Fred Dalton Thompson (natural August 19, 1942) is an American lawyer, actor and former Republican senator from Tennessee. Additionally to acting, he is presently the camping fellow for the American Enterprise Institute, researching national security & intelligence (China, N Korea, & Russia).

Background
Natural within Sheffield, Alabama, Thompson grew up attending a public schools in Lawrenceburg, Tennessee. He attended Memphis State University where he earned an undergraduate degree around philosophy & political science inside 1964. He received the J.D. degree from Vanderbilt University in 1967. He was admitted to the Tennessee bar inside 1967 and commenced the practice of law, serving as an adjunct U.S. lawyer from either 1969-1972. He was a campaign manager for Senator Howard Baker's successful re-election campaign in 1972, which led to the close personalized friendly relationship sustaining Baker, & from either 1973-1974, he served as co-chief direction to the Senate Watergate Committee in its investigation of the Watergate scandal. He was responsible Baker's request one of a questions that is said to stand led directly to the downfall of President Richard Nixon – "What did the President know, and when did he know it?"

Within 1977, Thompson took on the Tennessee Parole Board out break that at long last toppled Tennessee Governor Ray Blanton from power on charges of selling pardons. the scandal became the subject of a book & a movie titled Marie (1985) in which Thompson played himself, purportedly because the producers were unable to buy a broker actor world health organization can play him credibly. This film launched his acting career. Thompsaround would last on to come out in many motion pictures, including The Hunt for Red October (1990), Cape Fear (1991) and In the Line of Fire (1993). Potentially to a higher degree virtually all actors, Thompson's roles come usually portrayals of characters world health organization may be similar to his realistic persona.

In November 8, 1994, Thompson was elected to the United States Senate to fill the unexpired part of the term ending January 3, 1997, left vacant by the resignation of Al Gore, defeating six-term Democratic U.S. Representative Jim Cooper in a landslide which represented the most votes anyone had ever received for a statewide office in Tennessee history up to that point. Thompsin took a oath of professional on December 2, 1994. Well-nigh immediately upon his arrival inside Washington, D.C. ("while I was still unpacking my boxes," as he put it) Thompson was selected by the Republicans to give a reply to a nationally-televised address by President Bill Clinton. This was to be sure due to his acting background, however several initiate saw this as an attempt to groom him for an possibly big political role. Thompson was well re-elected inside 1996 for the term ending January 3, 2003 over Democratic lawyer Houston Gordon of Ripley, Tennessee by an even big margin than that by which he experienced defeated Cooper deuce years earliest. When in the Senate, he was chair of the Committee on Governmental Affairs from 1997 to January 3, 2001 and January 20, 2001 to June 6, 2001, when the reorganization of the Senate prompted by the resignation of James Jeffords of Vermont from the Republican Party changed the control of the Senate. Thompson so became a higher-ranking minority member.

After the Senate
Thompson was non the candidate for re-election around 2002. He got never planned to produce the life career of the Senate, & experienced typically publicly declared as much. Although he proclaimed in the wake up of the September 11, 2001 attacks his intention to seek re-election, upon farther reflection, which seems to stand been prompted within heavy a share per sudden demise of his girl from either unrelated cases, he decided does'nt to pursue this course. In a final months of his term, he joined the cast of the long-going NBC television series Law & Order, playing the character of District Attorney Arthur Branch. Around doing soh, he became a number 1 serving U.S. Senator too to take a good-whale television acting job; even so, his 1st scenes when Branch were filmed in a period of the Senate's August 2002 recess, so he missed there is no legislative period sequentially to work in television. He is reportedly paid $100,000 by the episode of the indicate where he appears; inside case this is withwithin point of fact avowedly, he earns thomas more from either appearing in both shows than he did in an entire year as a Senator, & might earn about twice in a single television season what his earnings were for his entire Senate career. In the spring of 2005 Thompsin concurrently played a role on each a original series & short-passing sister series Law & Order: Trial by Jury. Thompsin has too manufactured occasional appearances on Law & Order: Special Victims Unit. He is one of super pack actors world health organizatiin played a equivalent regular character on ii different series at the same time.

Thompson did voiceover work on a 2004 Republican National Convention. Fallowing a retirement of Associate Justice Sandra Day O'Connor in 2005, he was given an informal position by President George W. Bush to help guide the nominated John Roberts to the confirmation through the United States Senate.

There hwhen been speculation that Thompson might run Governor of Tennessee around 2006, however as of eventually he has non announced his intentions either way. Todays Popular Governor Phil Bredsend is said to fear the Thompson process more so any other expected Republican, because Thompson is considered 'love' around his at home state.

Thompson stands Half a dozen'Sise" tall and married Jeri Kehn, a 35 year-old political media consultant at the Verner, Lipfert, Bernhard, and McPherson law firm in Washington, D.C., who once worked for the Senate Republican Conference and the Republican National Committee on June 29, 2002. In October, 2003, they had a daughter, Hayden Victoria Thompson. He also has two sons and five grandchildren from prior marriages/relationships.

Filmography
Last Best Chance (2005) Racing Stripes (2005, voice) Celsius 41.11 (2004) ''Baby's Day Out (1994) In the Line of Fire (1993) Born Yesterday (1993) White Sands (1992) (uncredited) Thunderheart (1992) Aces: Iron Eagle III (1992) Cape Fear (1991) Curly Sue (1991) Necessary Roughness (1991) Class Action (1991) Flight of the Intruder (1991) (uncredited) Die Hard 2: Die Harder (1990) Days of Thunder (1990) The Hunt for Red October (1990) Fat Man and Little Boy (1989) Feds (1988) No Way Out (1987) Marie'' (1985)