Fred Dalton Thompson (born Freddie Dalton Thompson on August 19, 1942, in Sheffield, Alabama, to Ruth Inez (née Bradley) and Fletcher Session Thompson, a used-car salesman) was an American politician, attorney, lobbyist, actor, and radio host who served as a U.S. Senator from Tennessee from 1994 to 2003. Raised in Lawrenceburg, Tennessee, he attended local public schools including Lawrence County High School, earned a Bachelor of Arts in philosophy and political science from Memphis State University (now the University of Memphis) in 1964, and a Juris Doctor from Vanderbilt University Law School in 1967. Thompson began his legal career as an assistant U.S. attorney in Middle Tennessee and gained prominence as minority counsel to the Senate Watergate Committee in 1973 under Senator Howard Baker, playing a key role in investigating the Nixon administration's cover-up. A Republican with centrist views on some issues but conservative stances on guns, abortion, and climate change, he chaired the Senate Governmental Affairs Committee and served on committees including Judiciary, Foreign Relations, and Aging. He also worked as a lobbyist, columnist, and radio host. Thompson transitioned into acting in 1985, portraying himself in the film 'Marie' based on a Tennessee parole scandal case he handled, leading to roles in films like 'No Way Out' (1987), 'The Hunt for Red October' (1990), 'Die Hard 2' (1990), and 'Cape Fear' (1991), and gaining widespread recognition as District Attorney Arthur Branch on 'Law & Order' from 2002 to 2007. He ran for president in 2008. Thompson married Sarah Elizabeth Lindsey in 1959 (divorced 1985, three children) and Jeri Kehn in 2002 (two children). A member of the Churches of Christ, he died on November 1, 2015, in Nashville, Tennessee, from lymphoma at age 73.