He was born 30 October 1925 in
Halifax,
West Riding of Yorkshire and educated at
St. Peter's School in
York. As a young man he began his career in
repertory theatre in
Yorkshire and he toured with a theatrical company headed by
Jean Forbes-Robertson. After his
national service, he moved to London, and his early appearances on the
West End stage were in intimate
revue. Thompson was called in the 1959 libel action brought by the pianist against the
Daily Mirror, and was himself subsequently sued by Liberace. Thompson settled out of court, making a donation to an actors’ charity. co-authored a musical comedy,
The Quiz Kid, which was presented at the
Lyric Theatre, Hammersmith. In 1964, he starred in
Monsieur Blaise at the
Royal Court and
Phoenix theatres, a play adapted by his wife from the farce. In 1974, Thompson starred in
The Englishman Amused at the
Young Vic, a production which again he co-wrote with his wife. In 1992, he was once more in revue, appearing at the
Whitehall Theatre in
Spread a Little Happiness, the
Vivian Ellis musical. In 1967, he starred in the title role in the first
BBC2 play in colour,
Lieutenant Tenant. Other television appearances included
The Benny Hill Show (1970) and
George and Mildred (1978). His directorial credits include directing
Simon Ward in
Perchance to Dream,
Patrick Cargill in ''Don't Misunderstand Me
, Mollie Sugden in My Giddy Aunt
, Windsor Davies in My Wife Whatsername
, Peggy Mount in Blithe Spirit, and the original production of Jeeves Takes Charge'' with Edward Duke. After the death of his wife in 1999, he retired to
York where he died on 21 April 2005. ==Filmography==