Ken Howard, the president of the SAG-AFTRA and an actor known for starring in the 1970s CBS show "The White Shadow" and the satirical television sitcom "30 Rock," died on Wednesday at his home near Los Angeles. He was 71.
Howard, who was elected president of the Screen Actors Guild in 2009 and then again in 2011, featured in a number of films, including "Rambo IV," "1776," "Michael Clayton," "J. Edgar," and more recently in "Joy" and "The Wedding Ringer."
Born in El Centro, Calif., Howard and his family shifted to Manhasset, N.Y., where he played basketball and attended Amherst College. The six-foot-six actor was also part of an acapella group and enrolled as a student at the Yale School of Drama, but left before he could graduate in order to make his Broadway debut in the 1968 play "Promises, Promises."
Howard is survived by his wife Linda Fetters Howard, a retired stuntwoman, and his three stepchildren.
