James Edward Thompson (30 October 1925 – 21 April 2005) was an English actor, writer and director.

Biography

He was born 30 October 1925 in Halifax,

West Riding of Yorkshire The West Riding of Yorkshire was one of three historic subdivisions of Yorkshire, England. From 1889 to 1974 the riding was an administrative county named County of York, West Riding. The Lord Lieutenant of the West Riding of Yorkshire, lieu ...

and educated at St. Peter's School in

York York is a cathedral city in North Yorkshire, England, with Roman Britain, Roman origins, sited at the confluence of the rivers River Ouse, Yorkshire, Ouse and River Foss, Foss. It has many historic buildings and other structures, such as a Yor ...

. As a young man he began his career in

repertory A repertory theatre, also called repertory, rep, true rep or stock, which are also called producing theatres, is a theatre in which a resident company presents works from a specified repertoire, usually in alternation or rotation. United Kingdom ...

theatre in

Yorkshire Yorkshire ( ) is an area of Northern England which was History of Yorkshire, historically a county. Despite no longer being used for administration, Yorkshire retains a strong regional identity. The county was named after its county town, the ...

and he toured with a theatrical company headed by Jean Forbes-Robertson. After his

national service National service is a system of compulsory or voluntary government service, usually military service. Conscription is mandatory national service. The term ''national service'' comes from the United Kingdom's National Service (Armed Forces) Act ...

, he moved to London, and his early appearances on the West End stage were in intimate

revue A revue is a type of multi-act popular theatre, theatrical entertainment that combines music, dance, and sketch comedy, sketches. The revue has its roots in 19th century popular entertainment and melodrama but grew into a substantial cultural pre ...

. In 1956, he became known for his impersonation of the American pianist and entertainer, Liberace, in the revue, ''For Amusement Only'', at the

Apollo Theatre The Apollo Theatre is a listed building, Grade II listed West End theatre in Shaftesbury Avenue in the City of Westminster, in central London.

. Thompson was called in the 1959 libel action brought by the pianist against the

Daily Mirror The ''Daily Mirror'' is a British national daily Tabloid journalism, tabloid newspaper. Founded in 1903, it is part of Mirror Group Newspapers (MGN), which is owned by parent company Reach plc. From 1985 to 1987, and from 1997 to 2002, the tit ...

, and was himself subsequently sued by Liberace. Thompson settled out of court, making a donation to an actors’ charity. In 1959, he and his wife, Nina, co-authored a musical comedy, ''The Quiz Kid'', which was presented at the

Lyric Theatre, Hammersmith The Lyric Theatre, also known as the Lyric Hammersmith, is a nonprofit theatre on Lyric Square, off King Street, Hammersmith, London."About the Lyric" > "History" ''Lyric'' official website. Retrieved January 2024. Background The Lyric Theatre ...

. In 1964, he starred in ''Monsieur Blaise'' at the

Royal Court A royal court, often called simply a court when the royal context is clear, is an extended royal household in a monarchy, including all those who regularly attend on a monarch, or another central figure. Hence, the word ''court'' may also be app ...

and Phoenix theatres, a play adapted by his wife from the farce. In 1974, Thompson starred in ''The Englishman Amused'' at the

Young Vic The Young Vic Theatre is a performing arts venue located on The Cut, near the South Bank, in the London Borough of Lambeth. The Young Vic was established by Frank Dunlop in 1970. Nadia Fall has been artistic director since 2025, succeeding ...

, 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 the 1960s, Thompson appeared regularly in the

BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...

television programme,

Pinky and Perky ''Pinky and Perky'' is a children's television series first broadcast by BBC One, BBC TV in 1957, and revived in 2008 as an animated adaptation. Original series The title characters are a pair of anthropomorphic puppet pigs, named Pinky and Pe ...

, created by Jan and Vlasta Dalibor. In 1967, he starred in the title role in the first

BBC2 BBC Two is a British free-to-air public broadcast television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's second flagship channel, and it covers a wide range of subject matter, incorporating genres such as comedy, drama and ...

play in colour, ''Lieutenant Tenant''. Other television appearances included ''

The Benny Hill Show ''The Benny Hill Show'' is a British comedy television show starring Benny Hill that aired on the BBC and ITV between 15 January 1955 and 1 May 1989. The show consisted mainly of sketch comedy, sketches typified by slapstick, mime, parody, and ...

'' (1970) and '' George and Mildred'' (1978). His film appearances include ''

Carry On Regardless ''Carry On Regardless'' is a 1961 British comedy film, the fifth in the series of 31 ''Carry On'' films (1958–1992). The film revolves loosely around the activities of a job agency, 'Helping Hand', run by Sid James's character, Bert Handy ...

'' (1961), '' Carry On Cruising'' (1962), ''Band of Thieves'' (1962) (where he had one of the main roles) and '' Those Magnificent Men in Their Flying Machines'' (1965). His directorial credits include directing Simon Ward in '' Perchance to Dream'',

Patrick Cargill Patrick Cargill (3 June 191823 May 1996) was an English actor remembered for his lead role in the British television sitcom ''Father, Dear Father''. Early life Cargill was born to middle-class parents living in Bexhill-on-Sea, Sussex. After edu ...

in ''Don't Misunderstand Me'', Mollie Sugden in ''My Giddy Aunt'',

Windsor Davies Windsor Davies (28 August 1930 – 17 January 2019) was a British actor. He is best remembered for playing Battery Sergeant Major Williams in the sitcom '' It Ain't Half Hot Mum'' (1974–1981) over its entire run. The show's popularity resulted ...

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

where he died on 21 April 2005.

Filmography

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Thompson, Jimmy English male stage actors English male film actors English male television actors 1925 births 2005 deaths Male actors from Halifax, West Yorkshire People educated at St Peter's School, York