Veteran Hollywood star, Fred Ward, has passed away at 79 years old. He starred in the first two Tremors movie, as well as episodes in Grey’s Anatomy and Leverage. He is also known for his roles in The Right Stuff, The Player, Short Cuts, and …First Do No Harm . H is death was confirmed by his publicist, Ron Hoffman.
He leaves behind a wife, and a son.
Fred Ward brought joy to millions of people around the world for years.
The Hollywood star acted in tons of movies and tv shows, including a comic book adaptation of 2 Guns with Denzel Washington and Mark Wahlberg.
“The unique thing about Fred Ward is that you never knew where he was going to pop up, so unpredictable were his career choices,” Hofmann told NPR.
“He could play such diverse characters as Remo Williams, a cop trained by Chiun, Master of Sinanju (Joel Grey) to become an unstoppable assassin in ‘Remo Williams: The Adventure Begins’.”
“Or Earl Bass, who, alongside Kevin Bacon, battle giant, worm-like monsters hungry for human flesh in ‘cult’ horror/comedy film, Tremors (1990),”
“Or a detective in the indie film Two Small Bodies (1993) directed by underground filmmaker Beth B.,”
“Or a terrorist planning to blow up the Academy Awards in The Naked Gun 33 1/3: The Final Insult (1994), or the father of the lead character in Jennifer Lopez’s revenge thriller Enough (2002).”
Fans all over are mourning the loss of the great actor.
“Impossible to watch Tremors and not instantly fall in love with both Val & Earl. Fred Ward was such a pivotal aspect to the success of those first two movies, and I always held out hope that he’d be back to battle Graboids one more time. It’s just not fully Tremors without him.” said John Squires .
“Another all time great leaves us.” tweeted another user online.
“RIP Fred Ward. Tremors, The Right Stuff, Short Cuts, Miami Blues… His gruff, down-to-earth tough-guy persona, so many great films, I always adored seeing him in anything.”
You and me both.
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“R.I.P. Fred Ward, one of our finest character actors and shoulda-been-superstars.”
“THE RIGHT STUFF, TREMORS, SOUTHERN COMFORT, and his Altman collaborations are all gold, but if you’ve never seen MIAMI BLUES, you are missing out on a wonderful time.” tweeted another.
Fred Ward may not have had the stardom that others have, but he acted just good as the best of them.
“Ward has played many heroes, each with a subtlety that removed them from the cardboard cutout figures that they could have been,” The Chicago Tribune ‘s Julia Cameron wrote in 1985.
“In many ways, his work, like that of Robert Duvall, can be viewed as a meditation on America’s notions of masculinity.”
I couldn’t have said it better myself. The movie and television world will be a much sadder place without his contribution.
Ward leaves behind his wife, Marie-France, to who he was married for 27 years.
He also leaves behind his son Django. Our thoughts are with Mr. Ward’s family, friends, and fans. He will surely be missed for his good nature and talent.