Acclaimed actor and star of TV and feature films Fred Ward has passed away at age 79. As of this writing, no cause of death has been announced. Ward overcame a hardscrabble childhood and had eclectic careers that included a short-order cook, a lumberjack, a boxer and a stint in the U.S. Air Force before trying his hand at acting on stage. He gravitated to feature films by 1979 and appeared with Clint Eastwood in the hit crime thriller "Escape from Alcatraz". Before long, he was much sought after for more prominent roles. Ward sometimes scored starring roles, as in "Henry and June" (in which he played controversial novelist Henry Miller) and "Remo Williams: The Adventure Begins", which was designed to launch him as a screen action hero in a series of a films. However, the movie flopped and no sequels were made. "Remo Williams", as with Ward's 1990 boxoffice disappointment, "Tremors", would go on to become far more popular in later years and build loyal fan followings. Ward won acclaim for his performance as astronaut Gus Grissom in the 1983 NASA space epic "The Right Stuff". A favorite of Robert Altman, he appeared in the director's "Short Cuts" and "The Player". His television work included "ER" and "True Detective".