Fred Thompson, 73, died of cancer on Sunday. He was a Republican US senator who hailed from Tennessee, ran for president and tried to balance entertainment and politics with a healthy acting career, reported Reuters. Thompson reportedly succumbed to cancer.
The actor-politician was best known to prime-time TV audiences in the hit show "Law & Order" on NBC, where he played a no-nonsense New York district attorney Arthur Branch, from 2002 to 2007. He appeared in many films, playing supporting roles, such as in "No Way Out," "Days of Thunder," "In the Line of Fire," "The Hunt for Red October" and "Die Hard 2."
He suffered recurrence of lymphoma, according to the Tennessee Republican Party Executive Director Brent Leatherwood. He was in hospice care in Nashville when he died, Leatherwood said.
Standing 6 feet and 5 inches, the towering Thompson who had a booming voice was elected senator in 1994, served two terms and retired in 2003. He announced his bid for the Republican presidential nomination on September 2007 but withdrew in January for lack of support. The Sheffield, Alabama-born senator finished law from Vanderbilt University, was a federal prosecutor and worked for Tennessee Republican Senator Howard Baker.
He helped lead the resignation of President Richard Nixon, as a lawyer. He represented Tennessee in the US Senate from 1994 to 2003, as a politician and he was in some of the most famous films of his time, as an actor.
He bought a house in Nashville to go back to Tennessee and in 2004, he was first diagnosed with cancer, reported The Tennessean.
According to his family, growing in Tennessee molded Thompson and the way he dealt with life. "Fred stood on principle and common sense, and had a deep love for and connection with the people across Tennessee whom he had the privilege to serve in the United States Senate. He enjoyed a hearty laugh, a strong handshake, a good cigar, and a healthy dose of humility. Fred was the same man on the floor of the Senate, the movie studio, or the town square of Lawrenceburg, his home."
