Ken Howard, star of ‘The White Shadow’ TV series and actors union president, dies at age 71. 1  Actor and SAG-AFTRA President Ken Howard died Wednesday at the age of 71. 2  Howard, here with the cast of the groundbreaking 1970s series, The White Shadow, is a Long Island native. (CBS Photo Archive/Getty Images) Howard also won a Tony Award in 1970 for best actor in a play for Child's Play and an Emmy for best supporting actor in 2009 in the HBO film Grey Gardens..