Actor Fred Ward

2022 - 5 - 13

Post cover — Image courtesy of "Los Angeles Times"

Fred Ward, actor in 'The Right Stuff,' 'Tremors,' dies at 79 (Los Angeles Times)

Fred Ward, whose appeared in more than 80 movies and TV shows including 'Henry & June,' 'Tremors' and 'Big Business,' died Sunday. He was 79.

“You carry the baggage of your childhood with you until you can step into a Zen space and objectify it,” Ward told The Times in 1990. Ward also executive-produced a film, “Miami Blues,” released in 1990. Roles in “The Player” and “Short Cuts” followed, with the latter film earning him a piece of a special-recognition Golden Globe award in 1994. “I mourn the loss of Fred Ward, who was so kind to me when we worked together on Remo Williams,” Mulgrew tweeted. “Fred Ward was seemingly incapable of being inauthentic. After battling flesh-eating subterranean monsters alongside Kevin Bacon in the cult-favorite flick “Tremors” (1990), he played erotic novelist Henry Miller in “Henry & June” that same year.

Fred Ward, Actor Who Starred in 'The Right Stuff' and 'Tremors,' Dies ... (The New York Times)

The versatile actor was known for bringing a grounded charisma to roles across a decades-long career.

He did not specify the cause of death. Mr. Ward also played the lead in “Remo Williams: The Adventure Begins,” which was intended to be the first in a series but fared poorly in theaters in 1985 and drew mixed reviews. Fred Ward, the versatile actor who played an astronaut in “The Right Stuff,” a grizzled drifter in “Tremors” and the titular writer in “Henry and June” across a decades-long career, died on Sunday. He was 79.

Actor Fred Ward dies. He had the right stuff in movies from 'Tremors' to 'The Player' (knkx.org)

Actor Fred Ward has died, according to his publicist, Ron Hofmann. The star, who brought gentlemanly gruffness to films that included The Right Stuff, Henry and June and The Player died Sunday, May 8 at the age of 79. No cause of death was given.

"The unique thing about Fred Ward is that you never knew where he was going to pop up, so unpredictable were his career choices," Hofmann wrote in an email. That led to a few appearances in TV productions by Italian neorealist pioneer Roberto Rossellini. Ward made his U.S. movie debut as a convict alongside Clint Eastwood in Escape from Alcatraz in 1979. A former boxer, lumberjack and short-order cook who served in the U.S. Air Force, Ward went to acting school and got his start when he moved to Rome as a young man and worked as a mime, then a voice-over actor.

Fred Ward, star of 'Tremors' and 'The Right Stuff,' dies at 79 (NBC News)

Veteran actor Fred Ward, who parlayed rugged everyman looks into a lengthy career playing everything from historic American heroes to a monster-fighting.

Ward's younger fans may know him best from the second season of "True Detective," the critically acclaimed HBO series. The versatile actor is perhaps equally well known for the 1990 science fiction comedy "Tremors," where he and Kevin Bacon played down-on-their luck repairmen who stumble upon a flesh-eating worm monster. He was also in the cast of Altman's "Short Cuts," which was honored with a special award at the 1994 Golden Globes for the work of its ensemble cast.

Actor Fred Ward, of 'Tremors,' 'The Right Stuff' fame, dies (wflx)

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.

With the sexually charged, NC-17 “Henry & June,” Ward showed more than just grit. “I mourn the loss of Fred Ward, who was so kind to me when we worked together on ‘Remo Williams,’” actor Kate Mulgrew tweeted. 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. “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.” NEW YORK (AP) — 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.

Fred Ward, 'The Right Stuff' and 'Tremors' actor, dead at 79 (New York Post)

Fred Ward, the veteran character actor best known for his diverse roles in "Tremors," "The Right Stuff," "Remo Williams," "The Punisher" and Robert Altman's ...

After working in television throughout the ’80s and ’90s, he landed a role alongside Kevin Bacon in “Tremors” and starred in its sequel, “Tremors II: Aftershocks.” He also starred in fan favorites such as “Exit Speed,” “Joe Dirt” and “Sweet Home Alabama.” After his “Alcatraz” success, he went on to star in “Southern Comfort” (1981), “Timerider: The Adventures of Lyle Swann” (1982) and “Uncommon Valor” (1983). Fred Ward, the veteran character actor best known for his diverse roles in “Tremors,” “The Right Stuff” and Robert Altman’s “Short Cuts,” has died.

Fred Ward, character actor with 'The Right Stuff,' dies at 79 (The Washington Post)

He appeared in nearly 90 film and television roles, including as a bumbling repairman in "Tremors" and a movie-studio security chief in "The Player."

“My rear end seemed to have something to do with it,” Mr. Ward told The Washington Post in 1990. His father was in and out of jail, behind bars the day Mr. Ward was born, and his parents separated when he was 3 years old. It reflects my view of the world.” But “Remo Williams” bombed at the box office, grossing only $14 million and effectively tanking Mr. Ward’s chance at transitioning into a bankable leading man. He went on to draw wide acclaim for his portrayal of Grissom, one of America’s first astronauts, in “The Right Stuff” (1983), based on Tom Wolfe’s epic chronicle of the early U.S. space program. Mr. Ward later played a National Guard member antagonizing a group of Cajuns in “Southern Comfort” (1981), a dirt-bike racer who stumbles into a time-travel experiment in “Timerider: The Adventure of Lyle Swann” (1982), a Native American tribal leader in “Thunderheart” (1992) and a gangster plotting to blow up the Academy Awards in “Naked Gun 33⅓: The Final Insult” (1994). That same year, he was featured alongside Kevin Bacon in the zippy horror comedy “Tremors,” using a lasso to fool a man-eating worm into swallowing a makeshift pipe bomb. In the statement, his publicist said Mr. Ward “spent the last years of his life developing his second favorite art form: painting.” “You carry the baggage of your childhood with you until you can step into a Zen space and objectify it,” Mr. Ward told the Los Angeles Times. “There are certain elements of need — the need for acceptance — from my childhood that gave me the drive that an actor has to have.” Mr. Ward was raised in Texas and Louisiana by his mother, who worked at bars before she remarried. He also showed off his comedic chops in two Robert Altman films, as a movie-studio security chief in “The Player” (1992) and an out-of-work salesman who finds a corpse during a fishing trip in “Short Cuts” (1993). Mr. Ward remained an in-demand actor, reuniting with Kaufman to star in the erotic biographical drama “Henry & June” (1990), which explored the love triangle between the roguish “Tropic of Cancer” author Miller; his second wife, June (Uma Thurman); and writer Anaïs Nin (Maria de Medeiros). It became the first movie to receive an NC-17 rating.

Fred Ward, The Right Stuff and Tremors Actor, Dead at 79 (Vulture)

Fred Ward has died at 79. The actor was known for various film and TV roles, including in The Right Stuff, Tremors, The Player, Miami Blues, True Detective, ...

His publicist confirmed the news to Variety. No cause of death was given. But it wasn’t until Ward returned to the United States that he got his first major role, a part in Clint Eastwood’s 1979 movie Escape from Alcatraz. From there, Ward’s filmography continued to blossom. According to CBS News, Ward dedicated time to painting during the final years of his life.

Actor Fred Ward

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