LOS ANGELES, March 24 (APP/AFP): Ken Howard, president of the
prominent Hollywood actors’ union SAG-AFTRA, died Wednesday at age 71, the organization said.
Howard died at his home near Los Angeles, the union said, without
specifying the cause of death.
An Emmy and Tony award-winning actor, Howard played an instrumental
role in the merger that formed the union.
As director of the Screen Actors Guild, a position which he held
since 2009, he orchestrated the body’s merger with the American
Federation of Television and Radio Artists in 2012 to form SAG-AFTRA, which now represents some 160,000 performers.
“Ken was an inspirational leader and it is an incredible loss for
SAG-AFTRA, for his family and for everyone who knew him,” said SAG-AFTRA acting president Gabrielle Carteris, who starred in the 1990s television series “Beverly Hills, 90210.”
“He led us through tumultuous times and set our union on a steady
course of excellence,” she said.