Here’s a look at the life of actor and former U.S. Senator Fred Thompson.
Personal:
Birth date: August 19, 1942
Death date: November 1, 2015
Birth place: Sheffield, Alabama
Birth name: Freddie Dalton Thompson
Father: Fletcher Thompson, a car salesman
Mother: Ruth (Bradley) Thompson
Marriages: Jeri Kehn Thompson (2002-2015, his death); Sarah (Lindsey) Thompson (1959-1985, divorced)
Children: with Jeri Kehn Thompson: Samuel, 2006; Hayden, 2003; with Sarah (Lindsey) Thompson: Daniel, 1965; Elizabeth, 1963-2002; Fred, Jr., 1960
Education: Memphis State University, B.S., 1964; Vanderbilt University, J.D., 1967
Other Facts:
Dated country music singer Lorrie Morgan.
While campaigning for his Senate seat, he drove around the state in a red pickup truck.
Timeline:
1969-1972 – Assistant United States Attorney.
1973-1974 – Serves as minority counsel to the Senate Watergate Committee in its investigation of the Watergate scandal.
1975 – Thompson’s book “At That Point in Time: The Inside Story of the Senate Watergate Committee” is released.
1978 – Is hired by Marie Ragghianti to represent her after she is fired as chairman of the Tennessee Parole Board by Governor Ray Blanton. Ragghianti wins her case and is reinstated. Two of Blanton’s aides are later convicted of taking money in exchange for granting paroles.
1980 – Special counsel to Tennessee Governor Lamar Alexander.
1980-1981 – Special counsel to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
1982 – Special counsel to the Senate Intelligence Committee.
1985 – Makes his acting debut playing himself in “Marie: A True Story,” a film about his former client Marie Ragghianti.
1985-1987 – Member of the Tennessee Appellate Court Nominating Commission.
1990 – Appears in the films “The Hunt for Red October” and “Die Hard 2.”
1993 – Appears in the film “In the Line of Fire.”
1994 – Wins a special election to fill Al Gore’s vacant U.S. Senate seat.
1996 – Is re-elected to the U.S. Senate for a full term.
March 2002 – Announces he will not run for re-election.
2002-2007 – Plays District Attorney Arthur Branch on NBC’s “Law & Order.” Makes appearances on “Law & Order: Special Victims Unit,” “Law & Order: Trial by Jury” and “Law & Order: Criminal Intent.”
April 11, 2007 – Announces that he was diagnosed with non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma in 2004, but is in remission and has no symptoms.
September 5, 2007 – Announces on “The Tonight Show” with Jay Leno that he is running in the 2008 presidential election.
January 22, 2008 – Drops out of the presidential race.
August 28, 2008 – Announces he has formed a PAC to raise money for conservative Republican candidates.
2010 – Thompson’s memoir “Teaching the Pig to Dance: A Memoir of Growing Up and Second Chances” is released.
November 1, 2015 – Thompson dies in Nashville after a recurrence of lymphoma, his family says in a statement.