Sen. Thompson to Give Reagan Lecture

U.S. Sen. Fred Thompson, a Hollywood notable and a key player in the presidential campaign fund-raising investigation, will deliver the 1997 Ronald Reagan lecture Thursday at the Reagan Presidential Library.

The Tennessee Republican will be the second person to deliver the Reagan lecture, which is sponsored by the Reagan Center for Public Affairs to provide a platform for leading conservative public officials and policy-makers. New Jersey Gov. Christine Todd Whitman inaugurated the lecture series two years ago.

A co-sponsor of the McCain-Feingold campaign reform bill, Thompson is a strong supporter of term limits and biennial budgeting.

“Since his election to the Senate just a few years ago, Sen. Thompson has rapidly risen to the forefront of national political debate,” said Larry Bumgardner, executive director of the Reagan Center for Public Affairs. “Further, he has proved himself to be a very good communicator--making him a natural choice to speak here at the public policy center of ‘The Great Communicator.’ ”

Thompson ascended to the Senate, where he chairs the Governmental Affairs Committee, in 1994, filling the seat vacated by Vice President Al Gore. A graduate of Vanderbilt Law School, Thompson began his corruption-fighting career as an assistant U.S. attorney in Nashville.

In 1973, Thompson became the chief Republican counsel to the Senate Watergate Committee. Later that decade, he investigated a cash-for-clemency scheme that eventually toppled the administration of Tennessee Gov. Ray Blanton.

His role in that investigation led to a second career on the big screen, with Thompson playing himself in the film “Marie.” Other roles in “The Hunt for Red October” and “Die Hard II” ensued.

The lecture will be at 6 p.m. at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library, 40 Presidential Drive, near Simi Valley. Tickets cost $35. For details, call 522-2977.