Fred Thompson remembered as a natural actor, politician

NASVHVILLE, Tenn. — Fred Dalton Thompson, a giant in Tennessee politics whose career started in the courtroom and spanned to the big screen, was remembered by friends and family Friday for his booming voice, authenticity and wit, and commitment to conservatism.

More than 400 people, including multiple past U.S. Senate friends and Tennessee’s top Republican officeholders, packed Nashville's War Memorial Auditorium on Friday morning for the public funeral service of Thompson, who died on Sunday at 73 following complications after a recurrence of lymphoma.

They celebrated the folksy, down-to-earth demeanor of the 6-foot-5 Thompson, a Republican U.S. senator representing Tennessee from 1994 through 2003, whose personality they said was larger than life.

And they told stories of a man of many talents — an actor who never took an acting class and a politician who grew bored with the politics of Washington, D.C — who was usually the envy of his peers.

Former U.S. senator Fred Thompson dies

“God certainly gave generously to Fred Dalton Thompson,” said U.S. Sen. Lamar Alexander, R-Tenn., whose friendship with Thompson went back nearly 50 years. "That gift was so special, but all he had to do in life was play himself, and he did that to its fullest. Very few people could light up a room the way Fred Thompson could. And the truth is, that all of us in public life have always been a little bit jealous of Fred Thompson, because he had a special streak of magic in his personality none of the rest of us had.”

Alexander, who was elected to replace Thompson as U.S. Senator in 2002, said he and Thompson were known early on as “Howard Baker’s boys,” referring to the late former senator from Tennessee who was a mentor to both. Alexander said there’s a desk in the U.S. Senate chamber today with the carvings of all three of their names.

"We will miss his common sense, his conservative principles, his big laugh and his booming voice," Alexander said of Thompson.

The hour-and-a-half funeral service for Thompson featured a video montage of Thompson that included a clip from his role in the television drama Law and Order and snippets from his career in politics. There were musical performances of "Amazing Grace" and "Battle Hymn of the Republic" by country artist John Rich and "God Bless the USA" by Lee Greenwood.

Also taking the podium to talk about Thompson were Sen. John McCain, the Republican nominee for president in 2008; Marie Ragghianti, a whistleblower who exposed Tennessee Gov. Ray Blanton's "clemency for cash" scandal in the 1970s and was represented by Thompson, the attorney; and Thompson's younger brother Ken Thompson. Richard Land, a Southern Baptist pastor and president of the Southern Evangelical Seminary, delivered Thompson's eulogy.

"You could spend five minutes with the man and see he was a better campaigner than you were and better than just any other politician you know," McCain said. "He was as natural a politician as he was an actor. The two professions aren’t as different as actors and politicians like to think.”

Thompson served as a national co-chair of McCain’s 2000 presidential run and was later pitted against McCain in the 2008 Republican presidential primary ultimately won by McCain.

McCain, who choked up Friday as he talked about his friend and neighbor in the Senate chamber, said that Thompson always played himself — in politics, movies and life.

“Why would he be anyone else?” he said. “He was a towering 6-foot-5, bear of a man with a sly wit and a down-to-earth sensibility that punctured the pretensions of big shots and earned the loyalty of regular folks.

"He had that booming, cannon of a voice that could amuse, inspire and terrify you all at the same time," McCain said. "What an asset that was for a politician. There was so much authority in it. I don't think it always mattered exactly what Fred was saying, just the sound of him could get you to do what he wanted to do. When Fred got onto a tear it would seem like God himself was addressing you — if God came from Lawrenceburg, Tenn., and had a drawl."

In an especially touching tribute, Thompson’s younger brother, Ken Thompson, recalled their upbringing in Lawrenceburg, which he likened to “Mayberry," and laughed that he liked to get on his brother’s nerves as a kid. He said his brother was the same to everyone regardless of stature.

"People always say he was so himself, in every circumstance — with the most powerful people, and the most ordinary people,” he said. “That, to me, is powerful.”

Thompson also recalled some of his final conversations with his brother, saying Fred was “disgusted, angry and most upset” about the direction of the country in his final days. But despite his outlook on the state of the nation, Thompson said his brother was satisfied that he had lived a full life.

“I guess 73 is considered a pretty young age these days,” Ken Thompson remembered Fred saying. “But I lived enough for two lifetimes."

Thompson, who was born in Alabama and raised in Tennessee, attended Memphis State University and later Vanderbilt School of Law. He would go onto become an assistant U.S. attorney and legal counsel on the Senate Watergate Committee investigating President Richard Nixon.

He was elected to the U.S. Senate in 1994 to fill the seat held by then Vice President Al Gore. As an actor, Thompson starred on the longtime television series Law and Order as well as in movies such as The Hunt for Red October, Die Hard 2, and Days of Thunder.

Following the public service in Nashville, family and friends of Thompson headed to his native Lawrenceburg for a private burial service and ceremony.