Freddie Dalton "Fred" Thompson (born August 19, 1942) is an American politician, actor, attorney, lobbyist, columnist, and radio host. Thompson, a Republican, served in the United States Senate representing Tennessee from 1994 to 2003.Thompson served as chairman of the International Security Advisory Board at the United States Department of State, was a member of the U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission, a member of the Council on Foreign Relations, and is a Visiting Fellow with the American Enterprise Institute, specializing in national security and intelligence.As an actor, Thompson has appeared in a large number of movies and television shows. He has frequently portrayed governmental figures. In the final months of his U.S. Senate term in 2002, Thompson joined the cast of the long-running NBC television series Law & Order, playing Manhattan District Attorney Arthur Branch.
Samuel Thompson, Victoria Thompson, Elizabeth Thompson Panici, Freddie Dalton "Tony" Thompson, Jr, Samuel Thompson Hayden, Hayden Victoria Thompson, Daniel Lindsey Thompson, Freddie Dalton "Tony" Thompson, Jr., Ruth Elizabeth "Betsy" Thompson
Parents
Fletcher Session, Ruth Bradley
Siblings
Ken Dale Thompson
Nominations
Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series
Movies
The Hunt for Red October, Die Hard 2, Days of Thunder, Sinister, In the Line of Fire, Cape Fear, No Way Out, The Persecuted, God's Not Dead 2, Fat Man Little Boy, Curly Sue, The Last Ride, Barbarians at the Gate, Baby's Day Out, Thunderheart, Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee, 90 Minutes in Heaven, Nece...
TV Shows
Law & Order, Law & Order: Trial by Jury
Star Sign
Leo
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Trademark
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Often plays figures of authority.
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Towering height
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Quote
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[from a speech given before the Commonwealth Club of California] After two years in Washington, I often long for the realism and sincerity of Hollywood.
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Fact
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Said to be considering a presidential bid for 2008. [March 2007]
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Has filed papers to form an exploratory committee, and will announce whether or not he will run on July 4, 2007. [June 2007]
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Has announced that he will not be seeking re-election for his seat in the U.S. Senate. [2002]
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Withdraws from Presidential race. "Today I have withdrawn my candidacy for President of the United States. I hope that my country and my party have benefited from our having made this effort. Jeri and I will always be grateful for the encouragement and friendship of so many wonderful people." January 22, 2008 [January 2008]
After failing to win a single primary, Thompson ended his presidential campaign in January 2008 and later endorsed Senator John McCain.
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Declared that he was a candidate for President of the United States on Law & Order: C.O.D. (2004), 5 September 2007.
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For 17 years (1975 to 1992) Thompson worked as a lobbyist in Washington, D.C. representing such clients as Westinghouse, General Electric (which owns NBC Universal-NBC television network), and the Tennessee Savings and Loan League.
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Diagnosed with non-Hodgkins Lymphoma two 1/2 years ago but the cancer is now in remission [April 11, 2007].
Is one of four cast members from Law & Order (1990) whose character became a regular on a "Law & Order" spin-off. He played District Attorney Arthur Branch in both Law & Order (1990) and Law & Order: Trial by Jury (2005).
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Is the only actor to be a regular on two different "Law & Order" series at the same time. From March to May 2005, he played District Attorney Arthur Branch on both Law & Order (1990) and Law & Order: Trial by Jury (2005). He also plays the same character as a recurring guest star in Law & Order: Special Victims Unit (1999). Richard Anderson, Marla Gibbs and David Hasselhoff are among the few other actors to have played the same regular character on two different series simultaneously.
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Also has two sons and five grandchildren.
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Helped introduce President George W. Bush at the Republican National Convention (2004) in New York.
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When he joined the cast of Law & Order (1990) in the fall of 2002, Thompson (District Attorney Arthur Branch) became the first serving U.S. Senator to take a regular TV acting job. His term did not end until January 2003.
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He and wife Jeri welcomed a daughter, Hayden Victoria, in October 2003.
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Although he maintained his membership in the Screen Actors Guild when he was a senator, Thompson generally took the opposite side of the unions in legislation.
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2nd wife Jeri, 41, is a political media consultant at Verner Liipfert law firm in Washington, who once worked for Senate Republican Conference and Republican National Committee.
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Worked as a shoe salesman, truck driver, and even a factory worker prior to becoming a lawyer.
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Senator Thompson went to Memphis State University in 1964 and Vanderbilt University in 1967.
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Was a lawyer/attorney before becoming an actor.
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Won a special election to the United States Senate in 1994 to fill the unexpired term of senator Al Gore, who had been elected vice president of the U.S. (Gore resigned from the Senate 2 January 1993); reelected for a full term in 1996. He did not run for reelection in 2002. A Republican, he represented his home state of Tennessee from 2 December 1994 - 3 January 2003.
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Thompson can be seen in the archival footage of the Watergate hearings in Oliver Stone's Nixon (1995). He was one of the active lawyers on the Watergate committee during the hearings.