SAG-AFTRA members Daryl Anderson and Susan Boyd Joyce were honored as recipients of the Ralph Morgan Award for their years of dedicated union service on May 5. Established in 1981, the Ralph Morgan Award is the highest honor given by the Los Angeles Local and is given to honor individuals that embody exceptional service to local membership. The reception and award ceremony took place just prior to the Annual L.A. Membership Meeting held at the Pickwick Gardens in Burbank.
Both steadfast unionists, Anderson and Boyd Joyce have worked to advance the union’s mission of “fighting for and securing the strongest protections for media artists” and improving the lives of its members since before its inception.
Boyd Joyce, an accomplished session singer, began her membership in the Screen Actors Guild as a child performer following her first role in an industrial film produced for the 1964 worlds fair. In college, she began touring with stage productions including Jesus Christ Superstar, Mame and Fiddler on the Roof, earning her membership to Actor’s Equity and the American Guild of Musical Artists before finally acquiring her fourth card into the American Federation of Radio and Television Artists in 1975. She began her union service as an AFTRA convention delegate in 1984, and served on both the SAG and AFTRA local and national boards from 1985-2012. Boyd Joyce professional and union successes earned her AFTRA’s highest honor, the George Heller Memorial Award Gold Card in 2007. Her decades-long career and comprehensive knowledge of multiple contracts made her instrumental in the two legacy unions’ 2012 merger.
Anderson began his service in 1980 when both SAG and AFTRA were on strike against motion picture and television studios. His portrayal as Dennis “Animal” Price on TV drama Lou Grant made him a highly visible strike supporter and he was encouraged to run for the SAG National Board. He was elected and continued serving for 22 years in several capacities including SAG National 3rd Vice President, chair of the Agents Relations and Communications committees, a trustee of the SAG-Producers Pension and Health Plan and as a member of several committees. Additionally, he contributed to the former SAG Foundation Legacy Program, an initiative centered on the archiving of the guild’s history. Today he continues to serve as the current committee chair of the merged SAG-AFTRA Health Plan.
Still, perhaps his greatest accomplishment is his role in the creation of the SAG Awards® ceremony. Anderson and his wife, Kathy Connell, are now the last founders still involved with the show’s production; with Anderson serving as the SAG Awards Committee Vice Chair and Connell as the show’s executive producer.
The Ralph Morgan Award ceremony was presided over by Vice President, Los Angeles Clyde Kusatsu and L.A. Local Board member Kate Linder. SAG-AFTRA President Gabrielle Carteris and actor-producer Kathryn “Kitty” Swink respectively presented Boyd Joyce and Anderson with their awards. Both recipients addressed the crowd of members, family members and friends with heartfelt words of gratitude for the honor and pride in the continued work of the union.
The award carries the namesake of Ralph Morgan, the first president of the Screen Actors Guild. Morgan himself served three terms as president, first during the union’s inception in 1933 and then additional terms in 1938-1940. Upon the end of his final presidency, the SAG Board of Directors presented him with a scroll reading, Devotion to the Cause of Actors, Courage to Fight for the Right, Sacrifice of Self for Others Have Made the Name of Ralph Morgan a Symbol of Loyalty.
At the conclusion of the ceremony, the L.A. Local Membership Meeting began with presentations by Carteris, Secretary-Treasurer and L.A. Local President Jane Austin, National Executive Director David White and Local Executive Director Ilyanne Morden Kichaven.
Photo: Susan Boyd Joyce and Daryl Anderson with their Ralph Morgan Award statuettes. (Photo by Jesse Grant/SAG-AFTRA)
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