Notable film and TV actor Fred Ward has died, according to his publicist, Ron Hofmann.

The actor, known for bringing a kind of warmth to his tough-guy roles, died on Sunday, May 8, at the age of 79. No cause of death has been revealed at this time. His filmography included such cultural hits as Escape from Alcatraz, The Right Stuff, Henry and June, The Player and the first two Tremors films as protagonist Earl Bassett.

Fred Ward was born in San Diego, California, on December 30, 1942. Before starting his storied career in film, Ward spent three years in the United States Air Force. In his youth, Ward was a boxer, a lumberjack in Alaska, a janitor and a short-order cook. Following his time in the U.S. Air Force, Ward studied acting at New York's Herbert Berghof Studio. After getting his education, Ward moved to Rome and worked as a mime, then as a voice actor dubbing Italian films in English. While in Italy, he also acted in numerous films by neorealist director Roberto Rossellini.

Ward participated in experimental theater and took a few television jobs when he moved back stateside. His first American film appearance was as a cowboy in Hearts of the West in 1975, but his first major film role didn't come until the Clint Eastwood vehicle Escape from Alcatraz in 1979 as fellow escapee John Anglin. The following years consisted of notable parts in a diverse range of film genres, many of which achieved cult status. Some of these included Remo Williams, Southern Comfort, Henry & June, Sweet Home Alabama, Short Cuts (for which he and the rest of the ensemble were nominated for a Golden Globe) and Naked Gun 33+1⁄3: The Final Insult. He also made guest appearances in the 2000s and 2010s in shows such as United States of Tara, In Plain Sight and Leverage.

Perhaps his best-known role is that of Earl Bassett in the cult classics Tremors and Tremors II: Aftershocks, which saw him and, in the first film, Kevin Bacon fighting for survival against giant, prehistoric, worm-like monsters hungry for human flesh. He starred in the following movie, Aftershocks, which was a direct-to-video feature centering on Bassett as he faces the creatures again, this time above the ground.

"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 a statement. "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 Bassett, 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 Boisselle, and his son, Django.