Fred Dalton Thompson, 73, died Sunday November 1 in Nashville, his family said in a statement released to The Tennessean newspaper. The lawyer-turned-actor-turned-U.S. Senator suffered from a recurrence of lymphoma, or cancer of the lymph nodes.
“Fred believed that the greatness of our nation was defined by the hard work, faith, and honesty of its people,” the statement read in part. “He had an enduring belief in the exceptionalism of our country, and that America could provide the opportunity for any boy or girl, in any corner of our country, to succeed in life.”
Arguably, Thompson was a success in just about every area. He became the first in his family to attend university; earned a law degree from Vanderbilt University in 1967; was a Republican staff counsel on the 1974 Senate Watergate Committee; became a film and television actor; and, in 2007-2008, ran for President of the United States. It was only his presidential bid that fell short.
Thompson, a Republican, served eight years in the United States Senate, winning a 1994 special election to fill the vacancy created by the election of then-Sen. Al Gore Jr., a Democrat, as Vice President of the United States. Thompson went on to win a full term in 1996, but left in 2003 to return to acting before his brief presidential run.
Politically, Thompson was a staunch conservative who declared the 1973 Roe v. Wade Supreme Court decision legalizing abortion “bad law and bad medical science.” He said in 2007 he would support a constitutional amendment allowing states to define marriage.
He is remembered for his portrayal of a steely district attorney Arthur Branch on television’s Law & Order, appearing in 116 episodes of the main series as well as 26 episodes of various spinoffs.
In Christian circles, Thompson was noted for playing the father of televangelist John Luther in the 2014 movie, Persecuted. It was to be his last motion picture role, capping a career begun in 1985 when he portrayed himself in a film about parole board corruption in Tennessee.
Speaking to a reporter before a special pre-release screening for members of Congress, Thompson said Persecuted, a drama about a pastor who runs afoul of government leaders, should resonate on Capitol Hill.
“They’ll be impressed,” Thompson told the Deseret News. “Everyone ought to see it; this film raises important questions about our constitutional rights.”
Though raised in a Church of Christ family, Thompson was reticent to speak about his religious life. During his Senate years, he occasionally attended Vienna Presbyterian Church in the Virginia suburb of Washington, D.C. In 2007, he told Bloomberg News, “Me getting up and talking about what a wonderful person I am and that sort of thing, I’m not comfortable with that, and I don’t think it does me any good.”
