Fred Ward's Death Has His Colleagues All Saying The Same Thing
On May 13, news began publicly circulating of the death of seasoned actor Fred Ward. According to a press release shared by his publicist, Ward died on May 8 at the age of 79.
At one point, relatively early on in his acting career, Ward was supposed to be an action star. In fact, as its title suggests, the 1985 spy movie "Remo Williams: The Adventure Begins" was intended to mark the start of a franchise with Ward as its lead, but this first entry ultimately flopped and sent Ward's burgeoning career in an entirely different direction.
Most notably, in the wake of his brief stint as a leading man, Ward starred opposite Kevin Bacon in the monster movie "Tremors." After that, Ward became something of a low-key Hollywood staple, appearing in works ranging from Robert Altman's "Short Cuts" to the literary drama "Henry & June," among films and TV series of various other genres.
Countless actors, directors, and other entertainment industry professionals all began praising Fred's skill as an actor across social media immediately following the news of his death becoming public.
Fred Ward's peers had nothing but kind things to say about his film work
Whether they personally worked with him or not, the prevailing sentiment shared among Fred Ward's peers was that he was a significant talent and someone who will be sorely missed.
Director Edgar Wright, for example, described Ward as someone "who gifted us with so many rugged, funny and relatable characters throughout his career and always had charm to burn." He then listed as his favorite Ward films "Tremors," "The Player," "The Right Stuff," "Southern Comfort," and "Miami Blues."
Actor Diedrich Bader similarly characterized Ward as an actor whose "characters felt like they lived a full life and we're only seeing a part of it and that's a magic trick done right in front of you and very luckily captured in light forever."
Some of the numerous others to memorialize Ward with glowing praise include film critic Richard Roeper, former teen heartthrob Freddie Prinze Jr., "Bill & Ted" actor Alex Winter, comic John Fugelsang, and screenwriter Brian Lynch. In his Tweet, Lynch described Ward as "a tough guy who could also be really warm and funny."
Taken in their totality, these posts paint a picture of a performer who was treasured across the industry that he inexorably impacted during his lifetime.