This may sound weird, but I remember reading about a guy who played an aircraft carrier commander in the movie "The Hunt for Red October". Turned out, he also had law degrees and had been in (or ran for) political office. My main memory about his performance was his distinct southeastern dialect, which may jibe with Tennessee, Vandy, Alabama... I don't remember his name, though. Is this 'in the ball park'?

Absolutly!

Let's get Arthur's ruling on whether that's sufficient; i.e., without the name.

In the interim:

6. In addition to my rôle in Red October, I'm also fairly well known for portraying a district attorney for five years on a moderately popular television series, including three of its spin-offs.

7. I seem to recall being a US senator from Tennessee for nine years.

This sounds like Senator Fred Thompson, who had a recurring role in Law & Order.

But even if I'm correct, I would still give the win to Chessmann, because his description was close enough (and I wouldn't have guessed the name based on the clues up to that point).

It is Senator Fred Dalton (Freddie) Thompson.

You're up, Chessmann!

Haha, cool! Ok...

I was born in California in 1950, and am one of the most famous Olympians of all-time. It seemed for a long time that my Olympic achievements would never be surpassed, but eventually they were. My last name sounds like something you see athletes do a lot during an event when taking a break from actual play. In high school, I held every national high school record possible for my sport. I set my first world record when I was 17.

Not too familiar with Olympic athletes. So I'll just say Bruce Caitlyn Jenner.

My place in history was made at the Summer Olympics prior to the one that made Bruce a legend.

I was well-known for my great moustache!

Sounds like Mark Spitz, but I don't have anything ready. If that's the guy, I'll pass to whoever wants it. You know, I only get some of these because I'm old!

I had to look him up. In some of his earlier photos, he looks just like Freddie Mercury!

Mark Spitz, it is! The poster with him posing in a swim suit with 7 gold medals around his neck made him the most popular pin up since Betty Grable!

Next!

Well, since no one else is jumping in, I have something prepared:

I was born in New York City and grew up in Italy and Greenwich Village.

My father was a noted classical musician, and my mother was a radio script writer.

My godmother was actress Vivian Vance, and my godfather (and first babysitter) was children's book illustrator Garth Williams.

I grew up surrounded by music and musicians, including Burl Ives and Woody Guthrie, and hearing such players as Lead Belly and Mississippi John Hurt in my own neighborhood.

I graduated from a private boarding school in New Jersey, before attending New York University. However, I dropped out of college after a year as I became more interested in musical pursuits.

In the early 1960s, I developed an interest in blues music. Through my father's connections, I met and was influenced by blues musicians Sonny Terry and Lightnin' Hopkins.

I actually served as "unofficial tour guide and valet" when Hopkins was in New York City. I myself became part of the folk and blues scene that was developing in Greenwich Village, which in part later gave rise to folk rock.

I became proficient in guitar, autoharp, and harmonica. One of my first recording gigs was playing on Billy Faier's 1964 album The Beast of Billy Faier. I also played on Fred Neil's album Bleecker & MacDougal, and Tom Rush's self-titled album in 1965.

Bob Dylan invited me to play bass on his Bringing It All Back Home sessions, and to join his new electric touring band, but I declined in order to concentrate on my own project.

The band I formed was named after "The Coffee Blues," a Mississippi John Hurt song. Our sound -- which blended folk-rock and pop with elements of blues, country, and jug band music -- became part of the American response to the British Invasion.

However, the band began to implode after a marijuana bust in San Francisco involving our lead guitarist, who was a Canadian citizen. Facing deportation, he revealed the name of his dealer to police, which caused a fan backlash.

After we replaced our guitarist, the band's musical style veered away from its previous eclectic blend and became more pop-oriented, causing me to leave the band in 1968.

One of my first projects after leaving the band was composing the music and lyrics for a play with music. It opened on Broadway in December 1968, with Dustin Hoffman in the title role, and ran until April 1969, for a total of over 150 performances.

Hmmm... I know the name of the Dustin Hoffman play and I think I can tell you who wrote it--but not who wrote the music.