TOKYO (UPI) -- Noted Japanese screen and television actor Ken Ogata, whose new TV drama series was set to open this week, has died at age 71, sources told Kyodo.

The news service said the cause and the place where he died weren't immediately known.

Variety reported a private funeral took place Tuesday.

Ogata's famous films included the "Ballad of Narayama," "Vengeance is Mine," "The Demon," and "House on Fire," Kyodo reported.

The Tokyo native had attended a news conference Sept. 30 to announce his new TV drama series "Garden of Wind," scheduled to start airing Thursday, the report said. He plays a doctor in that show.