Fred Dalton Thompson, the Tennessee lawyer, U.S. Senator, and actor, died Sunday at age 73 following a recurrence of lymphoma.
"Fred once said that the experiences he had growing up in small-town Tennessee formed the prism through which he viewed the world and shaped the way he dealt with life," Thompson's family said in a statement,
CBS News reported.
"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."
Born in Alabama to a car salesman, Thompson was raised 70 miles north of Nashville, and worked his way through the University of Memphis and Vanderbilt University.
After earning his law degree, Thompson volunteered to work the re-election campaign of former Republican Sen. Howard Baker, the man who would soon appoint him to be chief minority counsel on the committee investigating the Watergate scandal.
In the 1985, Thompson played himself in the Sissy Spacek movie "Marie," and soon took up acting. He appeared in at least 20 movies during his lifetime, including "The Hunt for Red October," ''Die Hard II," "Cape Fear," and "In the Line of Fire."
In 1994, Thompson ran for then-Vice President Al Gore's vacated Senate seat, and swept his opponent in the election. He ran for re-election in 1996, and easily won a second term.
He left the Senate in 2002, and took up a full-time role on the television series "Law & Order."
Thompson later ran for the Presidency in 2008, but failed to attract significant support in the primaries.
Thompson is survived by his second wife, Jeri Kehn, a Republican consultant, and their two children.
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