Fred Ward

For other people with the same name, see Frederick Ward (disambiguation).

Fred Ward
Playing rock paper scissors in Tremors (1990)
Born	Freddie Joe Ward (1942-12-30)December 30, 1942 San Diego, California, U.S.
Died	May 8, 2022(2022-05-08) (aged 79)
Occupation	Actor
Years active	1973–2015
Spouse(s)	Carla Evonne Stewart ​ ​ (m. 1965; div. 1966)​ Silvia Ward (divorced) Marie-France Ward ​ ​ (m. 1995)​
Children	1

Freddie Joe Ward (December 30, 1942 – May 8, 2022) was an American character actor. Starting with a role in an Italian television movie in 1973, he appeared in such diverse films as Escape from Alcatraz, Southern Comfort, The Right Stuff, Timerider: The Adventure of Lyle Swann, Remo Williams: The Adventure Begins, Tremors and Tremors 2: Aftershocks, Henry & June, The Player, Swing Shift, Short Cuts, and 30 Minutes or Less.

Early life

Freddie Joe Ward was born in San Diego on December 30, 1942.^[1][2] He was part Cherokee.^[3] His father was an alcoholic criminal who was repeatedly imprisoned and his mother left him when Fred was three.^[4] He was then raised by his grandmother until his mother had rebuilt her life and remarried a carnival worker.^[4] Before acting, Ward spent three years in the United States Air Force. He was also a boxer (breaking his nose three times) and worked as a lumberjack in Alaska,^[5][6] a janitor, and a short-order cook. He studied acting at New York's Herbert Berghof Studio after serving in the U.S. Air Force. While living in Rome, he dubbed Italian movies into English and appeared in films by neorealist director Roberto Rossellini.^[7]

Career

1970s

Ward became an actor after studying at Herbert Berghof Studio and in Rome. While in Italy, he worked as a mime. Upon returning stateside in the early 1970s, Ward spent time working in experimental theatre and doing some television work. He made his first American film appearance playing a cowboy in Hearts of the West (1975). His first major role came in the Clint Eastwood vehicle Escape from Alcatraz (1979) as fellow escapee John Anglin.

1980s

Ward played a violent National Guardsman in Walter Hill's Southern Comfort (1981). His first starring role in a motion picture was Timerider: The Adventure of Lyle Swann (1982). He then starred as astronaut Gus Grissom in The Right Stuff, in the action movie Uncommon Valor with Gene Hackman, and in the drama Silkwood (all 1983).

After co-starring roles in Swing Shift (1984) and Secret Admirer (1985), Ward played the title hero in the action movie Remo Williams: The Adventure Begins, which was directed by Guy Hamilton. The film was supposed to be the first of a series based on The Destroyer series of novels.^[8] Though the movie was well promoted and he appeared on several movie magazine covers, it only grossed $15 million.^[9]

Ward played in a few low-budget productions until he returned to major cinema in 1988 as a cop in Off Limits, as Roone Dimmick in Big Business, and the father of Keanu Reeves' character in The Prince of Pennsylvania.

1990s

In 1990, Ward starred as Earl Bassett in the monster movie Tremors, as the American erotic writer Henry Miller in Henry & June (with Uma Thurman), and as cop Hoke Moseley in his self-produced Miami Blues (with Alec Baldwin and Jennifer Jason Leigh). That year he also played an FBI agent in Dennis Hopper's film Catchfire.

After playing private detective H.P. Lovecraft in the 1991 HBO film Cast a Deadly Spell alongside Julianne Moore,^[10] Ward co-starred in the thriller Thunderheart, the Hollywood satire The Player, the mystery-drama Equinox and the TV western-comedy Four Eyes and Six Guns, for which he won a Cable ACE Award. He also did a cameo in Bob Roberts, starring Tim Robbins.

Ward's leading roles include Lt. Brann in the two-character-thriller Two Small Bodies, fisherman Stuart Kane in the Robert Altman film Short Cuts (for which the whole ensemble won a Golden Globe; both 1993), a dangerous criminal in the comedy Naked Gun 33+1⁄3: The Final Insult (1994), the sailor in the French-avant-garde-drama The Blue Villa (1995), his reprised role in Tremors II: Aftershocks and the special agent in Chain Reaction (both 1996). He also appeared as Sheriff Bud Phillips in Best Men, as Dave Reimüller in ...First Do No Harm with Meryl Streep (both 1997) and as Domenico Venier in Dangerous Beauty (1998).

2000s

Ward was seen in many motion pictures, TV shows and videos in 2000. He starred in the action-thriller The Chaos Factor and appeared in the gangster movie Circus, the teen movie Road Trip and the horror sequel The Crow: Salvation.

In 2001, Ward was nominated for a Video Premiere Award as the best male actor for the direct-to-video-production Full Disclosure. He also co-starred in Joe Dirt, Summer Catch, Wild Iris, the mini-TV-series Dice and the comedic Corky Romano.

In 2002, Ward appeared in Sweet Home Alabama, Enough and Abandon. He had the starring role in Birdseye and signed in for the TV pilot for the drama Georgetown with Helen Mirren, but the series was never made. After roles in The Last Ride, 10.5 and Coast to Coast (all 2004) he took a short break from acting and returned as a guest in the TV series Grey's Anatomy and ER (2006 and 2007). He was next in the ensemble drama Feast of Love, the thriller Exit Speed, Management with Jennifer Aniston, The Wild Stallion DVD and as the boss Ashcroft in Armored.

Ward guest starred as Ronald Reagan in the French political thriller L'affaire Farewell (2009). He appeared in 30 Minutes or Less, guest starred in the TV series United States of Tara, In Plain Sight and Leverage in 2012. In 2013, he had a guest role in 2 Guns starring Denzel Washington and Mark Wahlberg.

Personal life and death

Ward married Marie-France Boisselle in 1995. They resided in Los Angeles. He had one son, Django Ward, a singer and guitarist, from his previous marriage to Silvia Ward.

Ward and his wife Marie-France both filed for divorce in August 2013,^[11] but they reconciled later that year.^[12]

Ward died on May 8, 2022, at the age of 79.^[4][13]

Awards

• 1993: Special Volpi Cup – Short Cuts (recipient)
• 1993: Golden Globe Special Ensemble Cast Award – Short Cuts (recipient)
• 1994: CableACE Award – Four Eyes and Six Guns (nominated)
• 2001: Video Premiere Award – Full Disclosure (nominated)

Filmography

Year	Film	Role	Notes
1973	The Age of the Medici (L'età di Cosimo de Medici)	Niccolò de' Conti	Episode: "The Power of Cosimo" ("Il potere di Cosimo")
1974	Cartesius	Unknown	TV movie
	Ginger in the Morning	Truck Driver
1975	Hearts of the West	Sam	Uncredited[4]
1978	Quincy, M.E.	Hostage Taker	Episode: "Even Odds" (uncredited)
1979	Escape from Alcatraz	John Anglin	[4]
	The Incredible Hulk	Lynch's Henchman / Marvin	Episodes: "The Disciple" / "Jake"
	Tilt	Lenny
1980	Carny	Jack
	Cardiac Arrest	Jamie
	Belle Starr	Ned Christie	TV Movie
1981	Southern Comfort	Corporal Lonnie Reece
1982	Timerider: The Adventure of Lyle Swann	Lyle Swann	[4]
1983	Silkwood	Morgan	[4]
	Uncommon Valor	Wilkes
	The Right Stuff	Gus Grissom	[4]
1984	Swing Shift	Archibald 'Biscuits' Toue
1985	Remo Williams: The Adventure Begins	Officer Samuel Edward 'Sam' Makin / CURE Agent Remo Williams	[4]
	American Playhouse	Royal Earle Thompson / Mr. Crouch	Episodes: "Noon Wine" / "Triple Play II"
	Secret Admirer	Lou Fimple
	UFOria	Sheldon Bart
1986	Florida Straits	'Lucky' Boone	TV movie
1987	The Price of Life	Crouch	Short feature
	The Hitchhiker	Luther Redmond	Episode: "Dead Heat"
1988	Catchfire	Pauling
	The Prince of Pennsylvania	Gary Marshetta
	Big Business	Roone Dimmick
	Off Limits	Dix
1990	Henry & June	Henry Miller	Also soundtrack[4]
	Miami Blues	Sergeant Hoke Moseley	Also producer
	Tremors	Earl Bassett	[4]
1991	Cast a Deadly Spell	Detective Harry Philip Lovecraft	TV movie
	The Dark Wind	Joe Leaphorn
1992	Four Eyes and Six-Guns	Wyatt Earp	TV movie
	The Player	Walter Stuckel
	Equinox	Mr. Paris
	Thunderheart	Jack Milton
	Bob Roberts	Chip Daley
1993	Short Cuts	Stuart Kane
	Two Small Bodies	Lieutenant Brann	Festival event
1994	Naked Gun 33+1⁄3: The Final Insult	Rocco Dillon
1995	The Blue Villa (Un bruit qui rend fou)	Frank	Festival event
1996	Chain Reaction	FBI Agent Leon Ford
	Tremors 2: Aftershocks	Earl Bassett	Direct-to-video
1997	...First Do No Harm	Dave Reimuller	TV movie
	Best Men	Sheriff Phillips
	Gun	John Farragut	Episode: "Father John"
1998	The Vivero Letter	Andrew Fallon
	Invasion: Earth	Major General David Reece	TV miniseries
	Dangerous Beauty	Domenico Venier
1999	The Crimson Code	Randall Brooks
2000	The Crow: Salvation	Captain John L. Book
	Ropewalk	Charlie's Dad
	The Chaos Factor	Max Camden
	Circus	Elmo Somerset
	Road Trip	Earl Edwards
	Jackie Bouvier Kennedy Onassis	John 'Black Jack' Bouvier III	TV movie
2001	Summer Catch	Sean Dunne
	Corky Romano	Leo Corrigan
	Joe Dirt	Cody Nunamaker
	Full Disclosure	John McWhirter
	Wild Iris	Errol Podubney	TV movie
	Dice	Gacy / Noah Aldis	TV miniseries
2002	Enough	Jupiter
	Sweet Home Alabama	Earl Smooter
	Birdseye	Nolan Sharpless
	Abandon	Lieutenant Bill Stayton
2003	Masked and Anonymous	Drunk
	Coast to Coast	Hal Kressler	TV movie
2004	The Last Ride	Darryl Kurtz	TV movie
	10.5	Roy Nolan, FEMA Director	TV miniseries
	Funky Monkey	Don Decker
2006	ER	Eddie Wyczenski	3 episodes
	Grey's Anatomy	Denny Duquette Sr.	Episode: "What I Am"
2007	Feast of Love	'Bat'
2008	Management	Jerry
	Exit Speed	Sergeant Archie Sparks
2009	Armored	Duncan Ashcroft
	Farewell (L'affaire Farewell)	Ronald Reagan
	The Wild Stallion	Frank Mills
	United States of Tara	Frank	Episodes: "Transition" / "From This Day Forward"
2010	In Plain Sight	Frank Jergens / Frank Jerome	Episode: "No Clemency for Old Men"
2011	30 Minutes or Less	The Major
2012	Leverage	Steve Reynolds	Episode: "The D.B. Cooper Job"
2013	2 Guns	U.S. Navy Rear Admiral Tuwey
2015	True Detective	Eddie Velcoro	Episodes: "Maybe Tomorrow" / "Omega Station"

References

1. "Fred Ward, star of 'The Right Stuff,' 'Tremors,' dies at 79". Today.com. May 13, 2022. Retrieved May 13, 2022.
2. Kreps, Daniel (May 13, 2022). "Fred Ward, Versatile Character Actor in 'Tremors' and 'The Right Stuff,' Dead at 79". Rolling Stone. Retrieved May 13, 2022.
3. "Worcester Telegram & Gazette Archives". DEAD LINK
4. Berger, Joseph (May 13, 2022). "Fred Ward, Star of 'The Right Stuff' and 'Henry and June,' Dies at 79". The New York Times. Retrieved May 14, 2022.
5. Mitchell, Sean (April 15, 1990). "Exploring the Dark Side-as a Producer Actor Fred Ward's tenacity brings the comically sordid world of 'Miami Blues' to the screen".^{[dead link‍]}
6. Wuntch, Philip. "dallasnews.com – Archives".
7. "Fred Ward". TV Guide. Retrieved June 24, 2015.
8. Mathews, Jack (October 18, 1985). "Will The Adventure Go on For Remo Williams?". The Los Angeles Times. Retrieved December 4, 2010.
9. "Remo Williams Domestic Grosses". Box Office Mojo.
10. J. O'Connor, John (September 10, 1991). "Review/Television; A Detective and Sci-Fi In Los Angeles Magic". The New York Times.
11. "'Tremors' Star Fred Ward -- Second Marriage Shot to Hell". August 13, 2013.
12. ""2 Guns" Star Fred Ward NOT Getting Divorced – Never Mind...We Worked it Out". November 13, 2013. Retrieved June 24, 2015.
13. Ulaby, Neda (May 13, 2022). "Fred Ward, the star of Tremors, The Right Stuff, dead at 79". NPR. Retrieved May 13, 2022.

External links

• Fred Ward at IMDb
• Fred Ward Archived August 1, 2021, at the Wayback Machine (Aveleyman)