Former Sen. Fred Thompson, actor and politician, is dead at 73

Former Sen. Fred Thompson is dead at 73
(Image credit: J. Emilio Flores/Getty Images)

Fred Thompson, whose career wove back and forth between law and acting and politics, died on Sunday. He was 73, and his family said the cause was a recurrence of lymphoma, a cancer of the immune system Thompson fought into remission in 2004. "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," his family said in a statement.

Thompson was perhaps best known for his performance on NBC's Law & Order, and his roles in at least 20 Hollywood movies — including The Hunt for Red October, In the Line of Fire, Cape Fear, and Days of Thunder. He also ran for the 2008 Republican presidential nomination, after serving in the U.S. Senate from 1994 to 2002. But he first made his mark on the national stage when, as a 30-year-old assistant U.S. Attorney in Nashville, he was tapped to serve as minority counsel on the Senate Watergate Committee. His tough questioning of President Richard Nixon's aide Alexander Butterfield led to the breakthrough revelation that Nixon used a recording device to tape conversations in the Oval Office.

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Peter Weber, The Week US

Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.