His first starring role was as the titular character in the 1982 film Timerider: The Adventure of Lyle Swann, a sci-fi Western written by the Monkees’ Michael Nesmith ironically, both Ward and Nesmith were born on the same day, Dec. “The unique thing about Fred Ward is that you never knew where he was going to pop up, so unpredictable were his career choices,” Hoffman said in a statement.Īfter studying acting in Rome and dubbing Italian films into English, Ward made his first major on-screen appearance with a role in the Clint Eastwood-starring Escape From Alcatraz in 1979. Ward’s rep, Ron Hoffman, confirmed the actor’s May 8 death in a statement, though no cause of death was provided.Īn Air Force veteran and amateur boxer before becoming an actor - his tough guy look and gruff exterior was attained thanks to a few broken noses in the ring - Ward was equally adept when featuring in dramas, comedies and action films: His credits also include Remo Williams: The Adventure Begins, Naked Gun 33 1/3: The Final Insult, Joe Dirt and Road Trip. This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.Fred Ward, the versatile character actor who starred in films like Tremors, The Right Stuff and Henry & June during a career that spanned five decades, has died at the age of 79. Ward is survived by his wife of 27 years, Marie-France Ward, and his son, Django Ward. A tough facade covering emotions as deep as a the Pacific Ocean. "I had the absolute pleasure of working with this wonderful man in Robert Altman’s Shortcuts and Alan Rudolph’s Equinox. "Devastated to learn about the passing of my friend, Fred Ward," tweeted actor Matthew Modine.
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Ward's résumé also included a number of TV appearances on shows including "True Detective," "Grey's Anatomy" and "ER." In his later years, with more than 80 film and TV credits under his belt, Ward explored painting, a hobby his publicist called the actor's "second favorite art form." "It can be funny and then sink into this ugly place," he added. And this random, abrupt violence," Ward told The Times when the "Miami Blues" was released. The movie, which starred Ward alongside a young Alec Baldwin, finally got made after director-screenwriter George Armitage wrote the script on spec and Jonathan Demme came onboard as supervising producer and guardian angel. He had bought the rights to the source material, Charles Willeford's book of the same name, a few years earlier. Ward also executive-produced a film, "Miami Blues," released in 1990. Not long after that, Ward had a small but memorable role in the 1988 comedy "Big Business," playing Roone, the hunky country-bumpkin love interest of Lily Tomlin's characters. When "Remo Williams: The Adventure Begins" came out in 1985, Times film critic Jack Mathews called Ward "the most interesting action star to emerge from the movies this year." The actor had signed on for three "Remo Williams" movies but made only the one. That film, which won four Oscars off of its eight nominations, gave Ward's career a big boost. And Ward would go on to star alongside Shepard in 1983's "The Right Stuff," where he played astronaut Gus Grissom in the adaptation of Tom Wolfe's bestseller.
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Ward's first major film role was in the 1979 movie "Escape From Alcatraz," starring Clint Eastwood.
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