Ken Orsatti RIP

Ken Orsatti RIP

It is with a heavy heart that I tell you of the death of former Screen Actors Guild National Executive Director, Ken Orsatti, who passed away yesterday afternoon at the age of 78.

Ken served the members of Screen Actors Guild with true excellence in various capacities for nearly 40 years, and is an indelible part of the Guild’s history. He was a dedicated and committed executive whose efforts helped the Guild navigate the waters of an industry that underwent sweeping change during his tenure.

Ken was admired throughout the entertainment industry over the many years of his long career at the Guild.  During his tenure as NED, he served as our chief negotiator on some 20 major contracts.  He was a trustee of the SAG-Producers Pension & Health Plans for more than 35 years and served as a vice president of the International Federation of Actors (FIA), and on the California State Federation of Labor.  In addition, Ken helped found the SAG Foundation and proudly served on the Foundation board for many years.

Ken was particularly beloved by Screen Actors Guild members across the country and by his dedicated staff colleagues, whom he served in various capacities from 1961 until his retirement in 2000.

Ken is survived by his wife Patricia, their three sons Scott, Christopher and Sean and their grandchildren Adam, Anthony, Gianna, Kenneth, Nolan and Kensie.

Services have not yet been scheduled and details will be provided once available.

We will be coordinating a memorial tribute on the SAG website and will be collecting written remembrances for the SAG archives.  I encourage all who wish to do so, to provide your written memorial for Ken by email to SAG communications executive director Pam Greenwalt at pgreenwalt@sag.org.

On a personal note, Ken was consistently supportive of me and always expressed a willingness to be helpful in whatever way that he could be.  His presence will indeed be missed.

In unity,

David White
National Executive Director
Screen Actors Guil
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