NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Fred Thompson, a folksy former Republican U.S. senator from Tennessee who appeared in feature films and television including a role on "Law & Order," died Sunday, his family said.
He was 73.
He was 73.
Thompson, at 6-foot-6 with a booming voice, 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 1990s, Thompson said he had become bored with his 10-year stint in Hollywood and wanted to go into public service. That's when he headed back to Nashville and launched his Senate campaign. A man of many roles in life and on the screen, he was a lawyer by training and also once served as a chief minority counsel during the Senate Watergate hearings.
The family statement said Thompson died in Nashville following a recurrence of lymphoma.
"It is with a heavy heart and a deep sense of grief that we share the passing of our brother, father and grandfather who died peacefully in Nashville," it said. "Fred was the same man on the floor of the Senate, the movie studio, or the town square of ... his home."
Thompson, a lawyer, 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 at the time. "Serving in the Senate has been a tremendous honor, but I feel that I have other priorities that I need to attend to."
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