Eric Norman Thompson (9 November 1929 – 30 November 1982) was an English actor, scriptwriter and stage director. He is best remembered for creating and performing the English narration for ''

The Magic Roundabout ''The Magic Roundabout'' is an English-language children's television programme that ran from 1965 to 1977. It used the footage of the French stop motion animation show ''Le Manège enchanté'' but with completely different scripts and characte ...

'', which he adapted from the original French ''

Le Manège enchanté ''Le Manège enchanté'' (British English: "The Magic Roundabout", American English: "The Magic Carousel") is a popular French animated children's television series of hundreds of episodes each five minutes long, which premiered on October 5, 196 ...

''.

Early life

Eric Norman Thompson was born on 9 November 1929 in

Sleaford Sleaford is a market town and civil parish in the North Kesteven district of Lincolnshire, England. Centred on the former parish of New Sleaford, the modern boundaries and urban area include Quarrington to the south-west, Holdingham to the no ...

Lincolnshire Lincolnshire (abbreviated Lincs.) is a Counties of England, county in the East Midlands of England, with a long coastline on the North Sea to the east. It borders Norfolk to the south-east, Cambridgeshire to the south, Rutland to the south-we ...

, England, the son of Annie (née Jackson) and George Henry Thompson, a hotel waiter, and grew up in

Rudgwick Rudgwick is a village and Civil parishes in England, civil parish in the Horsham (district), Horsham District of West Sussex, England. The village is west from Horsham on the north side of the A281 road. The parish's northern boundary forms par ...

Sussex Sussex (), from the Old English (), is a historic county in South East England that was formerly an independent medieval Anglo-Saxon kingdom. It is bounded to the west by Hampshire, north by Surrey, northeast by Kent, south by the Englis ...

, attending Collyer's School,

Horsham Horsham is a market town on the upper reaches of the River Arun on the fringe of the Weald in West Sussex, England. The town is south south-west of London, north-west of Brighton and north-east of the county town of Chichester. Nearby to ...

. He trained to be an actor at the

Old Vic Old or OLD may refer to: Places *Old, Baranya, Hungary *Old, Northamptonshire, England * Old Street station, a railway and tube station in London (station code OLD) *OLD, IATA code for Old Town Municipal Airport and Seaplane Base, Old Town, Ma ...

acting school in London and joined the Old Vic theatre company in 1952.

Career

Thompson worked regularly for the BBC, and was a presenter of the children's television programme '' Play School'' from 1964 to 1967. He was best known as the narrator of ''

'', for which he also wrote the

English language English is a West Germanic language of the Indo-European language family, with its earliest forms spoken by the inhabitants of early medieval England. It is named after the Angles, one of the ancient Germanic peoples that migrated to the ...

scripts, using the visuals from the original

French French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...

''. These were transmitted from October 1965 to January 1977. Thompson rarely worked in television after his voice became well-known, but occasionally appeared in programmes including ''

Doctor Finlay's Casebook ''Dr. Finlay's Casebook'' is a television drama series that was produced and broadcast by the BBC from 1962 until 1971. Based on A. J. Cronin's 1935 novella ''Country Doctor'', the storylines centred on a general medical practice in the fiction ...

'' (episode: "Beware of the Dog"), ''

Doctor Who ''Doctor Who'' is a British science fiction television series broadcast by the BBC since 1963. The series depicts the adventures of a Time Lord called the Doctor, an extraterrestrial being who appears to be human. The Doctor explores the ...

'' in the serial ''

The Massacre of St Bartholomew's Eve ''The Massacre'' (also known as ''The Massacre of St Bartholomew's Eve'') is the completely missing fourth serial of the third season in the British science fiction television series ''Doctor Who'', which was first broadcast in four weekly par ...

'' in 1966, and in two episodes of ''

Coronation Street ''Coronation Street'' is an English soap opera created by Granada Television and shown on ITV since 9 December 1960. The programme centres around a cobbled, terraced street in Weatherfield, a fictional town based on inner-city Salford. Orig ...

'', in 1964 and 1969 (playing two different characters).

Personal life and death

Thompson married Scottish actress

Phyllida Law Phyllida Ann Law (born 8 May 1932) is a British actress, known for her numerous roles in film and television. Early life Law was born in Glasgow, the daughter of Meg "Mego" and William Law, a journalist. Prior to the Second World War, her fath ...

, whom he met while at the Old Vic in 1957. Their daughters Emma and

Sophie Thompson Sophie Thompson (born 20 January 1962) is a British actress who has worked in film, television and theatre. A six-time Olivier Award nominee, she won the 1999 Olivier Award for Best Actress in a Musical for the London revival of ''Into the Woods' ...

followed into acting. In 1967, he had a heart attack, resulting from overwork and heavy smoking, and therefore changed his focus to directing.Eric Thompson article, ''The Scotsman'', Friday 31 March 2006
/ref> He directed

Kenneth Williams Kenneth Charles Williams (22 February 1926 – 15 April 1988) was an English actor of Welsh heritage. He was best known for his comedy roles and in later life as a raconteur and diarist. He was one of the main ensemble in 26 of the 31 '' ...

in ''

My Fat Friend ''My Fat Friend'' is a play by Charles Laurence. Plot The comedy is an ugly duckling tale about an overweight young woman who attracts the attention of a potential suitor. With the help of her friends/roommates, she undergoes a diet and exercise ...

'' in 1972 and the conflicts between the two are extensively discussed in the Williams' diaries. On 30 November 1982, Thompson died of a

heart attack A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when blood flow decreases or stops to the coronary artery of the heart, causing damage to the heart muscle. The most common symptom is chest pain or discomfort which ma ...

in London.

Filmography

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Thompson, Eric 1929 births 1982 deaths English male television actors English television presenters English television producers English male voice actors People educated at The College of Richard Collyer People from Sleaford, Lincolnshire People from Rudgwick Male actors from Lincolnshire 20th-century English male actors BBC television presenters