames and Board member William Walker represent the Guild at movie industry luncheon conference at Beverly Hills Hotel with NAACP officials (Rev. Maurice A. Dawkins, Roy Wilkins) and Association of Motion Picture Producers (Charles Boren and B.B. Kahane) to clear up "misinterpretation of role of NAACP regarding Negro roles."
• 1957 NAACP conference. Dawkins, Boren, Wilkins, Walker, Ames, Kahane
• 1957 Annual Meeting: Beavers, Ames, Walker, Reagan

1958

• Videotape jurisdiction disputed. NLRB arbitrates dispute between SAG and AFTRA over taped commercials
• Guild demands producers' records of TV re-runs and syndication; urges testing of subscription TV
• Howard Keel elected Guild president.

1959

• TV residuals increase 33% over 1958
• Hollywood AFL Film Council calls on Congress for full scale investigation of Runaway Production, charging that "In most instances 'runaway' pictures made by American producers in foreign countries give employment to known Communists and thus give aid and comfort to the Communist conspiracy against the free world, it being estimated that more than 50 percent of the technicians and artists employed in American pictures abroad are Communists" and will demand next AFL-CIO convention vote support of nationwide consumer boycott of all runaway films made by American producers
• SAG Board representation becomes national, as Board of Directors is increased from 39 seats to 52, allowing branch representation (New York, Boston, Chicago, Detroit, San Francisco) for first time
• Ronald Reagan elected SAG President
• Guild prepares for theatrical contract negotiation of 1960.

1960

• Three SAG contracts expire this year, theatrical, television, and commercial
• Exodus director, Otto Preminger publicly announces script is by Dalton Trumbo, one of the "Hollywood Ten" and that he will receive screen credit
• SAG complies with new Landrum-Griffin Labor Management Reporting and Disclosure Act, resulting in elimination of membership categories within the Guild
• SAG theatrical strike for post August 1, 1948 residuals for feature films sold to TV - small "dissident" group opposes striking
• Strike March 7-April 18 halts 8 major productions, including Elizabeth Taylor's Butterfield 8, Gina Lollobrigida's Go Naked in the World, Jack Lemmon's The Wackiest Ship in the Army and Marilyn Monroe's Let's Make Love
• Strike settlement results in residuals only for films commencing after January 31, 1960, but producers' lump payment of $2.65 million creates the Guild's first Pension and Welfare Plan
• David L. Cole's recommendations on merging SAG & AFTRA rejected
• Ronald Reagan resigns Guild presidency for production interests, George Chandler takes over
• Actors' Equity strikes, wins pension plan
• SAG Executive Secretary Jack Dales tells membership of continuing challenge of Runaway Production, and about meetings investigating "alleged racial discrimination in hiring practices in the motion picture production industry."
• 1960: Hollywood Palladium marquee
• 1960: J. Leigh, E.G. Robinson, B. Rush, K. Douglas at strike meeting

1961

• Ken Orsatti, future SAG National Executive Director, joins Guild staff as a business rep in the Contract Department
• Jack Dales, George Chandler, Pat Somerset, and Buck Harris represent the Guild at Runaway Production meeting in Los Angeles with Congressman John H. Dent, Chair of a special House Committee on the Impact of Imports and Exports on American Employment.

1962

• SAG praises George Stevens for agreeing to film "The Greatest Story Ever Told" in Hollywood, rather than abroad.

1963

• SAG attacks discrimination, producers agree to add "American Scene" clause: "The parties mutually affirm their policy of non-discrimination in the treatment of any actor because of race, creed, color or national origin. In accordance with this policy, the producer will make every effort to cast performers belonging to all groups in all types of roles, having due regard for the requirements of a suitability for the role, so that, for example, the American scene may be portrayed realistically"
• Dana Andrews elected SAG President
• Guild protests network control, urges freedom from advertising, signs first contract with subscription television.
• Harry Belafonte, Paul Newman, Sidney Poitier, Charlton Heston and other SAG members join Dr. Martin Luther King in civil rights March on Washington
• President John F. Kennedy assassinated, Lyndon Johnson assumes presidency.

1964

• SAG President Dana Andrews, and public relations director Buck Harris, represent the Guild at President Johnson's conference at the White House, relating to the role labor can play in support of the newly-signed Civil Rights Act of 1964.

1965

• Malcolm X assassinated in New York
• Vietnam War escalates as first U.S. combat troops land
• U.S. public schools ordered desegregated by 1967
• Kenneth Thomson, Guild co-founder and first Secretary, resigns from SAG staff
• McCarran Act weakened as Supreme Court decides Communists be allowed to refuse to register as such with the US government
• "Hollywood Overseas Committee" formed to coordinate USO entertainment of troops in Vietnam, George Chandler named Committee President
• Dana Andrews and V.P. Gregory Peck invited by President Lyndon Johnson to White House for signing of National Arts and Humanities Act
• New foreign TV residuals boost monthly total over $1 million.
• Charlton Heston elected SAG President.
• 1965: Vietnam: Kay Stevens performs with USO
• 1965: Guild Pres. Dana Andrews with Pres. Johnson at White House
• 1965: Vietnam - Carroll Baker and Bob Hope perform for troops

1966

• Former SAG president Ronald Reagan elected Governor of California, in November.

1967

• Guild petitions FCC, charging "The three television network corporations now have a virtual monopoly on all phases of television network programming and its by-products with the result that the market available to independent producers has been severely restricted"
• AFTRA calls first national strike
• SAG anti-Communist "loyalty oath", in place since 1953, made optional after members of The Grateful Dead, appearing in Petulia refuse to sign (but loyalty oath remains requirement for Board of Directors)
• Guild announces TV and Theatrical contracts will no longer be negotiated separately
• Major antiwar demonstrations in Washington DC and New York.

1968

• SAG's "Conflict of Interest" rule, in place since 1946, which placed restrictions on eligibility for those with production interests seeking a Board seat, is tightened by SAG Board of Directors to read "...no person who has an interest in motion picture production...shall be eligible to become or remain an officer of the Guild"
• Dr. Martin Luther King assassinated in Memphis
• Robert F. Kennedy assassinated in Los Angeles
• Governor Ronald Reagan signs SB 393 (removing the California Inventory Tax from films), hoping to curb Runaway Production
• Auto-insurance discrimination against actors
• Richard Nixon elected President of the United States.

1969

• Recognizing growth of independent filmmaking, Guild initiates low-budget theatrical contract
• Neil Armstrong becomes the first man to walk on the moon
• Woodstock festival
• Largest antiwar rally in US history (250,000 people) held in Washington, D.C.
• 1969: Screen Actor cover

1971

• SAG joins with AFTRA credit union
• First-ever "fully contested" SAG election, as independent candidates challenge the nominating committee's choices for seven Guild officer positions (including the President) and 16 Board seats - none of the independents are elected
• John Gavin elected SAG president and petitions President Nixon for government assistance to film industry, asking for tax incentives for motion pictures, limit TV to 25% reruns, and give government filmmaking to private sector.

1972

• SAG Women's Committee founded, reveals Brigham Young University study shows 81.7% of roles on TV are male, vs 18.3% female
• SAG Ethnic Minorities Committee founded
• Watergate break-in
• AFI Screen Actors Guild conservatory founded
• Jack Dales, SAG Executive Secretary since the end of 1943, and a Guild staff member since October 1937, retires at year's end
• Dales is succeeded by Chet Migden, a Guild employee since 1952, who will be first to bear the new title National Executive Secretary.
• 1972: Jack Dales and successor Chet Migden

1973

• In an event unprecedented in the Guild's 40-year history, John Gavin becomes the first-ever incumbent Guild president to be defeated by a challenger, Dennis Weaver, and six other candidates are defeated by independents as well, which will mark a turn from the Guild's traditionally conservative leadership to a more liberal, activist one.

1974

• Guild Public Relations Director, Buck Harris, retires after nearly 40 years with the Guild
• Theatrical & TV contract gains include prime time TV residuals for every rerun in prime time, rather than previous practice of paying for only two reruns, and residuals in perpetuity for TV reruns in syndication replacing "the old buyout at the tenth run," and the fees are increased by 25%
• Anti-Communist "loyalty oath" removed from SAG applications
• In wake of Watergate scandal, Richard Nixon resigns as president, succeeded by Gerald Ford.
• 1974: Kathleen Nolan at Women's Conference Committee meeting

1975

• Saigon falls to Communist North Vietnam, and US finishes withdrawing all troops
• SAG Film Society debuts
• Kathleen Nolan becomes the Guild's first female National President
• Midge Van Buren Farrell, first employee hired by SAG in 1933, retires after 42 years' service.

1976

• United States celebrates Bicentennial year
• Jimmy Carter elected president of the United States.

1977

• Guild expands National Executive Committee from 7 seats to 13 (President, 10 vice-presidents, recording secretary, and treasurer)
• Incumbent SAG president, Kathleen Nolan is not chosen as candidate by the Guild's nominating committee
• Nolan runs as independent and is re-elected to another two-year term.

1978

• Meetings begin of SAG/AFTRA Coordinating Study Committee to "...study feasibility of merger and to develop new areas of cooperation between SAG and AFTRA
• President Kathleen Nolan leads SAG Commercials Strike for better residuals on TV ads, Dec. 19, 1978 - Feb. 7, 1979.
• 1978/79: SAG/AFTRA Commercials strike

1979

• Guild's annual meetings changed to be held in January, rather than the traditional November
• Burt Lancaster withdraws his name as candidate for SAG presidency, as fact that he has a production company (although inactive) precludes him from running for office
• President Kathleen Nolan leads protest rally, with signs "Women and Minorities: Not Seen on the American Scene"..."Window Dressing on the Set"...and "TV: it's Time for a Facelift"
• William Schallert elected SAG president.
• 1979: Fall Screen Actor cover
• 1979: October 10, SAG Women and Minorities Rally

1980

• SAG Theatrical Strike.
• President William Schallert leads July 21-Oct. 23 walkout to establish contract terms for Pay-TV and video cassette production
• Strike Fund distributes $500,000 to affected members, raised at "An Evening of Stars," Hollywood Bowl strike benefit with Lily Tomlin, Robin Williams, many others
• AFTRA, AFM also on strike
• Former SAG President and California Governor, Ronald Reagan, elected 40th President of the United States.
• 1980: Theatrical/TV strike. President William Schallert
• 1980: Theatrical/TV strike benefit flyer
• 1980: Theatrical/TV striker Clarence Muse

1981

• SAG uses sign language interpreters for first time at Annual Meeting, and National Executive Secretary, Chet Migden addresses the membership in favor of SAG/AFTRA merger, stating "I am convinced that we cannot confront conglomerates, in fact, a conglomeration of conglomerates, with fractionalized forces"- Migden adds SAG will also initiate merger discussions with Screen Extras Guild
• Failed assassination attempt on President Ronald Reagan
• "Phase 1" SAG/AFTRA merger plan approved by membership
• Overworked, exhausted members of the Professional Air Traffic Controllers Organization (PATCO) finally walk out in illegal strike - Reagan fires PATCO strikers
• Edward Asner elected SAG President, defeating incumbent William Schallert
• SAG National Executive Secretary Chet Migden decides not to renew his contract, and will depart from the Guild
• Ken Orsatti chosen to succeed Migden
• Controversy ensues when it is prematurely revealed that the Guild's Awards Committee has chosen Ronald Reagan to receive the annual Life Achievement Award
• Chet Migden presented with first Ralph Morgan Award.

1982

• SAG Ethnic Minorities Committee changes name to Ethnic Equal Opportunities Committee (EEOC)
• SAG members vote on merger with Screen Extras Guild, with 57% voting in favor (as 60% minimum is required, it does not pass)
• 1982: Weaver, Asner write thanks to CA legislators re. Personal Managers Bill

1983

• SAG faces negotiations for the first time with a merged producer group, the "Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers" (formed by combining the Association of Motion Picture Producers, formed in 1924, and the Alliance of Television Producers)
• SAG's 50th Anniversary celebrated with a TV Special and Golden Gala Ball in Hollywood, and a Moving Picture Ball in New York
• SAG testifies at Runaway Production hearing, "The Flight of the Motion Picture Industry From California"

1984

• SAG sends out second vote on merger with Screen Extras Guild, which fails again (52% vote in favor of it, which is 5% fewer than the 1982 vote, and below the 60% needed for passage)
• SAG creates additional low-budget motion picture agreement, giving advantages to productions that hire more women, minorities, seniors, and disabled performers
• SAG's New York branch forms Women's Voice-Over Committee to study why women get only 10-20 % of voiceover work.
• 1982/1984: SAG votes twice on merger with Screen Extras Guild

1985

• Screen Actors Guild Foundation established.
• Patty Duke elected Guild president.

1986

• Space shuttle Challenger explodes shortly after takeoff, killing all on board
• Women's voice-over study by McCollum/Spielman and Company indicates "it makes absolutely no difference whether a male or female voice is used as a TV commercial voice-over", destroying long-held advertising industry assertion that male voices "sell better" and carry "more authority"
• SAG moves into new national headquarters for first time in 30 years.

1987

• Residual payments hit total of one billion dollar mark
• June 15-July 24 - SAG Animation strike. Guild wins increase in minimum session fees, and extra pay for additional voices
• SAG enlists Ginger Rogers and Jimmy Stewart to lobby against film colorization.

1988

• Writers Guild of America begins 154-day strike from March 7-August 8
• SAG/AFTRA TV Commercials Strike, March 21-April 15, achieves payment for cable use
• 1st VP Barry Gordon becomes SAG's 20th president when Patty Duke resigns
• SAG signs contract for the first U.S. produced Spanish language dramatic TV series
• Congress establishes new National Film Preservation Board with SAG representation, Roddy McDowall serves as Guild delegate
• Guild changes title of National Executive Secretary, Ken Orsatti, to National Executive Director.
• 1988: Commercial strike. Walther Matthau on picket line.

1989

• New speed record in SAG/AFTRA Theatrical/TV negotiations, consisting of just three days of talks - gains include 12.5% increase in minimum wages & certain residuals over 3 years; new minimum salary for "Top of the Show" performers; and increase in residuals for free TV shows released to basic cable
• Actress Rebecca Schaeffer of My Sister Sam TV show shot and killed by obsessed "fan" - in wake of Schaeffer slaying, SAG lobbies California legislature for more privacy rights, creating new DMV bill protecting access to home addresses.

1990

• National Women's Conference, Meryl Streep keynotes first national event, revealing the decline in women's work opportunities, pay parity and role models
• Guild regains jurisdiction over limited number of Hollywood extras, when Guild's parent union the Associated Actors and Artistes of America announces it has authorized the Guild to "expand its jurisdiction to include units of extra players not contractually represented by the Screen Extras Guild (SEG) or any other Four A's union...SAG's authorization to represent extras within its jurisdiction does not apply to commercials or to producers of television or feature films who already have contracts with SEG."
• July 9, first production in Hollywood since 1945, featuring SAG Hollywood extras, rolls camera: Nickelodeon's TV production Tales from the Whoop: Hot Rod Brown, Class Clown starring Whoopi Goldberg
• Burt Lancaster represents SAG in Washington, D.C. lobbies for creation of National Health Plan.
• In response to Miss Saigon casting, SAG Board adopts resolution that performers of color receive preferential consideration for ethnic roles.
• 1990: Streep, Gordon at Women's Conference

1991

• Supported by SAG Board, actors rally throughout country for National Health Care plan
• SAG wins new Commercials contract with increase in cable TV payments
• Dues waived for members on active duty in Persian Gulf War
• SAG members hit by national recession as earning and residuals show decline.

1992

• SAG regains jurisdiction over all extras working under Guild contracts
• SAG Extras work 467 jobs a day and earn over $1 million in first month of new theatrical contract.
• Sexual harassment seminar held, Christine Lahti and others tell how to identify, avoid and report harassers.
• SAG Foundation establishes BookPALS program
• Total SAG earnings rise $12 million for year-end total of $1.1 billion.

1993

• First Interactive contract, with over 100 multimedia productions signed
• SAG Film/TV residuals doubled in six years, topping $2 billion - commercial residuals total another $2 billion
• SAG launches AIDS Task Force, distributing $125,000 in contributions
• SAG study shows women and minorities still underrepresented
• SAG pensions top $1 billion
• SAG moves national headquarters to L.A.'s Miracle Mile

1993

• First Interactive contract, with over 100 multimedia productions signed
• SAG Film/TV residuals doubled in six years, topping $2 billion - commercial residuals total another $2 billion
• SAG launches AIDS Task Force, distributing $125,000 in contributions
• SAG study shows women and minorities still underrepresented
• SAG pensions top $1 billion
• SAG moves national headquarters to L.A.'s Miracle Mile

1994

• SAG stunt coordinators victory. Stunt players vote in record numbers in favor of the Guild's first ever agreement to cover stunt coordinators
• To ensure actors get their residuals, Guild monitors rash of film companies declaring bankruptcy
• TV Animation Incentive Plan proposed to curb Runaway Production to Canada
• Guild resolves Association of Talent Agents (ATA) arbitration
• SAG and AFTRA approve three-year Commercials contract, gaining significant increases in cable and Spanish language TV and fending off management proposals for major rollbacks.

1995

• The first annual Screen Actors Guild Awards show debuts
• George Burns becomes first to receive his SAG Life Achievement Award on TV
• President Barry Gordon resigns in July, 1st VP Sumi Haru becomes acting President
• Richard Masur elected SAG President in November.
• 1995: SAG Awards. George Burns and President Barry Gordon

1996

• SAG website launched in December.

1997

• Richard Masur re-elected SAG president.

1998

• Guild supports Personal Privacy Protection Act
• SAG and AFTRA send first-ever merger referendum to their respective memberships
• SAG pro-merger slogan "Times have changed, so must we."
• 1998: President Masur speaks on Personal Privacy Protection Act

1999

• SAG/AFTRA merger defeated as 67.6% of AFTRA members vote "yes" but only 46.49% of SAG members vote to approve
• SAG officially changes term "extra" to "background actor"
• SAG releases commissioned report "Missing in Action: Latinos in and Out of Hollywood"
• First public digital motion picture screenings held for paying audiences
• SAG and Directors Guild of America release jointly-commissioned report "The Economic Impact of U.S. Film and Television Runaway production"
• Large Runaway Production rally in Hollywood
• Incumbent SAG president Richard Masur defeated by challenger William Daniels.
• 1999: counting AFTRA/SAG merger vote ballots

2000

• May 1: Commercials Strike begins, and will officially end October 30th
• June 4: Hollywood Membership Meeting at Sheraton Universal Hotel. Former Guild president, Ed Asner presented with the Ralph Morgan Award by former Lou Grant co-star Daryl Anderson. Asner tells the crowd of 1,400 members “I believe in unionism...I believe when we find ourselves blessed with good fortune, we must answer to a higher standard of caring. We pass this way once, and how we behave along the way is who we turn out to have been all along”
• May 24, Guild releases report "Still Missing: Latinos in and Out of Hollywood," with the cooperation of The Tomás Rivera Policy Institute (TRPI), commissioned by the Screen Actors Guild- Producers Industry Advancement And Cooperative Fund (IACF), and followed by the "African-American Television Report" on June 7
• The Affirmative Action Department Performers With Disabilities Committee co-sponsors first Annual Disability Talent Showcase October 15.

2001

• National Executive Director Ken Orsatti retires January 15
• “CastSAG” debuts January 25 on the internet at www.castsag.org
• June 25: John Cooke officially announced as the Guild’s new National Executive Director/CEO, but resigns July 5 before ever taking office
• September 10: A. Robert Pisano hired as National Executive Director/CEO
• September 11: terrorists hijack four U.S. airplanes which crash into the twin towers of the World Trade Center in New York, the Pentagon in DC and a Pennsylvania field
• October 3: Reorganization Plan approved by National Board of Directors. It will be approved by a future membership vote, and go into effect in Fall 2002, when the entire National Board will stand for reelection for 69 positions, plus the offices of President and Secretary-Treasurer, bringing the national Board seat total to 71
• November 2: Melissa Gilbert elected Guild President
• November 5: Screen Actors Guild Foundation launches “Conversations” series with first guest Camryn Manheim.

2002

• January 7: November 2001 election to be partially rerun as a decision is handed down by the Guild’s National Elections Committee on Challenges to the 2001 National Officer Election: “The election of the top three national officers is set aside and a rerun directed.”
• February 11: ballots mailed for first rerun election in Guild history
• February 25: Guild announces a proposed agreement with the Association of Talent Agents (ATA) and the National Association of Talent Representatives (NATR)
• March 9 results of the election rerun are in, and the same three candidates win once more: President: Melissa Gilbert; Recording Secretary: Elliott Gould; Treasurer: Kent McCord
• April 19: proposed Agency Franchise Agreement voted down by the Guild membership. 54.48% opposed the proposed agreement, and 45.52% were in favor
• May 1: Global Rule 1, requiring members “to ensure that a producer is a SAG signatory and to get a SAG contract wherever they work in order to get the protections of SAG’s agreements, even when working outside of the United States” becomes effective.
• May 1 2002: Kevin Spacey supports Global Rule One launch

2003

• Consolidation Plan: at joint videoconference meeting on February 8, the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (AFTRA) and Screen Actors Guild (SAG) National Boards of Directors overwhelmingly approve a resolution to adopt a plan to consolidate the unions. Plan calls for the creation of umbrella union and three affiliates: Actors, Broadcasters and Recording Artists
• March 19: United States declares war on Iraq and Saddam Hussein
• May 1: toll-free phone number debuts today for all members nationwide. Members can now call 1-800-SAG-0767 (1-800-724-0767) from anywhere in the country to reach a Guild office.
• First anniversary of Global Rule 1: by end of 2003 it has “…provided a boost to SAG Pension & Health contributions totaling over $4 million to date”
• July 1: Consolidation barely voted down by Screen Actors Guild membership as 42.22% of voting members opposed the consolidation while 57.78% supported it. Passage required a 60% “yes” vote by the membership of both the Guild and AFTRA
• August 4: Guild launches “State Statutes Database for Young Performers” on website
• Melissa Gilbert re-elected President September 23
• September 30 New York Governor George Pataki signs Child Performers Education and Trust Act of 2003, which will become effective March 28, 2004
• October 7: Screen Actors Guild member elected Governor of the State of California for second time in history: Arnold Schwarzenegger (Ronald Reagan was first, in 1966)
• October 27: “Dues Online” debuts this morning, and the first two members have already paid their dues through it before noon.
• New York members, staff, legislator, support signing of 2003 Child Performers Act

2004

• March 18: Guild and AFTRA members overwhelmingly ratify one-year extension of the current Television/Motion Picture and AFTRA Exhibit A agreements
• March 28: Child Performer Education and Trust Act of 2003 becomes New York law today.
• April 28: SAG and CBS partner on the first Performers With Disabilities Showcase
• May 1: By this second anniversary of Global Rule One, it has produced over $120 million in additional member earnings, plus $6 million more to the Guild's Pension and Health funds; over 200% increase in two years
• June 24, President Melissa Gilbert issues a statement after the United States Court of Appeals ruling to block the Federal Communications Commission’s (FCC) plans to expand the number of radio and TV stations that one media company can own in one market: “This ruling is a victory not only for creative artists who are employed by media companies, but for the viewing public. This is a battle to protect the public airwaves, ensure a diversity of viewpoints in the media and defend workers' rights. Screen Actors Guild is proud to be a part of this critical fight and we commend the appeals court for today’s decision.”
• Guild auctions rights to seven feature films to recover residual payments owed members, at its first-ever public foreclosure auction
• August 20: Screen Actors Guild Foundation announces launch of its Casting Access Project
• April 28 2004: first Casting Showcase for Performers with Disabilities.

2007

• Doug Allen, former assistant executive director of the National Football League Players Association, becomes the Guild's new national executive director and chief negotiator on January 8.