Thousands picket outside Fox

CENTURY CITY, Calif., Nov. 9 (UPI) -- An estimated 4,000 people protested outside Fox Studios in Los Angeles Friday, shutting down Avenue of the Stars on day five of the Hollywood writers strike.

A posting on the Writers Guild of America Web site said the rally was the largest in the guild's 74-year history. Speakers at the event included WGA West President Patric Verrone, chief negotiator David Young and negotiating committee chair John Bowman.

Also showing their support were Screen Actors Guild President Alan Rosenberg, television icon Norman Lear and the Rev. Jesse Jackson.

"Every gain this guild has ever made -- pension and health, residuals, jurisdiction -- has been the result of people like you sacrificing their immediate interest for the greater good of the community. And we are a community. We help each other, and support each other, and that's what we're doing here today," Bowman is quoted on the WGA Web site as saying.

Seth MacFarlane, creator and show-runner of Fox's animated "Family Guy" series, said most writers aren't wealthy.

"They're middle class," McFarlane said. "They live in homes that look to me like the home I grew up in, and my parents were teachers."