Fred Thompson | 1942 - 2015

Fred Thompson is shown in a 1960 yearbook photo taken during his senior year of high school.

Republican presidential nominee Bob Dole, left, and former actor Sen. Fred Thompson, R-Tenn., during a break in Dole’s debate preparation at his wife’s condominium in Bal Harbour, Fla., on Oct. 4, 1996. Thompson played the role of President Bill Clinton during rehearsals before Dole debated Clinton two days later in Hartford, Conn.

Sen. Fred Thompson, R-Tenn., in his office on Capitol Hill on Aug. 1, 1996.

Sen. Arlen Specter, R–Pa., center, talks with Senate Governmental Affairs Committee Chairman Sen. Fred Thompson, R–Tenn., left, and committee majority counsel Michael Madigan during a hearing of the committee on Capitol Hill on July 10, 1997, to dsicuss campaign fundraising.

Members of both houses of Congress gather on the steps of the Capitol in Washington, D.C., on Sept. 11, 2001, to show unity in the wake of terrorist acts in Washington and New York. In the back row are Sens. Hillary Rodham Clinton, D–N.Y., right, Jim Jeffords, I–Vt., center, and Fred Thompson, R–Tenn.

Sen. Fred Thompson, R–Tenn., and Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D–Calif., prepare to brief reporters on Capitol Hill on March 28, 2001.

Republican presidential hopeful Fred Thompson gives a thumbs-up to supporters riding the Sky Gllider at the Iowa State Fair on Aug. 17, 2007, in Des Moines, Iowa.

Republican presidential candidate Fred Thompson speaks at a campaign event at the Webster County Republican headquarters Dec. 21, 2007, in Fort Dodge, Iowa.

Former U.S. Sen. Fred Thompson, left, talks to host Jay Leno after announcing that he is formally joining the 2008 White House race, during the taping of “The Tonight Show with Jay Leno” on Sept. 5, 2007.

Republican presidential hopeful Fred Thompson fields questions from the crowd during a campaign stop in Columbia, S.C., on Jan. 15, 2008.

Fred Thompson greets delegates during the National Republican Convention in St. Paul, Minn., on Sept. 2, 2008.