Freddie Dalton Thompson[4] (August 19, 1942 – November 1, 2015) was an American politician, attorney, lobbyist, columnist, actor, and radio personality.

[5] Usually credited as Fred Dalton Thompson, he appeared in a number of movies and television shows including Matlock, The Hunt for Red October, Die Hard 2, In the Line of Fire, Days of Thunder, and Cape Fear, as well as in commercials.

[6] In the final months of his U.S. Senate term in 2002, Thompson joined the cast of the NBC television series Law & Order, starring as Manhattan District Attorney Arthur Branch.

In the 1980s, Thompson worked as an attorney, with law offices in Nashville and Washington, DC,[24] handling personal injury claims and defending people accused of white collar crimes.

[31] "Even though I had no authority to act for the committee, I decided to call Fred Buzhardt at home," Thompson later wrote,[32] "I wanted to be sure that the White House was fully aware of what was to be disclosed so that it could take appropriate action."

Thompson's 1975 book At That Point in Time, in turn, accused Armstrong of having been too close to The Washington Post's Bob Woodward and of leaking committee information to him.

In response to renewed interest in this matter, in 2007 during his presidential campaign, Thompson said, "I'm glad all of this has finally caused someone to read my Watergate book, even though it's taken them over 30 years.

"[34] In 1977, Thompson represented Marie Ragghianti, a former Tennessee Parole Board chair, who had been fired for refusing to release felons after they had bribed aides to Democratic Governor Ray Blanton to obtain clemency.

[19] A large congressional majority and President Ronald Reagan supported the act, but it was said to be a factor that led to the savings and loan crisis.

[40][41] After Thompson was elected to the Senate, two of his sons followed him into the lobbying business, but generally avoided clients where a possible conflict of interest might appear.

The film rights were purchased by director Roger Donaldson, who, after traveling to Nashville to speak with the people involved with the original case, asked Thompson if he wanted to play himself.

In 1990, he was cast as Ed Trudeau, the head of Dulles Airport, in the action sequel Die Hard 2, as Rear Admiral Painter in The Hunt for Red October, and as Big John, the President of NASCAR, in the movie Days of Thunder (patterned on 'Big' Bill France).

Thompson went on to be cast in many films including as Tom Broadbent in Cape Fear (1991) and White House Chief of Staff Harry Sargent in In the Line of Fire (1993).

[47] On the same night Thompson was elected to fill Gore's unexpired term, political newcomer Bill Frist, a Nashville heart surgeon, defeated three-term incumbent Democrat Jim Sasser, the chairman of the Senate Budget Committee, for Tennessee's other Senate seat, which was up for a full six-year term.

The twin victories by Thompson and Frist gave Republicans control of both of Tennessee's Senate seats for the first time since Sasser ousted incumbent Bill Brock in 1976.

In 1996, Thompson was reelected (for the term ending January 3, 2003) with 61% of the vote, defeating Democratic attorney Houston Gordon of Covington, Tennessee, even as Bill Clinton and running mate Al Gore narrowly carried the state by less than three percentage points on their way to re-election.

Thompson says he was "largely stymied" during these investigations by witnesses declining to testify, claiming the right not to incriminate themselves or by simply leaving the country.

[53] Thompson's work included investigation of the "Umm Hajul controversy" which involved the death of Tennessean Lance Fielder during the Gulf War.

During his term, he supported campaign finance reform, opposed proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, and promoted government efficiency and accountability.

[61] Critics say that few of his proposals became law, and point to a 1998 quote: "I don't like spending 14- and 16-hour days voting on 'sense of the Senate' resolutions on irrelevant matters.

"[62] In the years after his divorce, Thompson was romantically linked to country singer Lorrie Morgan, Republican fundraiser Georgette Mosbacher, future Counselor to the President Kellyanne Conway, and columnist Margaret Carlson.

[64] When he was asked in an Associated Press survey of the candidates in December 2007, to name his favorite possession he replied, tongue-in-cheek, "trophy wife".

He was paid $760,000 between 2004 and 2006 to help prevent passage of legislation that Equitas said unfairly singled them out for unfavorable treatment regarding asbestos claims.

In 2002, during the final months of his Senate term, Thompson joined the cast of the NBC television series Law & Order, playing conservative District Attorney Arthur Branch, a role that he would ultimately portray for the next five years.

[7] Due to concerns about the equal-time rule, reruns featuring the Branch character were not shown on NBC while Thompson was a potential or actual presidential candidate, but TNT episodes were unaffected.

[76] From 2002 to 2005, Thompson was head of the Federal City Council, a group of business, civic, education, and other leaders interested in economic development in Washington, DC.

"[80] After the retirement of Supreme Court Associate Justice Sandra Day O'Connor in 2005, President George W. Bush appointed Thompson to an informal position to help guide the nomination of John Roberts through the United States Senate confirmation process.

Thompson signed a deal with Salem Communications's Townhall.com to write for the organization's magazine, Townhall, from April 23, 2007, until August 21, 2007,[92] and again from June 8, 2008, until November 17, 2008.

[96] A New York Times article cited Thompson's aides as saying on July 18 that he planned to enter the race just after Labor Day, followed by a national announcement tour.

[109] In 2009, he returned to acting with a guest appearance on the ABC television series Life on Mars,[110] and as William Jennings Bryan in the TV movie Alleged (2010), based on the Scopes Monkey Trial.