Freddie Joe Ward (December 30, 1942 – May 8, 2022) was an American actor and producer. Starting with a role in an Italian television movie in 1973, he appeared in such diverse films as Escape from Alcatraz, Southern Comfort, The Right Stuff, Timerider: The Adventure of Lyle Swann, Remo Williams: The Adventure Begins, Tremors and Tremors 2: Aftershocks, Henry & June, The Player, Swing Shift, Short Cuts, and 30 Minutes or Less. Early life Freddie Joe Ward was born in San Diego on December 30, 1942. He was part Cherokee. His father was an alcoholic criminal who was repeatedly imprisoned and his mother left him when Fred was three. He was then raised by his grandmother until his mother had rebuilt her life and remarried a carnival worker. Before acting, Ward spent three years in the United States Air Force. He was also a boxer (breaking his nose three times) and worked as a lumberjack in Alaska, a janitor, and a short-order cook. He studied acting at New York's Herbert Berghof Studio after serving in the U.S. Air Force. While living in Rome, he dubbed Italian movies into English and appeared in films by neorealist director Roberto Rossellini. Career 1970s Ward became an actor after studying at Herbert Berghof Studio and in Rome. While in Italy, he worked as a mime. Upon returning stateside in the early 1970s, Ward spent time working in experimental theatre and doing some television work. He made his first American film appearance playing a cowboy in Hearts of the West (1975). His first major role came in the Clint Eastwood vehicle Escape from Alcatraz (1979) as fellow escapee John Anglin. 1980s Ward played a violent National Guardsman in Walter Hill's Southern Comfort (1981). His first starring role in a motion picture was Timerider: The Adventure of Lyle Swann (1982). He then starred as astronaut Gus Grissom in The Right Stuff, in the action movie Uncommon Valor with Gene Hackman, and in the drama Silkwood (all 1983). After co-starring roles in Swing Shift (1984) and Secret Admirer (1985), Ward played the title hero in the action movie Remo Williams: The Adventure Begins, which was directed by Guy Hamilton. The film was supposed to be the first of a series based on The Destroyer series of novels. Though the movie was well promoted and he appeared on several movie magazine covers, it only grossed $15 million. Ward