In the early days of the Disney strike, (probably within two days of the first picket,) chairman of the Screen Cartoonists Guild Art Babbitt, with Disney striker John McLeish, contacted the Screen Actors Guild and petitioned the SAG executive board for their support. SAG was one of the first Hollywood unions, dating back to 1933, and by 1941 included actors Robert Montgomery, Aline McMahon and John Garfield, as well as executive board member Ronald Reagan.
Babbitt’s approach was successful – the victory of SAG’s support was published in the striker news bulletin “On the Line”, which had already begun a daily circulation. Not only would SAG help the hungry strikers financially, they promised to report on the Disney Strike in their own national bulletin. [1]
The strike itself began on May 28th, 1941. If the SAG June bulletin was published at the start of June, it’s remarkable how quickly the strikers organized their efforts. As reported, chalk talks, 24-hour schedules, and “flying squadrons” (a great name for theater picketers) and a working soup kitchen were already completely functioning. Read below for the entire article. [special thanks to the Screen Actors Guild archives] [2]
Sources:
- Disney’s Giant and the Artist’s Model, by Adrienne Tytla, 2004
- The Screen Actor, June 1941
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