SAG-AFTRA Statement on the Death of Fred Thompson

SAG-AFTRA mourns the loss of Nashville Local member Fred Thompson. He died Nov. 1 at the age of 73 in Nashville after a recurrence of lymphoma.

A member of SAG and AFTRA since 1986 and 2006, respectively, Thompson was well-known for his five-year run on Law and Order as District Attorney Arthur Branch. He also appeared on Days of Thunder, The Hunt for Red October and Die Hard 2. Most recently, he was seen in the 2012 movie Sinister and the 2015 series Allegiance.

A former U.S. senator from Tennessee, Thompson was elected in 1994 to fill the unexpired term of Al Gore, and eventually served for eight years before a run for U.S. president in 2008. He also authored the book Teaching the Pig to Dance: A Memoir of Growing Up and Second Chances.

“Fred made an impact in so many of lives, both in politics and the arts,” said SAG-AFTRA President Ken Howard. "A politician on the screen and in real life, Fred had a drive that led him to succeed in whatever path he chose. While Fred is now gone, his legacy lives on.”

SAG-AFTRA Nashville Local President Michael Montgomery said, “Fred was not only brilliant and talented, he was also a nice and humble man who was never to busy to listen and offer a kind word. He was deeply involved in the acting community and more so in the community at large, which was evident by his service to this state and our country.”