Carlos Thompson
Encyclopedia
Juan Carlos Mundin-Schaffter, known as Carlos Thompson, (7 June 1923 – 10 October 1990) was an Argentinian
actor
.
. He went to Hollywood in the 1950s and was typically cast as a European womanizer. His Hollywood films include Flame and the Flesh
(1954) with Lana Turner
and Pier Angeli
, Valley of the Kings
(1954), with Robert Taylor
and Eleanor Parker
, Magic Fire
(1955) in which he played Franz Liszt
, opposite Yvonne De Carlo
, Rita Gam
, and Valentina Cortese.
He moved to Europe and appeared in a large number of German films. He was chiefly known to English
speakers for his appearance as Carlos Varela in the 1963 ITC Entertainment
series The Sentimental Agent
. In the late 1960s, Thompson left acting to become a writer and TV producer.
His first success on the European book market was The assassination of Winston Churchill (1969), a refutation of allegations by David Irving
(Accident. The Death of General Sikorski, 1967)
and the German playwright Rolf Hochhuth
(Soldiers, premièred in the UK in 1968, London
) that war time premier Winston Churchill
had a part in the death of Polish General Władysław Sikorski, who perished in an air plane crash at Gibraltar
on July 4, 1943, allegedly due to sabotage
.
suggest that he was bisexual, Thompson married German-born actress Lilli Palmer
shortly after her divorce from Rex Harrison
. Thompson remained married to Palmer until her death in 1986.
by a gunshot to his head in Buenos Aires.
Argentina
Argentina , officially the Argentine Republic , is the second largest country in South America by land area, after Brazil. It is constituted as a federation of 23 provinces and an autonomous city, Buenos Aires...
actor
Actor
An actor is a person who acts in a dramatic production and who works in film, television, theatre, or radio in that capacity...
.
Career
Of German Swiss parentage, he played leading roles on stage and in films in ArgentinaArgentina
Argentina , officially the Argentine Republic , is the second largest country in South America by land area, after Brazil. It is constituted as a federation of 23 provinces and an autonomous city, Buenos Aires...
. He went to Hollywood in the 1950s and was typically cast as a European womanizer. His Hollywood films include Flame and the Flesh
Flame and the Flesh
Flame and the Flesh is a 1954 drama film made by MGM. It was directed by Richard Brooks and produced by Joe Pasternak from a screenplay by Helen Deutsch based on the novel by Auguste Bailly...
(1954) with Lana Turner
Lana Turner
Lana Turner was an American actress.Discovered and signed to a film contract by MGM at the age of sixteen, Turner first attracted attention in They Won't Forget . She played featured roles, often as the ingenue, in such films as Love Finds Andy Hardy...
and Pier Angeli
Pier Angeli
Pier Angeli was an Italian-born television and film actress. Her American cinematographic debut was in the starring role of the 1951 film Teresa, in which she won a Golden Globe Award...
, Valley of the Kings
Valley of the Kings (film)
Valley of the Kings is a 1954 Eastmancolor adventure film made by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. It was written and directed by Robert Pirosh from a screenplay by Robert Pirosh and Karl Tunberg, "suggested by historical data" in the book Gods, Graves, and Scholars by C. W. Ceram...
(1954), with Robert Taylor
Robert Taylor (actor)
Robert Taylor was an American film and television actor.-Early life:Born Spangler Arlington Brugh in Filley, Nebraska, he was the son of Ruth Adaline and Spangler Andrew Brugh, who was a farmer turned doctor...
and Eleanor Parker
Eleanor Parker
Eleanor Jean Parker is an American screen actress. Her versatility led to her being dubbed Woman of a Thousand Faces, the title of her biography by Doug McClelland.- Early life :...
, Magic Fire
Magic Fire
Magic Fire is a biographical film about the life of composer Richard Wagner, released in the United States on March 29, 1956 by Republic Pictures. It had been released in the United Kingdom on July 15, 1955...
(1955) in which he played Franz Liszt
Franz Liszt
Franz Liszt ; ), was a 19th-century Hungarian composer, pianist, conductor, and teacher.Liszt became renowned in Europe during the nineteenth century for his virtuosic skill as a pianist. He was said by his contemporaries to have been the most technically advanced pianist of his age...
, opposite Yvonne De Carlo
Yvonne De Carlo
Yvonne De Carlo was a Canadian-born American actress of film and television. During her six-decade career, her most frequent appearances in film came in the 1940s and 1950s and included her best-known film roles, such as of Anna Marie in Salome Where She Danced ; Anna in Criss Cross ; Sephora the...
, Rita Gam
Rita Gam
Rita Gam is an American film and television actress and documentary film maker. She was nominated for a Golden Globe and won the Silver Bear for Best Actress.-Career:...
, and Valentina Cortese.
He moved to Europe and appeared in a large number of German films. He was chiefly known to English
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
speakers for his appearance as Carlos Varela in the 1963 ITC Entertainment
ITC Entertainment
The Incorporated Television Company was a British television company largely involved in production and distribution. It was founded by Lew Grade.-History:...
series The Sentimental Agent
The Sentimental Agent
The Sentimental Agent is a television drama series spin-off from Man of the World. It was produced in the UK in 1963 by Associated TeleVision and distributed by ITC Entertainment. It stars Carlos Thompson as Argentinian Carlos Varela, a successful import-export agent based in London.The series ran...
. In the late 1960s, Thompson left acting to become a writer and TV producer.
His first success on the European book market was The assassination of Winston Churchill (1969), a refutation of allegations by David Irving
David Irving
David John Cawdell Irving is an English writer,best known for his denial of the Holocaust, who specialises in the military and political history of World War II, with a focus on Nazi Germany...
(Accident. The Death of General Sikorski, 1967)
and the German playwright Rolf Hochhuth
Rolf Hochhuth
Rolf Hochhuth is a German author and playwright. He is best known for his 1963 drama The Deputy and remains a controversial figure for his plays and other public comments, such as his insinuation of Pope Pius XII's sympathies for Hitler's extermination of the Jews in the 1963 play The Deputy and...
(Soldiers, premièred in the UK in 1968, London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
) that war time premier Winston Churchill
Winston Churchill
Sir Winston Leonard Spencer-Churchill, was a predominantly Conservative British politician and statesman known for his leadership of the United Kingdom during the Second World War. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest wartime leaders of the century and served as Prime Minister twice...
had a part in the death of Polish General Władysław Sikorski, who perished in an air plane crash at Gibraltar
Gibraltar
Gibraltar is a British overseas territory located on the southern end of the Iberian Peninsula at the entrance of the Mediterranean. A peninsula with an area of , it has a northern border with Andalusia, Spain. The Rock of Gibraltar is the major landmark of the region...
on July 4, 1943, allegedly due to sabotage
Sabotage
Sabotage is a deliberate action aimed at weakening another entity through subversion, obstruction, disruption, or destruction. In a workplace setting, sabotage is the conscious withdrawal of efficiency generally directed at causing some change in workplace conditions. One who engages in sabotage is...
.
Personal life
Although references to him recorded in the diaries of Noel CowardNoël Coward
Sir Noël Peirce Coward was an English playwright, composer, director, actor and singer, known for his wit, flamboyance, and what Time magazine called "a sense of personal style, a combination of cheek and chic, pose and poise".Born in Teddington, a suburb of London, Coward attended a dance academy...
suggest that he was bisexual, Thompson married German-born actress Lilli Palmer
Lilli Palmer
Lilli Palmer , born Lilli Marie Peiser, was a German actress. She won the Volpi Cup, the Deutscher Filmpreis three times, and was nominated twice for a Golden Globe Award.-Life and career:...
shortly after her divorce from Rex Harrison
Rex Harrison
Sir Reginald Carey “Rex” Harrison was an English actor of stage and screen. Harrison won an Academy Award and two Tony Awards.-Youth and stage career:...
. Thompson remained married to Palmer until her death in 1986.
Death
Four years after Palmer's death, Thompson committed suicideSuicide
Suicide is the act of intentionally causing one's own death. Suicide is often committed out of despair or attributed to some underlying mental disorder, such as depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, alcoholism, or drug abuse...
by a gunshot to his head in Buenos Aires.