Fred Ward 1942-2022

Fred Ward, Actor in ‘Remo Williams,’ ‘Henry & June’ and ‘Tremors,’ Dies at 79

He also portrayed astronaut Gus Grissom in 'The Right Stuff' and was impressive in 'Silkwood,' 'Uncommon Valor' and 'Miami Blues.'

Fred Ward, the erstwhile lumberjack known for playing no-nonsense men of action in such films as Remo Williams: The Adventure Begins, Tremors and The Right Stuff, has died. He was 79.

Ward died Sunday, his publicist Ron Hofmann announced. No cause or place of death was disclosed, per the family’s wishes.

The San Diego native brought an authentic strength and gruff manner to his work. Part Cherokee, he tapped into his heritage as a union activist and Meryl Streep’s workmate in Mike Nichols’ Silkwood (1983) and for his turns in Errol Morris’ The Dark Wind (1991) and Michael Apted’s Thunderheart (1992).

Ward also portrayed a motorcycle racer in Timerider: The Adventures of Lyle Swann (1982), a former Vietnam War tunnel rat in Ted Kotcheff’s Uncommon Valor (1983) and a rumpled cop who battles a psychotic criminal (Alec Baldwin) and loses his dentures in George Armitage’s Miami Blues (1990).