Actor Collapses on Picket Line, Dies

Wednesday, August 30th 2000, 12:00 am

By: News On 6

LOS ANGELES (AP) â€” A 38-year-old commercial actor died over the weekend after collapsing during a demonstration supporting the four-month strike by actors against the advertising industry.

William Ray Embry collapsed on Saturday while standing in a picket line outside a nonunion shoot for Sony Playstation, Screen Actors Guild officials said Monday.

Embry was conscious when rescue crews arrived but died that evening, according to SAG. ``I'm terribly saddened by something like this happening during a strike action,'' SAG President William Daniels said.

Nearly 100 actors participated in the Saturday protest which included such high-profile performers as Michael J. Fox and ``Golden Girls'' actress Estelle Getty.

About 135,000 members of SAG and American Federation of Television and Radio Artists went on strike May 1 over pay for radio and television commercials. The actors are seeking ``pay-per-play'' residuals for both network and cable TV ads, while advertisers want to pay flat fees for both.