Fred Thompson

He is reportedly paid $100,000 per episode of the show in which he appears; if this is in fact true, he earns more from appearing in two shows than he did in an entire year as a Senator, and will earn nearly twice in one season what his earnings were for his entire Senate career. Not only did the LAPD use Dragnet episodes as training films for a time, they also named a police academy auditorium after him. Senator also to take a full-time television acting job; however, his first scenes as Branch were filmed during the Senate's August, 2002 recess, so he missed no legislative time in order to act on television. Webb was given a funeral with full police honors (including the Chief of Police announcing that the badge number 714 that Webb used in Dragnet would be retired) although he had never actually served on the force. In doing so, he became the first serving U.S. He was interred in the Forest Lawn, Hollywood Hills Cemetery in Los Angeles. In the final months of his term, he joined the cast of the long-running NBC television series Law & Order, playing the character of District Attorney Arthur Branch (a role he still portrays as of 2005). He considered resurrecting Dragnet in 1983 with Kent McCord as his partner before he died of a heart attack in 1982 at the age of only 62.

Although he announced in the wake of the September 11, 2001 attacks his intention to seek re-election, upon further reflection, which seems to have been prompted in large part by the sudden death of his daughter from unrelated events, he decided not to pursue this course. This was the last major product of his Mark VII production company. He had never planned to make a lifetime career of the Senate, and had often publicly stated as much. Project UFO was another Jack Webb production and depicted Project Blue Book, a US Air Force investigation into Unidentified Flying Objects. Thompson was not a candidate for re-election in 2002. Joe Early. Thompson then became the ranking minority member. Webb cast his ex-wife, Julie London, and her second husband, Bobby Troup, as nurse Dixie McCall and Dr.

While in the Senate, he was chair of the Committee on Governmental Affairs from 1997 to January 3, 2001 and January 20, 2001 to June 6, 2001, when the reorganization of the Senate prompted by the resignation of James Jeffords of Vermont from the Republican Party changed the control of the Senate. These were short-lived, but another show, Emergency!, proved to be a major success, running from 1972 to 1977, and its ratings occasionally even topped its timeslot compettitor, All in the Family. This was no doubt due to his acting background, but many pundits saw this as an attempt to groom him for an even larger political role. Thompson was easily re-elected in 1996 for the term ending January 3, 2003 over Democratic attorney Houston Gordon of Ripley, Tennessee by an even larger margin than that by which he had defeated Cooper two years earlier. Webb produced The DA with Robert Conrad and O'Hara; US Treasury with David Janssen. ("while I was still unpacking my boxes," as he put it) Thompson was selected by the Republicans to give a reply to a nationally-televised address by President Bill Clinton. Cinader, he produced Adam-12 about a rookie and his older partner who patrolled the streets of Los Angeles as uniformed officers Pete Malloy (Martin Milner) and rookie Jim Reed (Kent McCord). The show ran until 1975. Almost immediately upon his arrival in Washington, D.C. Over a year later, in concert with Robert A.

Thompson took the oath of office on December 2, 1994. The show's pilot was to air earlier, but was shelved until 1969. Representative Jim Cooper in a landslide which represented the most votes anyone had ever received for a statewide office in Tennessee history up to that point. This costarred Harry Morgan as Officer Bill Gannon. On November 8, 1994, Thompson was elected to the United States Senate to fill the unexpired portion of the term ending January 3, 1997, left vacant by the resignation of Al Gore, defeating six-term Democratic U.S. In 1967 Webb produced and starred in a color version of Dragnet for TV. Even more than most actors, Thompson's roles are generally portrayals of characters who are very similar to his real life persona, much in the tradition of performers such as John Wayne. However, neither the radio series nor the movie resonated with the audiences of the time. Webb also tried his hand in several other movies that did not gain major status at the box office, such as The DI, about a US Marine Corps drill instructor.

Thompson would go on to appear in numerous motion pictures, including The Hunt for Red October (1990), Cape Fear (1991), and In the Line of Fire (1993). That radio series became the basis for a 1955 movie of the same name. This film launched his acting career. In 1951, Webb introduced a short-lived radio series, Pete Kelly's Blues, in an attempt to bring the music he loved to a broader audience. The scandal became the subject of a book and a movie titled Marie (1985) in which Thompson played himself, supposedly because the producers were unable to find a professional actor who could play him plausibly. They later divorced and Webb married three more times. In 1977, Thompson took on a Tennessee Parole Board case that ultimately toppled Tennessee Governor Ray Blanton from power on charges of selling pardons. They married in 1947 and raised two children.

He was responsible for Baker's asking one of the questions that is said to have led directly to the downfall of President Richard Nixon – "What did the President know, and when did he know it?". His life-long interest in the coronet and racially tolerant attitude allowed him to move easily in the jazz culture, where Webb met singer and actress Julie London. He was the campaign manager for Senator Howard Baker's successful re-election campaign in 1972, which led to a close personal friendship with Baker, and from 1973-1974, he served as co-chief counsel to the Senate Watergate Committee in its investigation of the Watergate scandal. Webb's personal life was better defined by his love of jazz than his interest in police work. attorney from 1969-1972. The television series continued until 1959. He was admitted to the Tennessee bar in 1967 and commenced the practice of law, serving as an assistant U.S. Only the names have been changed to protect the innocent." At the end of each show, the results of the trial of the suspect and severity of sentence were announced by George Fenneman.

degree from Vanderbilt University in 1967. Dragnet began with "The story you are about to see is true. He received a J.D. Later Ben Alexander would step in as the jovial, burly Frank Smith. He attended Memphis State University where he earned an undergraduate degree in philosophy and political science in 1964. The year 1953 saw Dragnet become an even more successful television show. Unfortunately Barton Yarborough died suddenly, and Barney Phillips (Ed Jacobs) and Herb Ellis (Frank Smith) supplanted his partner. Born in Sheffield, Alabama, Thompson grew up attending the public schools in Lawrenceburg, Tennessee. This and his management style alienated many actors.

Fred Dalton Thompson (born August 19, 1942) is an American lawyer, actor, and former Republican Senator from Tennessee. Webb announced the show in first person as the character Joe Friday and maintained almost fanatical attention to detail and realism. No Way Out (1987). Walter Schumann did the theme song for the show. Feds (1988). They played detective sergeants working various divisions. Fat Man and Little Boy (1989). Sponsored by Fatima cigarettes, Dragnet starred Webb as Joe Friday and Barton Yarborough as Ben Romero.

The Hunt for Red October (1990). After getting assistance from, and riding along with, Los Angeles Police personnel, Webb produced Dragnet which premiered in 1949 on the NBC network. Days of Thunder (1990). Webb had a role in the 1948 police action movie He Walked By Night. The film was made in docudrama style and first gave Webb the idea for Dragnet. Die Hard 2: Die Harder (1990). After serving as a crewmember of a B-26 Marauder in World War II he starred in a radio show about a private detective, Pat Novak for Hire. Flight of the Intruder (1991) (uncredited). Webb grew up poor in the Rampart section of Los Angeles.

Class Action (1991). John Randolph "Jack" Webb (April 2, 1920 - December 23, 1982) was an American actor, television producer, and writer who is most famous for his role as a detective in the television series Dragnet. Necessary Roughness (1991). Curly Sue (1991). Cape Fear (1991).

Aces: Iron Eagle III (1992). Thunderheart (1992). White Sands (1992) (uncredited). Born Yesterday (1993).

In the Line of Fire (1993). Baby's Day Out (1994).