Senator Fred Dalton Thompson
Biography
Fred Thompson was born in 1942 in Sheffield, Alabama grew up in Tennessee. After attending Memphis State University, and then Vanderbilt Law School, Thompson became an assistant U.S. attorney in Nashville. In 1973, Thompson was made chief Republican counsel to the Senate Watergate Committee. Back in Tennessee, incoming Governor Lamar Alexander appointed Thompson special counsel to investigate clemency selling by outgoing Governor Ray Blanton, who went to jail. In the process, Thompson defended parole board chairman Marie Ragghianti, whose plight was the subject of the movie Marie; offered the chance to play himself, Thompson accepted. He took a couple more special counsel assignments in Washington and acted in 18 movies. In 1994, Thompson was elected to the United States Senate to fill the unexpired portion of the term left vacant by the resignation of Al Gore. Thompson decided not to seek re-election in 2002. Since leaving office, he has been busy with television and radio work and has remained active within the Republican Party.
--2002 Almanac of American Politics