Fred Ward of ‘Henry & June’ and ‘The Right Stuff’ Dies at 79

Actor Fred Ward, who played a union activist in Silkwood, author Henry Miller in Henry & June, and astronaut Gus Grissom in The Right Stuff, has died at the age of 79. His family did not provide a cause of death, but asked for donations to the Boston University Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy Center. Ward was an amateur boxer, logger, and lumberjack before he began acting on the stage and later launched his film career with a part in Escape From Alcatraz. His other credits include a star-turn as an assassin in Remo Williams, a handyman in Tremors, and a terrorist in Naked Gun 33 1/3. It was for his role as fisherman Stuart Kane in the Robert Altman film Short Cuts that he earned a Golden Globe award, alongside his co-stars for Best Ensemble. Ward also appeared in popular TV shows such as Grey’s Anatomy, ER and True Detective in 2015. He is survived by his wife of 27 years, Marie-France Ward, and his son, Django Ward.