Screen Actors Guild boss resigns

SAG president Bill Daniels now has to find a new CEO

Screen Actors Guild chief executive John F Cooke has resigned - just 10 days into the job, and immediately after the SAG concluded an agreement with Hollywood film studios.

Cooke, 59, said in a statement that nine members of SAG's 107-member board had put him in a position where his power was not clearly defined.

"It would be inappropriate for me to accept the SAG position without clear authority to act on all the issues that are before the SAG management and organisation,'' Cooke said in the statement.

In a letter written on 26 June, the nine board members had objected to Cooke's being named SAG's chief executive as well as national executive director.

'Shocked'

The letter said that the SAG board had been "hasty" in amending the body's constitution so that Cooke could take on both roles.

Several of those who signed the letter told trade paper Variety they were "shocked'' at Cooke's departure and pointed out that their letter said they fully supported his being given the chief executive title.

Cooke, previously an executive at the Getty Trust, had planned to begin working at SAG next week.

He had said that SAG needed to implement the recommendations in last year's Towers Perrin report - which recommends sweeping changes such as reducing the board size to 40 as part of cost cutting measures - before finding a new chief executive.

Strong candidate The SAG has been without a national executive director since January when Ken Orsatti retired.

Cooke had been seen as a strong candidate for the job and the announcement of his appointment on 25 June came amid proclamations of unity among SAG leaders.

SAG's search committee, headed by the organisation's president Bill Daniels, will now begin the search for another candidate from half a dozen finalists, whose identities remain secret.