'This just breaks my heart': Jon Cryer leads tributes as Hollywood mourns death of White Shadow star and Screen Actors Guild president Ken Howard at 71

Passed on: Screen Actors Guild president Ken Howard has died at the age of 71

Award-winning actor Ken Howard has died at the age of 71. 

The performer became a household name as the coach of an inner-city basketball team in groundbreaking 70s show The White Shadow.

While he continued to appear in both film and television, his most prominent recent role was serving as president of actors' union SAG-AFTRA.

The body announced the leader's death on Wednesday, but no cause of death was given.

Executive Director David White said: 'Ken was a remarkable leader and his powerful vision for this union was a source of inspiration for all of us.

'He was an exceptional person and we are deeply saddened by his passing. He had a remarkable career and he never forgot what it was like to be a working performer.' 

Two And A Half Men star Jon Cryer, who posted a picture of his father Bill Daniels on stage with Howard on Twitter, led the tributes, saying: 'This just breaks my heart.... Truly great guy.'

George Clooney, who worked with Howard in the 2007 film Michael Clayton, told Deadline about a chance encounter he had with Howard back on the Fox studio lot in Century City back in 1983.

The starstruck future ER hunk told the towering star he was a massive fan of The White Shadow, and that, 'someday I hope to be lucky enough to work with you.'

And when the generous performer discovered the young man had an audition across town at Paramount which he was going to miss as he only had a pushbike he ended up driving him to the audition.

Indeed his final words to Clooney that day after wishing him good luck were, 'I hope we do get that chance to work together.'

The Ocean's Eleven star said: 'I didn’t get that audition, But I did get the chance to work with him years later. It was an honour. Today his obituary read that he was six foot six, but he was so much taller than that.'

Top turn: He won national fame for his turn as a inner-city basketball coach in The White Shadow

A moment foretold: Howard appeared in the George Clooney film Michael Clayton years after telling the then unknown actor he hoped he could work with him one day

The El Centro, California-born star's career spanned four decades in TV, theater and film.

He is survived by his wife of 25 years, stuntwoman Linda Fetters Howard, and three adult stepchildren from a previous marriage.

While he appeared in a veritable smorgasbord of high-profile roles, he is best known for his turn in CBS hit The White Shadow. 

Tribute: Two And A Half Men star Jon Cryer posted a picture of his father on stage with the popular star

In the programme, which aired from 1978 to 1981, he starred as a white coach to an urban high school basketball team.

The show drew on the personal history of the 6-feet, 6-inch tall actor, as he was a talented youth athlete who played basketball growing up on Long Island in New York and at Amherst College.

He played a white former NBA player who ends up coaching a high school basketball team after a knee injury forces him to retire from the Chicago Bulls.

A presidential performance: Howards' Thomas Jefferson chatting with Benjamin Franklin in 1776

The drama is still one of the longest-running network shows with a mainly African-American cast.

Describing how it was originally mooted as a comedy, Howard said: 'And we said, "Why do you think we are doing the show? That’s all the stuff that is out there, the demons, that these kids are dealing with.

'So the next thing you know, we are breaking all kinds of ground. I mean, we were dealing with (venereal disease) and teenage pregnancy and drugs and gambling… we figured, why not?' 

His acting career soon took off after he made his film debut opposite Liza Minnelli in 1970's Tell Me That You Love Me, and he went on to win roles in the likes of Rambo, In Her Shoes and Michael Clayton. 

Still rocking: He garnered plenty of laughs opposite the incomparable Alec Baldwin in 30 Rock

In addition he appeared alongside Hollywood sex symbol Sandra Bullock in the 1995 cyber action thriller The Net.

A well-regarded actor, he won an Emmy for his performance in HBO's Grey Gardens in 2009. 

A go-to character actor for television, he got plenty of laughs when he appeared as eccentric Kabletown boss Hank Hooper on NBC's 30 Rock.

Howard also earned plaudits when he played Thomas Jefferson on Broadway in 1776, a role he reprised in the 1972 film of the same name.

He won a Tony Award for Robert Marasco's Catholic boarding school drama Child's Play.

Sadly missed: His ex-wife Margo Howard, actress Melissa Gilbert and Breaking Bad star Aaron Paul also posted messages of remembrance

Breaking Bad star Aaron Paul tweeted: 'Ken, You had a giant smile on your face every time we spoke and I will never forget it. RIP my friend.' 

Little House On The Prairie actress and activist Melissa Gilbert said: 'Heartbroken to hear about the passing of my friend Ken Howard. He was a joy to work with as an actor and labor leader. A true force of nature.'  

His writer ex-wife Margo, his spouse from 1977 until 1991, said: 'My favorite ex-husband has died. He was a lovely guy. RIP Ken Howard. It was a terrific romance, to be sure.'

She added that her children were 'devoted to him' and that her son even took his name.

Another presidential performance: Howard delivering the president's message at the Screen Actors Guild Awards in January

Howard was also familiar to viewers of the Screen Actors Guild Awards, providing an update on the union's accomplishments during the televised awards ceremony.

He was elected president of the Screen Actors Guild in 2009 and was a catalyst for its 2012 merger with the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists union. Combined, the groups represent 160,000 actors, broadcasters and recording artists.

Explaining the rationale for the merger, he said: 'Although AFTRA was a good union, SAG was the dominant union, and Labor Law 101 is that you don’t have two unions representing the same workers because employers will exploit the divide - and they did.' 

Howard was the first president of SAG-AFTRA and was re-elected to the post last year.

Worthy winner: He got an Emmy for Outstanding Supporting Actor for his turn in Grey Gardens in 2009