Fred Thompson, a man known as much for his legal and political career as for his acting, has died at the age of 73.
Thompson, who was born in Alabama but raised in Tennessee, didn’t harbour acting ambitions from a young age. Instead, he went to university – the first of his family to do so – and graduated from the University of Memphis with a double degree in philosophy and political science. Becoming an attorney in 1967, he worked as an assistant US attorney, prosecuting bank robberies and other major crimes. A staunch Republican in his political worldview, he also ran campaigns for candidates. In his time, he helped famous whistle blowers and was a key player in the investigation into Watergate.
In politics, he had some of his own success, winning a special election for senator in 1994 to serve the remainder of then Vice President Al Gore’s term and was re-elected in 1996. Thompson began a run for president in 2007 but withdrew early the following year.
But it was the case of Marie Ragghianti, who was fighting corruption in the Tennessee Governor’s office that would truly alter the course of Thompson’s life. When the case became a book called Marie in 1983, director Roger Donaldson pursued the film rights and, during a research trip to talk to people involved, he met Thompson and asked if he wanted to play himself. The eventual film, 1985’s Marie, marked his screen debut. Donaldson cast him again in No Way Out and Thompson quickly began to notch up a film career playing authoritative types. He appeared in movies such as Die Hard 2, Days Of Thunder, Cape Fear, Class Action and, more recently, 2012’s Sinister. Possibly his most memorable role came on television, where he spent five years playing District Attorney Arthur Branch on Law & Order.
“Very few people can light up the room the way Fred Thompson did,” Tennessee Senator Lamar Alexander said today in a statement carried by Deadline. “He used his magic as a lawyer, actor, Watergate counsel, and United States senator to become one of our country’s most principled and effective public servants. He was my friend for nearly fifty years. I will miss him greatly.” He’s survived by his son, daughter-in-law and two grandchildren.