Fred Thompson R.I.P.

Very sad news.

From AP:

Former U.S. Senator Fred Thompson, a folksy Tennessee lawyer whose career led him from politics to Hollywood and back again, died Sunday. He was 73.

At 6-foot-6 with a booming voice, Thompson appeared in at least 20 motion pictures and in the TV series "Law & Order." His film credits include "In the Line of Fire," ''The Hunt for Red October," ''Die Hard II" and "Cape Fear." By the early '90s, Thompson said he had become bored with his 10-year stint in Hollywood and wanted to enter public service. He then headed back to Nashville and launched his Senate campaign.

A man of varied roles on and off the screen, he was a lawyer by training and once served as a committee counsel during the Senate Watergate hearings.

The family statement said Thompson died in Nashville following a recurrence of lymphoma.

"It is with a heavy heart and a deep sense of grief that we share the passing of our brother, father and grandfather who died peacefully in Nashville," it said. "Fred was the same man on the floor of the Senate, the movie studio, or the town square of ... his home."

Rest in peace.