Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/1054784
86 SAG-AFTRA | Fall 2018 | sagaftra.org incredibly generous, always quick with a quip, funny, thoughtful and probably the single most intelligent person I've ever known." The former union vice president then added, tongue firmly in cheek, "The fact that he's certifiably insane makes it all really interesting." The success of M*A*S*H gave Alda the platform to speak out on political and social issues. He was — and continues to be — a vocal supporter of women's rights. Along with first lady Betty Ford, he co-chaired the Equal Rights Amendment Countdown campaign. In 1976, The Boston Globe dubbed him "the quintessential honorary woman: a feminist icon" for his activism. It was a natural next step for Alda to go into politics – on screen. Over the course of his career he has played his share of politicians. In 1979, he wrote and starred as a senator in The Seduction of Joe Tynan. In 2004, Alda — a staunch Democrat — took a memorable recurring role as Republican Sen. Arnold Vinick in The West Wing. He received an Emmy for his performance. That same year, his turn as Sen. Ralph Owen Brewster in The Aviator earned him an Oscar nomination. In a 2015 interview with The Daily Mail, Alda revealed that he had actually been approached about running for office. "I was asked to run a couple of times when M*A*S*H was so popular," he said. "They came to talk to me on the set and said, 'You should run for senator.' I thought, 'How ridiculous! Why would I do that? I don't know anything about it. I'm an actor, not a politician.' They said, 'That doesn't matter, you could get elected.'" Turning down a D.C. career, Alda amassed a long list of acting credits, which included Same Time, Next Year (1978), Neil Simon's California Suite (1978), Crimes and Misdemeanors (1989), Manhattan Murder Mystery (1993), Everyone Says I Love You (1996), Tower Heist (2011) and Bridge of Spies (2015). He starred in, wrote and directed The Four Seasons (1981), co-starring fellow Life Achievement honoree Carol Burnett, Sweet Liberty (1986) and A New Life (1988). In a 2017 discussion with science communicator and astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson, Alda noted that while he has been fortunate as an actor, getting started wasn't easy and took plenty of tenacity. "I followed my nose, and what I seemed to be good at, I tried to do more of. It was a little crazy for an out-of-work actor. I went nine or 10 years — we were married and had three children — and still I wasn't making a living acting. But, I knew it was for me somehow." Alda's remarkable career has earned him induction into the Television Hall of Fame, an Oscar nomination, six Emmys (plus an International Emmy Special Founder's Award and 29 additional Emmy nominations), four SAG Award nominations, six Golden Globes, four DGA Awards (including the D.W. Griffith Award), the WGA's Valentine Davis Award, three Tony Award Alda was president of the United States in Michael Moore's comedy Canadian Bacon in 1995. GRAMERCY PICTURES/PHOTOFEST © GRAMERCY PICTURES Alda wrote his first feature film, 1979's political drama The Seduction of Joe Tynan, playing the title character, a liberal New York Senator. Meryl Streep co-starred. PHOTOFEST/WARNECKE & KLEIN SAG-AFTRA SPECIAL COLLECTIONS Alda's fifth Broadway appearance, the romantic comedy hit The Owl and the Pussycat opposite Diana Sands, featured bold, colorblind casting for 1964. In 1968, Alda won the role of real-life journalist George Plimpton in Paper Lion, the film version of Plimpton's best-selling book of the same name. UNIVERSAL PICTURES/PHOTOFEST © UNIVERSAL PICTURES