Fred Ward(1942-2022)
- Actor
- Producer
- Executive
A marvelous character actor with intense eyes, a sly grin and somewhat grizzled appearance, Golden Globe-winner Fred Ward had nearly 90 appearances under his belt in many tremendous films and television programs. He first became interested in acting after serving three years in the US Air Force and studied at New York's Herbert Berghof Studio. Ward then went to Europe, where he dubbed many Italian movies, and first appeared on-screen in two films by Roberto Rossellini. He then returned to the United States, and got his first decent role alongside Clint Eastwood in the nail-biting prison film L'évadé d'Alcatraz (1979). Ward's looks often saw him cast as law enforcement or military characters, and he put in noteworthy performances in Sans retour (1981), Retour vers l'enfer (1983), as astronaut Gus Grissom in L'étoffe des héros (1983) and scored the lead in the interesting spy/martial arts movie Remo sans arme et dangereux (1985), which unfortunately was not as successful as had been the mega-selling series of Remo Williams books.
However, during "Remo", Ward demonstrated a great knack for comedic timing and satirical performance, and this ability was used to great effect in several films, including playing Kevin Bacon's fellow giant-worm-fighting handyman in the light-hearted sci-fi hit Tremors (1990), as "Walter Stuckel" in Robert Altman's The Player (1992), as TV anchorman "Chip Daley" in Tim Robbins' razor-sharp political satire Bob Roberts (1992) and as a vicious, but incompetent, gangster menacing Leslie Nielsen in Y a-t-il un flic pour sauver Hollywood ? (1994).
Ward's abilities as both a supporting player and truly versatile character actor ensured that he would be in steady demand, and he continued to turn up in a wide variety of roles utilizing his skills. Keep an eye out for Fred Ward in the action-filled Secret défense (2000), as David Spade's dad in Joe La Crasse (2001), in the tongue-in-cheek Corky Romano (2001) and in the Reese Witherspoon romantic tale Fashion victime (2002). His last three films were more action-oriented, Blindés (2009), [link=tt1622547, and 2 Guns (2013), and he subsequently mostly retired from acting until his death in 2022.
However, during "Remo", Ward demonstrated a great knack for comedic timing and satirical performance, and this ability was used to great effect in several films, including playing Kevin Bacon's fellow giant-worm-fighting handyman in the light-hearted sci-fi hit Tremors (1990), as "Walter Stuckel" in Robert Altman's The Player (1992), as TV anchorman "Chip Daley" in Tim Robbins' razor-sharp political satire Bob Roberts (1992) and as a vicious, but incompetent, gangster menacing Leslie Nielsen in Y a-t-il un flic pour sauver Hollywood ? (1994).
Ward's abilities as both a supporting player and truly versatile character actor ensured that he would be in steady demand, and he continued to turn up in a wide variety of roles utilizing his skills. Keep an eye out for Fred Ward in the action-filled Secret défense (2000), as David Spade's dad in Joe La Crasse (2001), in the tongue-in-cheek Corky Romano (2001) and in the Reese Witherspoon romantic tale Fashion victime (2002). His last three films were more action-oriented, Blindés (2009), [link=tt1622547, and 2 Guns (2013), and he subsequently mostly retired from acting until his death in 2022.
