Marshall Thompson
Acting • Born 1925-11-27 – Died 1992-05-18
Biography
Marshall Thompson (November 27, 1925 – May 18, 1992) was an American film and television actor. He was born James Marshall Thompson in Peoria, Illinois. In 1943 Thompson, known for his boy-next-door good looks, was signed by Universal Pictures. He played quiet, thoughtful teens in Universal's feature films, including a lead opposite singing star Gloria Jean in Reckless Age, earning $350 weekly. During 1946 Universal discharged most of its contract players; that same year Thompson moved to MGM and his film roles steadily increased and improved. Thompson became a freelance actor in the 1950s and worked for various studios on a variety of pictures, including a number of horror and science-fiction features; this included the role of Carruthers in It! The Terror from Beyond Space (1958), one of the two feature films that would later inspire the plot for director Ridley Scott's 1979 big budget feature film Alien. Thompson also starred as Mel Hunter in the syndicated science fiction TV series World of Giants, about a man who has been miniaturized and must live in a dollhouse. By the 1960s, Thompson's boyish looks had matured and his screen persona became more authoritative. He co-starred with Annie Fargé in the 33-episode CBS sitcom Angel (1960–1961) about an American architect with a charming but scatterbrained French wife, who often got into zany, Lucy Ricardo-esque situations, caused in part by her lack of English; the show was canceled after 33 episodes due to low ratings, despite critical acclaim for French-born newcomer Annie Fargé. In the mid-1960s Thompson starred in CBS's Daktari, a television series about a veterinarian in Africa; the series was based on Thompson's 1965 feature film Clarence, the Cross-Eyed Lion. Later in his career, he appeared in many television episodes and in feature films such as The Turning Point (1977) and The Formula(1980). Thompson was a brother-in-law of actor Richard Long, best known for his role as Jarrod Barkley in ABC's The Big Valley. Thompson's wife, Barbara, was Long's sister. Marshall Thompson died from congestive heart failure at the age of sixty-six in Royal Oak, Michigan. Description above from the Wikipedia article Marshall Thompson , licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.
Filmography
100 credits
The Formula
Movie • 1980
Geologist #1
Battleground
Movie • 1949
Jim Layton
It! The Terror from Beyond Space
Movie • 1958
Carruthers
Around the World Under the Sea
Movie • 1965
Dr. Orin Hillyard
Crashout
Movie • 1955
Billy Lang
The Tall Target
Movie • 1951
Lance Beaufort
Devil's Doorway
Movie • 1950
Rod MacDougall
Cruise Into Terror
Movie • 1978
Bennett
Cult of the Cobra
Movie • 1955
Tom Markel
First Man into Space
Movie • 1959
Cmdr. Charles Ernest Prescott
Dial 1119
Movie • 1950
Gunther Wyckoff
Fiend Without a Face
Movie • 1958
Major Jeff Cummings
The Turning Point
Movie • 1977
Carter
The Valley of Decision
Movie • 1945
Ted Scott
My Six Convicts
Movie • 1952
Blivens Scott
The Caddy
Movie • 1953
Bruce Reeber
To Hell and Back
Movie • 1955
Johnson
They Were Expendable
Movie • 1945
Ens. 'Snake' Gardner
Mystery Street
Movie • 1950
Henry Shanway
The Clock
Movie • 1945
Bill
B.F.'s Daughter
Movie • 1948
The Sailor
No Man Is an Island
Movie • 1962
Jonn Sonnenberg
Lure of the Swamp
Movie • 1957
Simon Lewt
Good Morning, Miss Dove
Movie • 1955
Wilfred Banning Pendleton III
Clarence, the Cross-Eyed Lion
Movie • 1965
Dr. Marsh Tracy
The Basketball Fix
Movie • 1951
Johnny Long
Stars in My Crown
Movie • 1950
Narrator (adult John Kenyon) (voice)
Blonde Fever
Movie • 1944
Freddie Bilson
The Cockeyed Miracle
Movie • 1946
Jim Griggs
Battle Taxi
Movie • 1955
2nd Lt. Tim Vernon
Born to Fight
Movie • 1956
Man Exiting Airplane (uncredited)
Roseanna McCoy
Movie • 1949
Tolbert McCoy
Bad Bascomb
Movie • 1946
Jimmy Holden
Flight of the Lost Balloon
Movie • 1961
Dr.Joseph Farady
The Romance of Rosy Ridge
Movie • 1947
Ben Mac Bean
Bog
Movie • 1979
Dr. Brad Wednesday
White Dog
Movie • 1982
Director
Twice Blessed
Movie • 1945
Jimmy
The Secret Heart
Movie • 1946
Brandon Reynolds
Gallant Bess
Movie • 1946
Tex Barton
The Purple Heart
Movie • 1944
Morrison (uncredited)
Words and Music
Movie • 1948
Herbert Fields
A Yank in Viet-Nam
Movie • 1964
Maj. Benson
To the Shores of Hell
Movie • 1966
Maj. Greg Donahue
Command Decision
Movie • 1948
Capt. George Washington Bellpepper Lee
Dallas: The Early Years
Movie • 1986
Dr. Ted Johnson
East of Kilimanjaro
Movie • 1962
Marsh Connors
The Mighty Jungle
Movie • 1964
George
Movie • 1972
Jim
The Show-Off
Movie • 1946
Joe Fisher
The Rose Bowl Story
Movie • 1952
Steve Davis
The Secret Man
Movie • 1958
Dr. Cliff Mitchell
That's Entertainment, Part II
Movie • 1976
(archive footage)
Port of Hell
Movie • 1954
Marsh Walker
Ride the Tiger
Movie • 1970
Reckless Age
Movie • 1944
Roy Connors
Homecoming
Movie • 1948
Staff Sgt. 'Mac' McKeen
McBain
Movie • 1991
Mr. Rich
Zebra in the Kitchen
Movie • 1965
Shaving Man
The Blackwell Story
Movie • 1957
David
Benson
TV • 1979
Quincy, M.E.
TV • 1976
Charlie's Angels
TV • 1976
Meadows
Flipper
TV • 1964
Gunsmoke
TV • 1955
Leach Fields
Perry Mason
TV • 1957
Arthur Poe
Studio One
TV • 1948
Daktari
TV • 1966
Dr. Marsh Tracy
Hallmark Hall of Fame
TV • 1951
George Washington
Angel
TV • 1960
Johnny Smith
The Millionaire
TV • 1955
Tom Hunt
Schlitz Playhouse of Stars
TV • 1951
James Wilson
Climax!
TV • 1954
(segment "Child of the Wind")
Men Into Space
TV • 1959
Bronco
TV • 1958
Matinee Theater
TV • 1955
The Whistler
TV • 1954
Robert Montgomery Presents
TV • 1950
Dick Powell's Zane Grey Theatre
TV • 1956
Eli Hendericks
World of Giants
TV • 1959
Panic!
TV • 1957
Letter to Loretta
TV • 1953
Jim Turner
The Eddie Capra Mysteries
TV • 1978
Public Defender
TV • 1954
Jeff Norton
Wagon Train
TV • 1957
Bradley Mason
Letter to Loretta
TV • 1953
Dan Jenkins
The Millionaire
TV • 1955
Bill Andreson
Schlitz Playhouse of Stars
TV • 1951
George
TV • 1974
Jim Hunter
Hallmark Hall of Fame
TV • 1951
Pythias
The Ford Television Theatre
TV • 1952
Lou Grant
TV • 1977
Paul Newman
Murder, She Wrote
TV • 1984
Ward Silloway
Wagon Train
TV • 1957
Will Stebbins
Ironside
TV • 1967
Tom Ames
Jambo
TV • 1969
The Streets of San Francisco
TV • 1972
Fr. Carey
The 20th Century Fox Hour
TV • 1955
Matt Clay
Owen Marshall: Counselor at Law
TV • 1971
Jeff Crane
The Partridge Family
TV • 1970
Dr. Milstead