Former Sen. Fred Thompson, TV and film actor, dead at 73

NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Fred Thompson, a folksy former Republican U.S. senator from Tennessee who appeared in feature films and television including an outsized role on “Law & Order,” died Sunday, his family said. He was 73.

At 6-foot-6 with a booming voice, Thompson appeared in at least 20 motion pictures. His credits include “In the Line of Fire,” “The Hunt for Red October,” “Die Hard II” and “Cape Fear.” By the early ’90s, Thompson said he had become bored with his 10-year stint in Hollywood and wanted to enter public service. That’s when he headed back to Nashville and launched his Senate campaign.

A man of varied roles on and off the screen, he was a lawyer by training and once served as a committee counsel during the Senate Watergate hearings.

The family statement said Thompson died in Nashville following a recurrence of lymphoma.

Thompson alternated between politics and acting much of his adult life. Once regarded as a rising star in the Senate, he retired from that seat when his term expired in January 2003. “I simply do not have the heart for another six-year term,” Thompson said in a statement then. “Serving in the Senate has been a tremendous honor, but I feel that I have other priorities that I need to attend to.”

After his Senate service, Thompson returned to show business and – billed as Fred Dalton Thompson – joined the cast of the veteran NBC drama series “Law & Order.” In the supporting role of District Attorney Arthur Branch, Thompson was seen weekly alongside stars including Sam Waterston and Alana de la Garza, as well as occasionally on spinoffs “Law & Order: Special Victims Unit” and “Law & Order: Criminal Intent.”

Yet again he returned to politics in 2007 by announcing he would seek the Republican presidential nomination. But he dropped out in January 2008 after faring poorly in early caucuses and primaries. “I hope that my country and my party have benefited from our having made this effort,” Thompson said afterward.

The son of a car salesman, Thompson was born in Sheffield, Ala., and grew up in Lawrenceburg, Tenn., where he was a star athlete. He was 17 when he married Sarah Lindsey. The couple, who divorced in 1985, lived in public housing for a year as newlyweds.

In June 2002, Thompson married Jeri Kehn, a political and media specialist.