Fred Ward died today. He was only 79 years old.

I guess that’s old for some people but it doesn’t seem super old to me. 85 plus is when I’d start thinking about the eternal dirt nap.

Anyway, Fred Ward was in quite a few cool movies when I was growing up. His gruff, grizzled, but honest nature set him apart and his performance cemented his place amongst his peers. The clip above is from “Remo Williams” which was a great movie that sits in it’s own genre. Was Remo a super spy? A super hero? What a great cast too…Joel Grey and Kate Mulgrew for pete’s sake!

He starred in Tremors (and the subsequent sequels) alongside Kevin Bacon, Michael Gross, Reba McIntyre, and the inimitable Victor Wong. He also starred as Gus Grissom in “The Right Stuff” with an amazing cast consisting including Sam Shepard, Scott Glenn, Ed Harris, Dennis Quaid, Barbara Hershey and so many others! What a run!

Thanks Fred, for all the entertainment. Sorry you couldn’t stay.