Hollywood actor Fred Ward died on May 8 at the age of 79, his publicist revealed.
His cause of death is unknown and his publicist Ron Hofmann declined to reveal it to the New York Post.
“I am saddened to announce the passing of acclaimed actor Fred Ward, who passed away on Sunday, May 8, 2022, at the age of 79,” Hofmann wrote in a statement.
However, Hoftmann said the star’s last wishes were for his fans to donate and that he spent the last years of his life painting.
“It was Fred Ward’s wish that any memorial tributes be made in the form of donations to the Boston University Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy Center,” Hofmann told the New York Post.
The San Diego native started his career in the 1970s and went on to star in many well-known movies including Tremors, Henry & June, Sweet Home Alabama and Enough.
He was best known for playing Gus Grissom in the 1983 American space program film The Right Stuff opposite Sam Shepard and Dennis Quaid.
Sad loss: Hollywood actor Fred Ward died on May 8 at the age of 79, his publicist revealed on Friday. Seen in 2011
Scary movie: In 1990 he starred as Earl Bass, right, alongside Kevin Bacon, left in the horror movie Tremors
The Good Roles: He was best known for playing Gus Grissom in the 1983 US space program film The Right Stuff opposite Sam Shepard and Dennis Quaid. Seen with Scott Glenn, Ed Harris and Quaid
Ward died on Sunday, his publicist Ron Hoffman announced this week and according to The Hollywood Reporter, no cause or place of death has been shared, which was his family’s wish.
The Golden Globe winner, who was part of Cherokee, had a background in boxing, which led him to play badass roles on the big screen.
Although it seems like the actor has kept his private life private, the actor has married a total of three times in his lifetime.
His first wife was Carla Evonne Stewart. They married in 1965 and divorced soon after in 1966.
He then married Silvia Ward, with whom he shares his musician son Django. It is not known in what year they divorced.
In 1995, he married Marie-France Boisselle. She filed for divorce in August 2013, but they reconciled later that year, according to TMZ.
The actor – who served three years in the US Air Force – has appeared in more than 70 films and more than a dozen TV shows.
The former lumberjack and short-lived cook started acting after moving to Rome and working as a mime and voice-over actor, NPR reported. His mime gig eventually led to a few appearances on Italian director Roberto Rossellini’s TV shows in 1973 before moving on to Hollywood lights.
He landed his first break in the 1973 TV movie The Age Of The Medici as Niccolo. Then he appeared on TV shows like Quincy ME in 1978.
His first Hollywood film was Hearts of the West, where Ward played a cowboy.
He ends up was cast over and over as the rough guy until he finally stood out when he landed the role of prisoner John Anglin in the 1979 film Escape From Alcatraz starring Clint Eastwood, which became his starring role. escape. He played a prisoner eager to escape from San Francisco jail.
Ready to fly: seen here in his orange and silver astronaut suit
A Navy man: We saw him in Swing Shift with Christine Lahti in 1984
Group effort. We see him with Randall ‘Tex’ Cobb, Patrick Swayze, Reb Brown, Gene Hackman, Harold Sylvester, Tim Thomerson in Uncommon Valor in 1983
He could also do period films: Seen with Maria DeMedeiros as writer Anais Nin in the 1990 film Henry & June in which he played author Henry Miller. Uma Thurman was also in the film in June
“The unique thing about Fred Ward is that you never knew where he was going to show up, his career choices were so unpredictable,” Hofmann said.
Ward had several notable roles in Silkwood with Meryl Streep in 1983 and Swing Shift with Goldie Hawn in 1984.
His last role dates back to 2015 as Eddie Velcoro for two episodes of the series True Detective with Matthew McConaughey and Woody Harrelson.
Next came the role of Jamie in Cardiac Arrest in 1979, then the role of Reece in Southern Comfort in 1981.
In 1983 he got a bigger break in the critically acclaimed space movie The Right Stuff.
He stood up to stage actor Shepard and movie star Quaid. The film revolved around the development of the American space program since the breaking of the sound barrier.
He also covered the selection of Mercury 7 astronauts, from a group of daring test pilots.
The drama Silkwood followed in 1983 and then Swing Shift in 1984 before being given the lead role in the 1985 film Remo Williams: The Adventure Begins.
Fred worked steadily from then on, often making three or four films a year.
In 1990 alone, he directed four films: Tremors, Catchfire, Miami Blues and Henry & June (in which he landed the lead role as writer Henry Miller).
Playing hard in The Player: Ward, left, had a standout role as Walter Stuckel in The Player set in 1992 with co-star Whoopi Goldberg, right
His friend: Ward and Morgan Freeman at the premiere of Feast of Love at the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences in Los Angeles in 2007
With his wife: Seen with his wife Marie-France Ward at the premiere of 30 minutes or less in 2011. She filed for divorce in August 2013 but they reconciled the same year
Ward had a notable role as Walter Stuckel in the set The Player in 1992 with co-star Whoopi Goldberg. And that same year, he played Wyatt Earp in the TV movie Four Eyes and Six-Guns.
Her work in the 1990s was complemented by small roles in Naked Gun 33 1/3: The Final Insult (1994), Chain Reaction (1996), Dangerous Beauty (1998), and the miniseries Invasion Earth (1998).
He was very busy in the 2000s with roles in major Hollywood films like The Crow: Salvation, Joe Dirt and Summer Catch as well as Jennifer Lopez’s thriller Enough (2002).
And he appeared on two episodes on ER in 2006 as Eddie.
He worked less from 2010; he only appeared in a handful of roles like Admiral Tuwey in 2013’s 2 Guns, which he played alongside Mark Wahlberg and Denzel Washington.
Many social media users paid tribute to the actor, posting tributes recalling their favorite roles played by Ward.
Walking Dead Gale executive producer Anne Hurd, who worked with Ward on Tremors and Cast a Deadly Spell, wrote: ‘#RIP #FredWard was one of the nicest, talented and underrated actors. A pure delight on and off screen. I had the privilege of working with him on #Tremors [and] #CastADeadlySpell.’
Many have flocked to social media to pay tribute to the famous actor, with many remembering their favorite roles from his
Alan Sepinwell, television critic for Rolling Stone, wrote: ‘RIP, Fred Ward, a great character actor whose big shot at leading man status, Remo Williams: The Adventure Begins, sadly failed, but who continued to give great lived performances for the rest of his career.
Amanda Cude, health editor for Hearst Connecticut Media, replied, “Oh no!” I loved Fred Ward, and it’s sad that he passed away before living his true destiny of playing Jon Bernthal’s father in something!’
Director Alex Winter wrote on Twitter: ‘RIP Fred Ward. He always elevated the movies he was in.
Fangoria editor Phil Nobile Jr. wrote on the platform, “Fred Ward was awesome at just about everything he did. You’ll hear a lot about TREMORS in your stream, but he’s also amazing in HENRY & JUNE (the first NC-17 movie), and fantastic in MIAMI BLUES. Sad day.’
