He was an announcer, actor, narrator and sportscaster — and one of the select few radio war correspondents covering World War II.
By the time of Baldwin’s election as AFTRA national president in 1970, it was a given that one served on the local and national boards and in as many capacities as time, career and family would allow. Although he never expected to hold a high union office, he promised, “As long as I’ve been elected, I’m going to commit myself completely to the job.”
His talents extended from acting to narration to news reporting and sports commentating. Fans of Sylvester Stallone’s series of Rocky films will recognize Baldwin as a fight commentator in the first three.
Among his many contributions while AFTRA national president, in 1971 he headed a group of AFTRA leaders who met with congressman Barry Goldwater Jr. to highlight the issue of the United States government producing radio, TV, videotapes and motion pictures without the use of union performers and technical personnel. SAG soon joined AFTRA in working on this issue. Goldwater launched his own investigation producing a report, The United States Government and the American Radio-Television-Motion Picture Industry, which he released on Aug. 9, 1972, declaring the results indicated “that the government must reassess its audiovisual programs.”
In addition to his three terms as AFTRA national president, Baldwin was national first vice president 1967 — 1969 and national second vice president from 1973 — 1975. He was first vice president of the L.A. local from 1975 — 1981, the year before his death.
George Heller Memorial Gold Card No. 21 was presented to him at the 1977 AFTRA National Convention in San Francisco for his outstanding and forward-looking leadership to AFTRA’s members.
At a memorial service for Baldwin, who died just before his 69th birthday in 1982, his friend, AFTRA National President Bill Hillman, spoke. He’d originally met Baldwin in 1949, when Hillman went to work for Baldwin’s base studio KSFO in San Francisco. Hillman concluded his memorial remarks with wishes for a time that he might see his friend again: “I have the feeling that Bill is watching us and waiting. Waiting for the time when we can join him. I can hear him now: ‘St. Peter, I want you to meet my friends from AFTRA.’ And when we get inside — because Bill will surely get us in — he’s going to want to know whether we still believe in that motto which he created: ‘If it’s playable, it’s payable.’ Yes we do, Bill. That’s what we’re fighting for. That’s what it’s all about.”