Former AMPTP president Counter dies

LOS ANGELES, Nov. 6 (UPI) -- Nick Counter, retired president of the U.S. Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers, has died, his family confirmed Friday. He was 69.

The Los Angeles Times said Counter was taken to West Hills Hospital this week after collapsing in his Los Angeles home. The cause of his death was not reported.

Counter was AMPTP president for 27 years from its formation in 1982 until his retirement this past March.

"Nick will be greatly missed as a husband, father and grandfather, and as a wonderful friend and colleague to so many both inside and outside the Hollywood community," the family said in a statement. "He will be remembered for his passion and integrity at the bargaining table and he considered his work with the industry health and pension plans to be his greatest achievement. Nick approached life with a lively mix of tenacity and courage, straightforwardness and good humor."

Current AMPTP President Carol Lombardini lamented Counter's death.

"We will all remember Nick for his passionate leadership, which was always guided by a resolute sense of fair play and an earnest desire that everyone come out a winner," she said. "Nick had a particular proficiency for developing consensus among diverse points of view and he used this skill to great advantage in negotiating hundreds of collective bargaining agreements that led to a sustained era of labor peace. Those of us who worked directly with him have lost a valued colleague and a dear personal friend."