Actor Fred Ward, of ‘Tremors,’ ‘The Right Stuff’ fame, dies
He was not on the list.
Fred Ward, a veteran actor who brought a gruff tenderness to tough-guy roles in such films as “The Right Stuff,” “The Player” and “Tremors,” has died. He was 79.
Ward died Sunday, his publicist Ron Hofmann said Friday. No cause or place of death was disclosed per the family’s wishes.
Ward earned a Golden Globe and shared the Venice Film Festival ensemble prize for his performance in Robert Altman’s “Short Cuts,” and played the title character in “Remo Williams: The Adventure Begins.” He also reached new heights playing Mercury 7 astronaut Virgil “Gus” Grissom in 1983′s Academy Award-nominated film “The Right Stuff.”
“Devastated to learn about the passing of my friend, Fred Ward,” tweeted actor Matthew Modine, who co-starred with Ward in “Short Cuts” and Alan Rudolph’s “Equinox.” “A tough façade covering emotions as deep as the Pacific Ocean. Godspeed amigo.”
A former boxer, lumberjack in Alaska and short-order cook who served in the U.S. Air Force, Ward was a San Diego native who was part Cherokee. One early big role was alongside Clint Eastwood in 1979’s “Escape From Alcatraz.”
“I mourn the loss of Fred Ward, who was so kind to me when we worked together on ‘Remo Williams,’” actor Kate Mulgrew tweeted. “Decent and modest and utterly professional, he disarmed with a smile that was at once warm and mischievous.”
Ward’s other roles included a rumpled cop chasing a psychotic criminal played by Alec Baldwin in George Armitage’s “Miami Blues.” He was a formidable and intimidating father to both Freddie Prinze Jr.’s character in “Summer Catch” and David Spade’s title character in “Joe Dirt.”
Ward played President Ronald Reagan in the 2009 Cold War espionage thriller “Farewell” and had a supporting role in the 2013 action flick “2 Guns,” starring Denzel Washington and Mark Wahlberg.
In the horror-comedy “Tremors,” Ward paired with Kevin Bacon to play a pair of repairmen who end up saving a hardscrabble Nevada desert community beset by giant underground snakes.
With the sexually charged, NC-17 “Henry & June,” Ward showed more than just grit. Based on the book by Anais Nin and directed by Philip Kaufman, Ward played novelist Henry Miller, opposite Nin and his wife, June. “My rear end seemed to have something to do with (that rating),” he told The Washington Post.
He also reteamed with Altman for the part of a studio security chief in the director’s 1992 Hollywood satire “The Player,” and played a union activist and Meryl Streep’s workmate in Mike Nichols’ “Silkwood” in 1983.
Ward demonstrated his comedy chops playing a terrorist intent on blowing up the Academy Awards in “Naked Gun 33 1/3: The Final Insult” in 1994.
On the small screen, he had recurring roles on NBC’s “ER” playing the father of Maura Tierney’s Abby Lockhart in 2006-2007 and guest starred on such series as “Grey’s Anatomy,” “Leverage” and “United States of Tara.” Ward most recently appeared in the second season of HBO’s “True Detective” as the retired cop father of Colin Farrell’s Detective Ray Velcoro.
Ward is survived by his wife of 27 years, Marie-France Ward and his son, Django Ward.
Actor (89 credits)
2018 Tremors (TV Movie)
Earl Bassett (rumored)
2015 True Detective (TV Series)
Eddie Velcoro
- Omega Station (2015) ... Eddie Velcoro
- Maybe Tomorrow (2015) ... Eddie Velcoro
2013 2 Guns
Admiral Tuwey
2012 Leverage (TV Series)
Steve Reynolds
- The D.B. Cooper Job (2012) ... Steve Reynolds
2011 30 Minutes or Less
The Major
2009-2010 United States of Tara (TV Series)
Frank
- From This Day Forward (2010) ... Frank
- Transition (2009) ... Frank
2010 In Plain Sight (TV Series)
Frank Jergens / Frank Jerome
- No Clemency for Old Men (2010) ... Frank Jergens / Frank Jerome
2009 Armored
Duncan Ashcroft
2009 The Wild Stallion
Frank
2009 Farewell
Reagan
2008 Management
Jerry
2008 Exit Speed
Sergeant Archie Sparks
2007 Feast of Love
Bat
2006-2007 ER (TV Series)
Eddie Wyczenski / Eddie
- A House Divided (2007) ... Eddie
- Tell Me No Secrets... (2006) ... Eddie Wyczenski
- Reason to Believe (2006) ... Eddie Wyczenski
2006 Grey's Anatomy (TV Series)
Denny Duquette, Sr.
- What I Am (2006) ... Denny Duquette, Sr.
2004 Funky Monkey
Don Decker
2004 The Last Ride (TV Movie)
Darryl Kurtz
2004 10.5 (TV Mini Series)
Roy Nolan, FEMA Director
- Episode #1.2 (2004) ... Roy Nolan, FEMA Director
- Episode #1.1 (2004) ... Roy Nolan, FEMA Director
2003 Coast to Coast (TV Movie)
Hal Kressler
2003 Masked and Anonymous
Drunk
2002 Georgetown (TV Movie)
2002 Sweet Home Alabama
Earl Smooter
2002 Birdseye
Nolan Sharpless
2002/I Enough
Jupiter
2002 Abandon
Lieutenant Bill Stayton
2001 Dice (TV Mini Series)
Gacy / Noah Aldis
- Episode #1.6 (2001) ... Gacy / Noah Aldis
- Episode #1.5 (2001) ... Gacy / Noah Aldis
- Episode #1.4 (2001) ... Gacy / Noah Aldis
- Episode #1.3 (2001) ... Gacy / Noah Aldis
- Episode #1.2 (2001) ... Gacy / Noah Aldis
Show all 6 episodes
2001 Corky Romano
Leo Corrigan
2001 Summer Catch
Sean Dunne
2001 Wild Iris (TV Movie)
Errol Podubney
2001 Full Disclosure (Video)
John McWhirter
2001 Joe Dirt
Joe's Dad
2000 Filter: The Best Things (Music Video)
Cop
2000 Jackie Bouvier Kennedy Onassis (TV Movie)
John Vernon 'Black Jack' Bouvier III
2000 Red Team
Retired FBI agent
2000 Road Trip
Earl Edwards
2000 Circus
Elmo
2000 Ropewalk
Charlie's dad
2000 The Chaos Factor
Max Camden
2000 The Crow: Salvation
The Captain
1999 The Vivero Letter
Andrew Fallon
1998 Invasion Earth (TV Mini Series)
Maj. Gen. David Reece
- The Shatterer of Worlds (1998) ... Maj. Gen. David Reece
- The Battle More Costly (1998) ... Maj. Gen. David Reece
- The Fall of Man (1998) ... Maj. Gen. David Reece
- Only the Dead (1998) ... Maj. Gen. David Reece
- The Fourth Dimension (1998) ... Maj. Gen. David Reece
Show all 6 episodes
1998 Dangerous Beauty
Domenico Venier
1997 Best Men
Sheriff Phillips
1997 Gun (TV Series)
John Farragut
- Father John (1997) ... John Farragut
1997 ...First Do No Harm (TV Movie)
Dave Reimuller
1996 Chain Reaction
FBI Agent Leon Ford
1996 Tremors II: Aftershocks (Video)
Earl Bassett
1995 The Blue Villa
Frank
1994 Naked Gun 33 1/3: The Final Insult
Rocco
1993 Short Cuts
Stuart Kane
1993 Two Small Bodies
Lt. Brann
1992 Four Eyes and Six-Guns (TV Movie)
Wyatt Earp
1992 Bob Roberts
Chip Daley
1992 Equinox
Mr. Paris
1992 The Player
Walter Stuckel
1992 Thunderheart
Jack Milton
1991 The Dark Wind
Lieutenant Joe Leaphorn
1991 Cast a Deadly Spell (TV Movie)
Det. Harry Philip Lovecraft
1985-1991 American Playhouse (TV Series)
Mr. Crouch / Royal Earle Thompson
- Triple Play II (1991) ... Mr. Crouch
- Noon Wine (1985) ... Royal Earle Thompson
1990 Henry & June
Henry Miller / husband
1990 Miami Blues
Sgt. Hoke Moseley
1990 Catchfire
Pauling
1990 Tremors
Earl Bass
1988 The Prince of Pennsylvania
Gary Marshetta
1988 Big Business
Roone Dimmick
1988 The Price of Life (Short)
Crouch
1988/I Off Limits
Dix
1987 The Hitchhiker (TV Series)
Luthor Redmond
- Dead Heat (1987) ... Luthor Redmond
1986 Florida Straits (TV Movie)
Lucky Boone
1985 Remo Williams: The Adventure Begins
Remo Williams
1985 Secret Admirer
Lou Fimple
1984 UFOria
Sheldon Bart
1984 Swing Shift
Biscuits Toohey
1983 Uncommon Valor
Wilkes
1983 Silkwood
Morgan
1983 The Right Stuff
Gus Grissom
1982 Timerider: The Adventure of Lyle Swann
Lyle Swann
1981 Southern Comfort
Reece
1980 Carny
Jack
1980 Belle Starr (TV Movie)
Ned Christie
1979 Cardiac Arrest
Jamie
1979 The Incredible Hulk (TV Series)
Marvin / Lynch's Henchman
- Jake (1979) ... Marvin
- The Disciple (1979) ... Lynch's Henchman
1979 Escape from Alcatraz
John Anglin
1979 Tilt
Lenny
1978 Quincy M.E. (TV Series)
Hostage Taker
- Even Odds (1978) ... Hostage Taker (uncredited)
1975 Hearts of the West
Sam (uncredited)
1974 Ginger in the Morning
Truck Driver
1974 Cartesius (TV Movie)
1973 The Age of the Medici (TV Mini Series)
Niccolò de' Conti
- Il potere di Cosimo (1973) ... Niccolò de' Conti
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