Issue link: http://digital.copcomm.com/i/821178
SAGAFTRA.org | Spring 2017 | SAG-AFTRA 63 KEVIN MAZUR/ TNT THEO WARGO/WIREIMAGE MARY TYLER MOORE, an accomplished actor, producer, activist and 2012 Screen Actors Guild Life Achievement honoree, died Jan. 25 at the age of 80. Moore, best known for her role as Mary Richards on The Mary Tyler Moore Show, was the 48th Life Achievement Award recipient. She started her career in 1955 as a dancer in commercials airing during The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet and soon transitioned into acting, landing a role on Richard Diamond, Private Detective. Her career took off when she was cast as Dick Van Dyke's wife Laura Petrie on The Dick Van Dyke Show. Moore also used her star power to raise awareness of type 1 diabetes. Her personal experience of living with the disease prepared her for the role she filled as the international chairman of the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation. Moore was also an advocate for animal rights, supporting the fight to end animal euthanasia. ROSE MARIE JUN, a singer and national board member for both SAG and AFTRA, died Nov. 4 at the age of 88. From the 1950s through the 1980s, Jun recorded the first versions of some of the most beloved showtunes, including songs from The Sound of Music and West Side Story. Her demos were used to pitch the songs to high-profile artists, such as Frank Sinatra and Tony Bennett. Her career also included singing jingles for television and radio. Jun was also dedicated to serving her unions. She joined the Screen Actors Guild National Board in 1975 as a replacement for Pat Mahen and was elected to the board four times, serving until 1988. She also served 15 years on the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists National Board, from 1976–79, and then from 1990–2002. JOHN HARLAN died Feb. 27 at the age of 91. A prolific announcer who began his career in radio as a staff announcer at CBS affiliate KARM in Fresno, California, in 1943, his voice was known to millions through his work on game shows like Celebrity Sweepstakes, Name That Tune and Password; award shows such as the Screen Actors Guild Awards; the Miss America and Miss Universe pageants; television specials; commercials; and feature films. He joined both AFTRA and SAG in 1948. Harlan served on AFTRA's National Board of Directors and its Los Angeles Local Board, as well as on SAG-AFTRA's first National Board. Harlan was a member of AFTRA's Nominating Committee, Communications Committee and the Frank Nelson Fund, and was an announcer delegate to numerous AFTRA conventions. He was also a founding member and past president of the Pacific Pioneer Broadcasters. Harlan was presented posthumously with a certificate of appreciation for his years of service by the SAG-AFTRA Los Angeles Local Board at its membership meeting in March. Debbie Reynolds with daughter Carrie Fisher at the 2015 SAG Awards DEBBIE REYNOLDS and CARRIE FISHER, mother and daughter, passed away in December within a day of each other, at ages 84 and 60. Reynolds was the 2015 recipient of the SAG Life Achievement Award, which Fisher presented to her during the SAG Awards ceremony. In addition to starring in classic films such as Singin' In the Rain, How the West Was Won and The Singing Nun, Reynolds was nominated for an Academy Award for her portrayal of the title role in The Unsinkable Molly Brown. Over the span of her career, she was also nominated for a Tony for the 1973 revival of the musical Irene and an Emmy for her work on Will & Grace. Reynolds was also a philanthropist, devoting decades to The Thalians, a nonprofit that raises money for mental health programs. She was also a preservationist and an industry historian — at one time, Reynolds owned the largest privately held collection of Hollywood memorabilia in the world. Fisher was a multitalented actor, author and screenwriter, who found a permanent place in pop culture with her performance as Princess Leia in the Star Wars films. Although she faced the challenges of bipolar disorder and substance abuse, she was frank about her life experiences, and often discussed them with a healthy dose of humor. She was a prolific writer, having authored an autobiography, The Princess Diarist; the one-woman play Wishful Drinking; and numerous scripts. Her novel Postcards From the Edge, about an actor struggling with addiction, was made into a movie starring Meryl Streep, Shirley MacLaine and Dennis Quaid. Before she passed away, she filmed scenes for Star Wars: The Last Jedi, which is scheduled to be released in December.