Actor Fred Ward dies. He had the right stuff in movies from ‘Tremors’ to ‘The Player’

Actor Fred Ward seen in 1994.

Michael Grecco/MGP, Inc.

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Michael Grecco/MGP, Inc.

Actor Fred Ward seen in 1994.

Michael Grecco/MGP, Inc.

Actor Fred Ward has died, according to publicist Ron Hofmann.

The star, who brought a gruff geniality to films that included The Right Stuff, Tremors, Henry and June and The Player died Sunday, May 8 at the age of 79. No cause of death was given.

“The unique thing about Fred Ward is that you never knew where he was going to pop up, so unpredictable were his career choices,” Hofmann wrote in an email. “He could play such diverse characters as Remo Williams, a cop trained by Chiun, Master of Sinanju (Joel Grey) to become an unstoppable assassin in Remo Williams: The Adventure Begins, or Earl Bass, who, alongside Kevin Bacon, battle giant, worm-like monsters hungry for human flesh in ‘cult’ horror/comedy film, Tremors (1990), or a detective in the indie film Two Small Bodies (1993) directed by underground filmmaker Beth B., or a terrorist planning to blow up the Academy Awards in The Naked Gun 33 1/3: The Final Insult (1994), or the father of the lead character in Jennifer Lopez’s revenge thriller Enough (2002).”

Ward is survived by his wife of 27 years, Marie-France Ward and his son Django Ward.