Fred Dalton Thompson, who served as a Republican Senator, ran for the Republican nomination for president and pursued an acting career that included a stint on Broadway, died Nov. 1 at age 73.

Thompson was born in Alabama, but grew up in Tennessee and won a special election in 1994 to replace Al Gore as U.S. Senator from that state, a seat he held through 2003.

Throughout his life he moved back and forth between government and acting, appearing on TV in various iterations of "Law & Order," "The Good Wife," "Alleged" (in which he played presidential candidate William Jennings Bryan), "Rachel and Andrew Jackson" (in which he supplied the voice for President Andrew Jackson), and in numerous films including "Die Hard 2," "Sinister" and "The Hunt for Red October."

Thompson attempted a return to politics in 2007 when he ran for the Republican nomination for president. He was beaten by fellow Sen. John McCain. Thompson went back to broadcast, serving as host of a conservative radio show.

Thompson capped his acting career in 2013 when he made his Broadway debut as gruff Judge Noose in the courtroom drama A Time to Kill, Rupert Holmes' stage adaptation of John Grisham's novel. At the time he said he believed he was the only former U.S. Senator to act on Broadway.

Thompson died in Nashville, TN of lymphoma.