SAG-AFTRA announced today that SAG-AFTRA Vice President, Broadcasters Bob Butler and former Vice President, Mid-Sized Locals Ilyssa Fradin are the 2022 recipients of the Howard Keel Award for their significant contributions to the union. The Howard Keel Award, which is the highest honor given by the SAG-AFTRA Committee of Locals, was presented at the committee’s virtual awards ceremony today.
“I am thrilled to congratulate Bob and Ilyssa on this well-deserved recognition,” said SAG-AFTRA President Fran Drescher. “Both have demonstrated incredible dedication and service to the membership of SAG-AFTRA and are examples of community contribution that we can all model. That’s the spirit and meaning of the Howard Keel Award, after all: to support and inspire!”
Howard Keel Award Committee Co-Chair Nancy Duerr said, “Ilyssa Fradin and Bob Butler represent the best of what our union stands for. Their strength, sacrifice and unyielding leadership through merger and beyond has helped make SAG-AFTRA the most powerful and respected force in the industry. By ensuring all voices are engaged and heard, their contributions embody the spirit and meaning of the Howard Keel Award. I couldn’t be prouder to honor them today on behalf of members everywhere.”
“It’s my honor to present the Howard Keel Award to Ilyssa and Bob, whose service, leadership and advocacy are unparalleled,” said Howard Keel Award Committee Co-Chair Towanda Underdue. “As true union activists and mentors, their selfless and tireless efforts continue to have local, national and global impact.”
The award, which was created in 2008, is named after the late actor and singer Howard Keel, who served as the Screen Actors Guild’s 10th president from 1958–1959. Keel, a proponent of merger with AFTRA, expanded SAG’s national board from 39 to 52 seats, which, for the first time, allowed for local representation from New York, Chicago, San Francisco, Detroit and Boston. The Committee of Locals is a forum for identifying areas of common interest to mid-sized and small locals, which includes the union’s 23 locals outside of Los Angeles and New York.
About the Honorees
Bob Butler’s exemplary service to SAG-AFTRA and legacy AFTRA, as well as his leadership and advocacy on behalf of members and journalists worldwide, spans four decades. His union leadership began in 1982, when he served as shop steward at KCBS Radio San Francisco — and continues as a shop leader to this day!
Butler served on the AFTRA S.F. Local Board beginning in 1997 until merger, serving as AFTRA San Francisco-Northern California Local Board treasurer and many terms as an AFTRA convention delegate. Nationally, he served on the AFTRA National Board, as well as a vice president from 2002 until merger in 2012, and during that time, he sat on numerous committees, including the Finance, Local Election and Broadcast Steering committees.
Given all of Butler’s union experience and service, he was a natural choice to be a participant on the G1 Committee, crafting the merger of SAG and AFTRA. His voice, experience, and thoughtful and creative intellect were instrumental in negotiating a successful merger agreement.
Butler has been a member of the National Board of SAG-AFTRA since its inception and is now serving his third term as vice president, broadcast. Additionally, he sits on many vital SAG-AFTRA Committees, including the Executive, Litigation Review and Local Elections committees. Butler remains a leader on the National Broadcast Steering Committee, an ex officio member of the San Francisco-Northern California SAG-AFTRA Local Board and a trusted advisor.
Equally important to Butler’s union service is his mentorship and advocacy for established and emerging journalists. He established and served as a mentor for broadcast news seminars that introduce college students to the union at San Francisco State University and Fresno State University. Butler also mentored student projects for the National Association of Black Journalists and the National Association of Hispanic Journalists. He was also lead mentor for the student newsroom for the Society of Professional Journalists from 2019–2022. Internationally, Butler was lead mentor for student projects with the Southern Africa Broadcasting Association in Rwanda, Mozambique and Namibia.
Ilyssa Fradin is a professional actor who has voiced hundreds of national commercials, corporate videos, video games and promos, and appeared in a variety of TV shows, and independent and feature films. Fradin first became involved in SAG at the Chicago Branch, later moving on to the Regional Branch Division and then to its successor after merger, the Committee of Locals. Fradin has been a dedicated and persistent activist for performers and broadcasters for over 20 years. The commercials strike of 2000 inspired her to become an advocate on behalf of the union’s members. Since that time, Fradin has dedicated herself to protecting performers and pursuing smart and innovative policies.
Fradin worked on the 2011–2012 merger campaign and afterward served on the G1 Committee as a founding member, helping shape the way the union recognizes and treats locals outside of Los Angeles and New York. She has served as vice chair for the National Commercials Committee and has been a member of the Commercial Negotiations Committee every cycle since merger. Fradin also serves on the Sexual Harassment Prevention Committee and has helped create policies that protect members. As a proud working actor, Fradin brings commonsense solutions to every endeavor she undertakes.
This includes three terms as vice president, mid-sized locals, over four years on the National Board, as well as a multitude of other positions that include serving on the SAG-AFTRA National Executive Committee, National Agent Relations Committee, National Financial Core Outreach Task Force, National Low-Budget Committee, National SAGindie Committee, National Voiceover Performers Low-Budget Committee, National SAG-AFTRA Relations Task Force, Committee of Locals and Constitutional Amendments and Resolutions Committee as well as co-chair of the Committee of Locals.
Fradin is dedicated to union service and makes a point of attending major labor and industry events on behalf of the Chicago Local. She routinely meets with producers, signatories and payroll companies and is noted for her charm, wit and persistence, which have made her an essential asset. She tirelessly promotes the Midwest Regional Code, ensuring positive and progressive results for members, and her reputation for problem-solving and educational support have made her recognized across all locals.
About SAG-AFTRA
SAG-AFTRA represents approximately 160,000 actors, announcers, broadcast journalists, dancers, DJs, news writers, news editors, program hosts, puppeteers, recording artists, singers, stunt performers, voiceover artists and other entertainment and media professionals. SAG-AFTRA members are the faces and voices that entertain and inform America and the world. A proud affiliate of the AFL-CIO, SAG-AFTRA has national offices in Los Angeles and New York and local offices nationwide representing members working together to secure the strongest protections for entertainment and media artists into the 21st century and beyond. Visit SAG-AFTRA online at SAGAFTRA.org.