Friday, November 6th, 2009
Nick Counter, Hollywood studios' negotiator, dies
LOS ANGELES - Nick Counter, a longtime negotiator for Hollywood producers who led the studios through two gruelling writers' strikes last year and in 1988, has died. He was 69.
The Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers said Counter died at a Los Angeles hospital on Friday.
Counter served as the group's president for 27 years and negotiated more than 300 collective bargaining agreements with entertainment industry guilds and unions on behalf of movie studios, television networks and independent producers.
Current AMPTP president Carol Lombardini says Counter's ability to find consensus at the bargaining table led to a sustained era of labour peace.
His family says he was most proud of his work with the industry health and pension plans.
