NASHVILLE, Tenn. - Bouncing from politics to the big screen and back, Fred Thompson played many roles well and those who knew him say the folksy former U.S. senator from Tennessee leaves a big mark on American life and the arts.
Thompson died Sunday at 73.
A lawyer, prosecutor, hard-driving Senate counsel at the Watergate hearings, film and TV actor and even a fleeting presidential hopeful, Thompson commanded audiences with a booming voice and outsized charisma.
"Very few people can light up the room the way Fred Thompson did," said U.S. Sen. Lamar Alexander.
Thompson, who appeared in feature films and television, including a role on the NBC drama series "Law & Order," died in Nashville after a recurrence of lymphoma, his family says.
