Clyde Kusatsu has been elected president of SAG-AFTRA (Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Artists) Los Angeles Local.
The ballot tabulation was conducted on Aug. 15. Kusatsu received 6,048 votes (61.85 percent) to John Tremaine’s 3,730 (38.15 percent).
Kusatsu said in a statement, “I’m extremely pleased so many members expressed their support for my leadership. I’m grateful for their vote of confidence and look forward to serving as president of SAG-AFTRA’s largest local. I’m excited to play an even greater role in strengthening our union and I’m counting on Los Angeles members to join me in that effort.”
The two-year terms for Kusatsu, First Vice President Jenny O’Hara, Second Vice President Susan Boyd Joyce and local board members are effective immediately.
Members elected as local officers, local board members and convention delegates, by virtue of their election to those positions, are also eligible to serve as alternate national board members who may be called upon to serve at national board meetings when national board members from the Los Angeles Local are unable to attend.
Born and raised in Hawaii, Kusatsu — who celebrates his 65th birthday on Sept. 13 — graduated from Northwestern University in Illinois as a theater major in 1970. According to IMDb, he has played a doctor in at least 24 movies and TV shows, including “The Young and the Restless” (2006-2012), and a judge in 14 productions, from “L.A. Law” (1987) to “Boston Legal” (2006). Sci-fi fans know him for his recurring role as Adm. Nakamura in “Star Trek: The Next Generation.”
Kusatsu appeared in the 1976 TV movie “Farewell to Manzanar,” based on Jeanne Wakatsuki Houston’s memoir, and played multiple characters on “Kung Fu,” “MASH” and “Magnum PI” as well as Rev. Chong on “All in the Family.” He was a series regular on “Bring ‘Em Back Alive” (1982-83), “Island Son” (1989-90), and “All-American Girl” (1994-95), in which he played Margaret Cho’s father.
His big-screen credits include “Midway,” “The Choirboys,” “The Frisco Kid,” “Shanghai Surprise,” “Bird on a Wire,” “Rising Sun,” “In the Line of Fire,” “Dragon: The Bruce Lee Story,” “Godzilla” (the American remake), “American Pie,” “Hollywood Homicide,” “The Interpreter,” “Shopgirl,” and “Harold and Kumar Escape from Guantanamo Bay,” in which he played John Cho’s father.
In the 1989 John Belushi biopic “Wired,” he played Coroner Thomas Noguchi, and in the 2000 TV movie “American Tragedy,” he played Judge Lance Ito.
On the small screen, Kusatsu has guest-starred on such shows as “Hawaii Five-0” (both the original and the reboot), “The Rockford Files,” “Quincy, M.E.,” “Lou Grant,” “Knots Landing,” “Webster,” “Cagney & Lacey,” “MacGyver,” “ALF,” “Dynasty,” “Wiseguy,” “Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman,” “Chicago Hope,” “Dharma & Greg,” “Beverly Hills 90210,” “The West Wing,” “Ally McBeal,” “Malcolm in the Middle,” “The Practice,” “Nip/Tuck,” “JAG,” “Numb3rs,” “Monk,” “Chuck” “NCIS,” “Law & Order: LA,” “New Girl,” and “Franklin & Bash.”
He has also done voice work for numerous animated series, appeared in many commercials, and done stage work with East West Players in Los Angeles.