Harry Thompson

Harry William Thompson (February 6, 1960 – November 7, 2005) was a British producer and writer of comedies, and a successful novelist and biographer.

Biography

Thompson attended Highgate School, going on to read history at Brasenose College, Oxford where he edited the university newspaper, "Cherwell".

He was diagnosed with inoperable (stage III) lung cancer in April 2005, despite never having smoked, and died on November 7 the same year, in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, London. He married his girlfriend, Lisa Whadcock, on the day of his death, in the same borough.

He is survived by his two children, Betty (born May 1994) and Bill (born July 1996) from his first marriage to Fiona Duff (1993–98).

Comedy career

Earlier in his career Thompson produced the radio comedy programmes "The News Quiz" and "The Mary Whitehouse Experience". Following his success in the TV format he went on to produce "Newman and Baddiel in Pieces", "Harry Enfield and Chums" and "Monkey Dust", and co-produce "Never Mind The Buzzcocks".

He was best known for producing the BBC panel shows "Have I Got News For You" and "They Think It's All Over", producing the latter for the first eight years of its run.

He was instrumental in the creation of the comic character Ali G for "The 11 O'Clock Show", and as a comedy writer his credits included "Da Ali G Show".

During these productions he was able to gain exposure for a very large proportion of those who went on to become prominent figures in contemporary British comedy, including: Sacha Baron Cohen, Angus Deayton, Harry Enfield, Ricky Gervais, Nick Hancock, Ian Hislop, Mark Lamarr, Paul Merton and Paul Whitehouse.

In 2003, "The Observer" listed him as one of the 50 funniest or most influential people in British comedy. In December 2005 he was to have received the "Jury's Award for Outstanding Contribution to British Comedy" at the British Comedy Awards.

In an 2005 episode of "Have I Got News For You", featuring Alexander Armstrong as host and panelists Fi Glover and Ian Mcmillan, a message stating "In Memory of Harry Thompson, the first producer of Have I Got News For You (1960 - 2005)" was displayed.

Writing

Thompson wrote biographies of Peter Cook, Richard Ingrams and Tintin creator Hergé.

In June 2005, Thompson's first and only novel, entitled "This Thing Of Darkness" (a historical novel chronicling the life of Robert Fitzroy - later published in the United States as "To The Edge Of The World"), was published and long-listed for the Booker prize.

He also wrote "Penguins Stopped Play", an account of the attempt by his beloved cricket team, The Captain Scott Invitation XI, to tour all seven continents of the world.

External links

* [http://www.findmypast.com England and Wales Marriages and Deaths 1984 - 2005]
* [http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/tv_and_radio/4417656.stm BBC News reports Harry Thompson's death]
* [http://books.guardian.co.uk/obituaries/story/0,,1637326,00.html "Guardian" obituary]
* [http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2005/11/09/db0901.xml&sSheet=/portal/2005/11/09/ixportal.html "Telegraph" obituary]
* [http://news.independent.co.uk/people/obituaries/article325731.ece "Independent" obituary]