In a packed hotel ballroom in San Antonio, excited chatter hushed to near silence as Fred Thompson took the stage to address hundreds of reverse mortgage professionals who had traveled to attend NRMLA’s annual meeting. Tall, confident and polished, the former senator assumed his place at the podium with ease. Smiling warmly to the audience, he opened with a joke about his commercials before launching into politics and reverse mortgages.

People were crammed into the room, filling every seat and lining the walls two deep to hear Thompson speak. They listened with rapt attention, smiling, nodding, chuckling as he spoke. Afterward, they talked excitedly about their encounter with Thompson, thrilled to have listened to such a notable person pledge their support for the HECM program, charmed by his affable persona.

The talk made it abundantly clear that Thompson was revered by many in the industry, regardless of what lender they worked for. HECM specialists respected the AAG spokesperson for his advocacy of the program; they were proud to have him on their side.

When Thompson passed away in November at age 73 after a battle with cancer, professionals across the industry mourned his loss. The credibility his support lent the program encouraged thousands of seniors to consider how a reverse mortgage might work for them. So while he might have worked for one lender, in a way he worked for them all.

“Fred was an icon in so many different ways and in a multitude of areas,” says Mike Kent, president of Liberty Home Equity Solutions. “Having him represent our industry was possibly the single best image lift we have had in many years. His stature as a leader and his commitment to personal independence provided the honor and recognition our senior clients deserve.”

Thompson maintained a national presence as AAG’s spokesman for five years, appearing in dozens of commercials about the benefits reverse mortgages can offer seniors. His campaign was a major boost for the industry, lending a likable, reliable face to a product that was often wrongly maligned.

“As one of the faces of the reverse mortgage industry, Senator Thompson’s strong belief in and endorsement of reverse mortgages brought a fresh and relatable perspective, helping to increase awareness of the product and how it can be used as a powerful retirement tool for older Americans,” says Jean Noble, chief marketing officer at Reverse Mortgage Funding.

AAG CEO Reza Jahangiri recalls his first meetings with Thompson to discuss a potential partnership. “I remember saying that our odds were really low to get someone like Fred Thompson, especially not long after the 2008 presidential primary,” Jahangiri says. “But when we met, he had such an open mind. He wanted to know the facts and to learn about how the product worked. He didn’t focus on the commercial aspect of the deal; he wanted to know how the product was of service to the country’s seniors.”

Jahangiri says Thompson thoroughly researched the product and became adamant about the benefits it offered aging Americans. “He thought backing the product was the right thing to do, independent of political consequence or popular consensus, which was exactly what we needed in the reverse mortgage industry,” Jahangiri says.

No doubt, Thompson’s support was a major win for the industry. He was a remarkable public figure. His 50-year career, which took him from Tennessee to Washington to Hollywood, was impressive in its breadth.

Thompson was born from humble roots in Sheffield, Alabama, in 1942. Freddie Dalton spent his childhood in Tennessee, where he developed a passion for politics over dinner-table conversations with his father. He went on to Memphis State University to major in political science and then to Vanderbilt University’s School of Law.

After graduation, he worked on Howard Baker’s Senate re-election campaign before getting his first big break in 1973: a spot on the Senate Watergate Committee. As chief minority counsel, Thompson led the line of questioning that uncovered the Nixon tapes. Later, he was asked to play himself in a film about the scandal, and he discovered he was quite comfortable on stage. He went on to star in more than 20 feature films, including Cape Fear and The Hunt for Red October, and also landed a longtime gig as the Manhattan district attorney on Law & Order.

But Thompson never abandoned his love for politics. In 1994, he won Tennessee’s seat in the U.S. Senate in a special election to replace Al Gore. He was re-elected and served eight years before leaving on his own accord. In 2008, he launched a bid for the presidency, but ultimately dropped out of the race. The outspoken conservative took a prominent role as a sideline commentator instead, raking up a sizable following on Twitter with his humorous one-liners.

“Fred was super-charismatic and very, very funny,” Jahangiri recalls. “He always made the people around him feel good.”

Thompson’s wit made him one of the top conservatives to follow on Twitter. “As long as we’ve got Joe Biden around, there will always be something to tweet about,” he quipped to TRR in 2012. “I’ve always believed that it’s better to laugh than cry, and with some of the things that happen around here, you have to do one or the other.”

While many people are aware of Thompson’s commercials about reverse mortgages, few know that his mother had one.

“His mom was someone who fit the profile—she was very equity rich and needed some cash flow for in-home care,” Jahangiri says. “Fred was helping to manage her affairs at the time, and he thought it was a good fit. He went through the exact same process everyone else does; he went to counseling and did the paperwork. His experience really confirmed his belief in the utility of the product. He said to me, ‘Now I have a true understanding of what every senior goes through. I can really see how this helps people.’ The experience validated his advocacy for him.”

Otto Kumbar, CEO of Liberty Home Equity Solutions, says Thompson’s personal experience highlighted the fact that his role as spokesman was more than just a job for him.

“I once asked him why he rarely talks about his mother’s reverse mortgage. He said, ‘It makes a better shield than a sword.’ Fred had enormous impact on American life far beyond the reverse industry, and this single insight helped me understand why. He wanted seniors to make their own decisions for their own individual circumstances,” Kumbar says.

Jahangiri says this was typical of Thompson’s character. “He was a genuine, thoughtful, humble guy,” Jahangiri says. “He cared deeply about his friends and family and was always there for those close to him. He was also a statesman in the truest sense of the word. He really left his mark in this world, and he will be missed.”