Former senator Fred Thompson, had TV and film roles, dead at 73

NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- Former U.S. senator Fred Thompson, a folksy Tennessee lawyer whose career led him from politics to Hollywood and back again, died Sunday. He was 73.

At 6-foot-6 with a booming voice, Thompson appeared in at least 20 motion pictures and in the TV series "Law & Order." His film credits include "In the Line of Fire," "The Hunt for Red October," "Die Hard II" and "Cape Fear."

By the early '90s, Thompson said he had become bored with his 10-year stint in Hollywood and wanted to enter public service. He headed back to Nashville and launched his Senate campaign.

A man of varied roles on and off the screen, he was a lawyer by training and once served as a committee counsel during the Senate Watergate hearings.

The family statement said Thompson died in Nashville after 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 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 then. "Serving in the Senate has been a tremendous honor, but I feel that I have other priorities that I need to attend to."

After his Senate service, Thompson returned to show business and -- billed as Fred Dalton Thompson -- joined the cast of the veteran NBC drama series "Law & Order." In the supporting role of District Attorney Arthur Branch, Thompson was seen weekly alongside stars including Sam Waterston and Alana de la Garza, as well as occasionally on spinoffs "Law & Order: Special Victims Unit" and "Law & Order: Criminal Intent."

Yet again he returned to politics in 2007 by announcing he would seek the Republican presidential nomination. But he dropped out in January 2008 after faring poorly in early caucuses and primaries.