Fred Dalton Thompson, 1942-2015
The Tennesseean reports that the popular character actor who became a U.S. senator and Republican presidential hopeful has passed away.
Click here for reuse options!Mr. Thompson died after a recurrence of lymphoma, according to a statement issued by the Thompson family.
“It is with a heavy heart and a deep sense of grief that we share the passing of our brother, husband, father, and grandfather who died peacefully in Nashville surrounded by his family,” the statement reads. …
As an attorney, he helped lead to the resignation of President Richard Nixon. As a politician, he served the state of Tennessee for eight years as a conservative Republican in the U.S. Senate and briefly as a possible GOP presidential nominee. As an actor, he stared in some of the most prominent films and television series of his time. …
In 1977, Mr. Thompson found himself representing the whistleblower in one of Tennessee’s biggest political scandals. In her role as a parole administrator, Marie Rigghianti refused to release inmates granted pardons after paying then-Gov. Ray Blanton. Thompson successfully represented Rigghianti in a wrongful termination case, helping her win a settlement and return to her job in 1978.
That case eventually became the subject of a book and launched Mr. Thompson’s acting career. Mr. Thompson played himself in the 1985 version of the movie “Marie.” Critics praised his performance, and more roles soon followed.
Five years later, Mr. Thompson had roles in three of the biggest films of 1990: “Days of Thunder,” “The Hunt for Red October” and “Die Hard 2.” He also enjoyed a five-year run on NBC’s “Law and Order” as Arthur Branch from 2002-2007.
Though he took a break to run for Republican nomination for president in 2008, acting remained a constant in Mr. Thompson’s life.
He appeared in box-office hits as recently as 2012, with a role in the horror film “Sinister,” and had a recurring role on NBC’s short-lived 2015 series “Allegiance.”
Copyright 2015 Liberaland
By: dave-dr-gonzo
David Hirsch, a.k.a. Dave "Doctor" Gonzo*, is a renegade record producer, video producer, writer, reformed corporate shill, and still-registered lobbyist for non-one-percenter performing artists and musicians. He lives in a heavily fortified compound in one of Manhattan's less trendy neighborhoods.
* Hirsch is the third person to use the pseudonym, a not-so-veiled tribute to journalist and author Hunter S. Thompson, with the permission of his predecessors Gene Gaudette of American Politics Journal (currently webmaster and chief bottlewasher at Liberaland) and Stephen Meese at Smashmouth Politics.
45 responses to Fred Dalton Thompson, 1942-2015
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labman57 November 1st, 2015 at 18:33
A more worthy actor than politician.
robert November 1st, 2015 at 18:50
Never trusted him
im sure AIG will miss him the most
crc3 November 2nd, 2015 at 18:44
Strangely I just saw an AIG commercial a few minutes ago with his voice but he wasn’t in it. Surprised they had the commercial at all…
robert November 2nd, 2015 at 19:46
fred was a AIG wonker If this group had a clothing line ? fred would have had closets full of it
Gina Bousquet November 1st, 2015 at 19:01
Never knew him as a politician (sadly a Republican), loved the actor though.
whatthe46 November 1st, 2015 at 19:51
when i found out he was a cons repuke, i was sick.
Gina Bousquet November 2nd, 2015 at 14:19
Very Hard to swallow it , yes, mainly in the US. But as I was in Brazil watching him on TV, that’s the memory I keep. Sorry for the delay in answering whatthe, your comment went to the spam box!!!!!!
whatthe46 November 2nd, 2015 at 14:21
no problem. what’s a spam box?
Gina Bousquet November 2nd, 2015 at 14:23
LOL Bad English of mine probably. It entered my inbox as spam, went to the spam file and remained there, forgotten. Sorry.
whatthe46 November 2nd, 2015 at 17:43
that’s new to me. i never knew that there was one. lol
Gina Bousquet November 3rd, 2015 at 10:32
I have Yahoo mail. I thought all mails had one… I have a problem… all Disqus comments are coming in as spam. Sorry for the delay this time too.
whatthe46 November 3rd, 2015 at 11:31
laughing. oh, i’m on the net. i didn’t know that you were going through your mail instead of disqus.
Gina Bousquet November 3rd, 2015 at 13:14
Disqus sends the comments to my mail box. I’m not always online, but my cell gives an alert when there’s new mail.
whatthe46 November 3rd, 2015 at 13:37
if you go to your spam box and open it and click “its safe” it still won’t send all disqus automaticallly to your inbox?
Gina Bousquet November 3rd, 2015 at 14:18
I’ve tried that, let’s see if it works. Hadn’t happened before yesterday.
whatthe46 November 3rd, 2015 at 17:07
sorry sweetie. that’s got to be a big pain.
Gina Bousquet November 3rd, 2015 at 17:24
Seems to have worked!!! :) Comments normally coming through my inbox.
whatthe46 November 3rd, 2015 at 20:13
YES!!!! you did it.
Gina Bousquet November 3rd, 2015 at 20:17
LOL I’m not good with computers…
whatthe46 November 3rd, 2015 at 20:26
join the club. we can all use a little help here and there. thing is, you’ve done it.
Gina Bousquet November 3rd, 2015 at 20:29
That’s right, I did it! :)
whatthe46 November 3rd, 2015 at 20:31
lol. you’re too funny.
Gina Bousquet November 3rd, 2015 at 20:36
:) Thank you, I guess… :) You’re sweet whatthe.
whatthe46 November 3rd, 2015 at 20:52
funny is wonderful!
Gina Bousquet November 3rd, 2015 at 21:41
Then I’m happy! :) Good night dear, it’s almost 1 AM. See you tomorrow!
whatthe46 November 3rd, 2015 at 21:47
have a good one ok. see ya sweetie.
whatthe46 November 3rd, 2015 at 11:32
p.s. don’t worry about the delay.
Gina Bousquet November 3rd, 2015 at 13:13
Ok dear! :)
Larry Schmitt November 1st, 2015 at 19:26
At the end he did what a lot of actors do when they can’t get other work. He did reverse mortgage commercials.
CandideThirtythree November 2nd, 2015 at 08:01
That was disgusting thing to do, screwing old people over, can’t get much worse than that but then again republicans will do anything for a buck.
crc3 November 1st, 2015 at 19:29
Liked him on Law and Order but not as another Repulsive do nothing…
Larry Schmitt November 1st, 2015 at 19:30
The character he played was a conservative republican too. Hardly had to act at all.
dave-dr-gonzo November 1st, 2015 at 20:39
Keep in mind that Thompson was a former U.S. prosecutor playing a better, no-holds-barred Rudolph Giuliani-style prosecutor than Rudolph Giuliani himself. Thompson was a commanding presence on the large and small screen.
MyDogsAreSmarterThanYou November 1st, 2015 at 19:31
If you can’t say anything nice, don’t say anything at all. The man’s dead, people.
Condolences to his family.
crc3 November 1st, 2015 at 19:58
Get over it. Nothing was said that was disrespectful or untruthful. We all die and he’s off this rock away from all of the world’s human suffering (including his own)…
majii November 1st, 2015 at 20:19
The truth about a person remains exactly that, whether s/he is alive or dead. Fred Thompson was a SOB, and that’s a fact.
StoneyCurtisll November 1st, 2015 at 19:57
Wow..
Our politics didn’t mesh,,,
But I wish him the best in the afterlife/neater world..
StoneyCurtisll November 1st, 2015 at 20:08
Fred Thompson at Watergate hearings..
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1CWaUM3kxfA
KABoink_after_wingnut_hacker November 1st, 2015 at 20:57
Given his long standing republican status, he should have stood up to the complete idiocy that now permeates his political party, buy unfortunately he didn’t.
Regrettably he fell in line with rightwing lunacy when Palin, Santorum and Huckabee were on the stage….sad.
May he rest in peace.
tracey marie November 1st, 2015 at 21:27
rest in peace and condolences to your family.
William November 1st, 2015 at 22:10
RIP Fred.
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Hirightnow November 2nd, 2015 at 07:37
He described the Republicans in 2016 perfectly.
rg9rts November 1st, 2015 at 22:31
RIP Fred loved your acting…politics ehhh
Dave Lanson November 3rd, 2015 at 05:13
I disagreed with his political views but I appreciated his acting and the authority and respectability he brought to roles. R.I.P. Sen. Thompson.
maggie November 4th, 2015 at 14:50
great obit gonzo…;)