SAG DRAMA TURNING INTO WAR STORY.

Byline: Greg Hernandez Staff Writer

Bitter infighting between factions of the Screen Actors Guild has escalated into a war of accusations, sign-waving protests and even the exploitation of such Hollywood legends as Boris Karloff and James Cagney in an advertising campaign.

Top actors have thrown their prestige into opposing sides as the voting deadline nears for a controversial proposal that would relax decades-old conflict-of-interest rules and allow talent agents to invest in films and television productions.

SAG President Melissa Gilbert was unofficially censured by opponents for leaving taped messages in support of the deal on the answering machines of members.

And last week, a full-page ad in Daily Variety paid for by actor Rob Schneider of ``Saturday Night Live'' fame declared: ``Help Us Rest In Peace. Vote NO on the Agency Franchise Agreement.''

The ad used the images of Hollywood legends Karloff, Cagney, Eddie Cantor, Walter Pidgeon and Edward G. Robinson to urge actors to oppose the deal with the Association of Talent Agents. In an industry that is sensitive to unauthorized used of personal images, that itself raised questions.

``It's illegal,'' Sara Karloff, the late actor's daughter said Friday. ``I also think it's very distasteful for someone to speak for the dead.

``It is totally inappropriate that somebody used my father's name and likeness on one side of the issue. The union was very important to him, very dear to his heart. He would have made his decision based on what he felt was in the best interests of the members of the guild.''

Karloff said that her father, who held the ninth SAG card ever issued and was best known for the ``Frankenstein'' movies, was proud to be a founding member of the union, and if he were alive, he would have carefully weighed the pros and cons of the ATA deal before publicly taking sides.

Neither Schneider nor his publicist could be reached for comment.

Meanwhile, the battle raging within the union has intensified since a bitterly divided SAG national board gave only tepid approval to the proposal last month, voting 57 to 44 to send the matter to SAG members for approval. The voting period ends Friday.

Proponents of the proposed three-year ``franchise agreement'' predict chaos if the agents were to become deregulated as a result of SAG voting down the deal while opponents maintain that there are already enough state regulations to keep the agents in check.

Last week, SAG released the names of more than 60 high-profile actors who support the agreement, including Helen Hunt, Martin Sheen, Gregory Peck, Danny Glover, Kevin Spacey, Annette Benning and Dylan McDermott.

Married couple Jane Kaczmarek (``Malcolm in the Middle'') and Bradley Whitford (``The West Wing'') sent an e-mail to 34,000 SAG members last week supporting the proposal.

Stars who are against the deal include Schneider, Richard Dreyfuss, James Garner, Elliott Gould, Valerie Harper and Charlton Heston. SAG Treasurer Kent McCord (``Adam 12'') chaired the committee that drafted the opposition's statement that was mailed with the election materials to SAG's approximately 98,000 members.

Last week, opponents to the deal staged a protest in front of the SAG headquarters on Wilshire Boulevard in Los Angeles waving signs with slogans such as ``Resist Big Agent Greed'' and ``Jimmy Cagney is Rolling Over in his Grave.''

SAG's Hollywood Board, which is largely against the proposed agreement, voted to censure Gilbert because of a telemarketing campaign she conducted that drew complaints from some members who objected to being lobbied at their homes.

The 19-6 vote to censure by the board carries no official weight, but it was further indication of the increasingly bitter chasm between the two factions. Gilbert was no longer present at the meeting when the unsanctioned censure was proposed and voted on.

Gilbert later issued a statement saying she was ``charged, tried and convicted, in absentia, in a single evening.''

She claimed the Hollywood board had used improper motions to bring attention to their views: They had also voted 32-1 against the agreement with the ATA last month, a week after SAG's national board's narrow approval.

Opponents of the proposal have complained that they have not been given equal resources and opportunity to present their side to the guild's membership.

Seeking some measure of civility, Gilbert sent an e-mail to the membership last Wednesday which read in part: ``We are going to have to work effectively with one another well after this vote has concluded. Harsh words uttered in the heat of argument or thoughtless actions ... can damage our ability to do so.''

If the agreement gets final approval, it would go into effect July 1. The previous franchise agreement expired on Jan. 20.