Fred Thompson (writer)
Encyclopedia
Libretto
A libretto is the text used in an extended musical work such as an opera, operetta, masque, oratorio, cantata, or musical. The term "libretto" is also sometimes used to refer to the text of major liturgical works, such as mass, requiem, and sacred cantata, or even the story line of a...
for about fifty British and American musical comedies
Musical theatre
Musical theatre is a form of theatre combining songs, spoken dialogue, acting, and dance. The emotional content of the piece – humor, pathos, love, anger – as well as the story itself, is communicated through the words, music, movement and technical aspects of the entertainment as an...
from World War I to World War II. Among the writers with whom he collaborated were George Grossmith Jr., P. G. Wodehouse
P. G. Wodehouse
Sir Pelham Grenville Wodehouse, KBE was an English humorist, whose body of work includes novels, short stories, plays, poems, song lyrics, and numerous pieces of journalism. He enjoyed enormous popular success during a career that lasted more than seventy years and his many writings continue to be...
, Guy Bolton
Guy Bolton
Guy Reginald Bolton was a British-American playwright and writer of musical comedies. Born in England and educated in France and the U.S., he trained as an architect but turned to writing. Bolton preferred working in collaboration with others, principally the English writers P. G...
and Ira Gershwin
Ira Gershwin
Ira Gershwin was an American lyricist who collaborated with his younger brother, composer George Gershwin, to create some of the most memorable songs of the 20th century....
. Composers with whom he worked included Lionel Monckton
Lionel Monckton
Lionel John Alexander Monckton was an English writer and composer of musical theatre. He was Britain's most popular musical theatre composer of the early years of the 20th century.-Early life:...
, Ivor Novello
Ivor Novello
David Ivor Davies , better known as Ivor Novello, was a Welsh composer, singer and actor who became one of the most popular British entertainers of the first half of the 20th century. Born into a musical family, his first successes were as a songwriter...
and George Gershwin
George Gershwin
George Gershwin was an American composer and pianist. Gershwin's compositions spanned both popular and classical genres, and his most popular melodies are widely known...
.
Many of Thompson's shows became popular hits, including To-night's the Night
To-Night's the Night (musical)
To-Night's the Night is a musical comedy composed by Paul Rubens, with lyrics by Percy Greenbank and Rubens, and a book adapted by Fred Thompson. Two songs were composed by Jerome Kern. The story is based on the farce Les Dominos roses .The musical was produced by George Grossmith, Jr. and Edward...
(1914), The Bing Boys are Here
The Bing Boys Are Here
The Bing Boys Are Here, styled "A Picture of London Life, in a Prologue and Six Panels," is the first of a series of revues which played at the Alhambra Theatre, London during the last two years of World War I. The series included The Bing Boys on Broadway and The Bing Boys are There. The music...
(1916), The Boy
The Boy (musical)
The Boy is a musical comedy with a book by Fred Thompson and Percy Greenbank , music by Lionel Monckton and Howard Talbot and lyrics by Greenbank and Adrian Ross...
(1917), Lady, Be Good! (1924), Rio Rita
Rio Rita (musical)
Rio Rita is a 1927 stage musical with a book by Guy Bolton and Fred Thompson , music by Harry Tierney, lyrics by Joseph McCarthy, and produced by Florenz Ziegfeld...
(1927), Funny Face
Funny Face (musical)
Funny Face is a 1927 musical composed by George Gershwin, with lyrics by Ira Gershwin, and book by Fred Thompson and Paul Gerard Smith.Originally called Smarty, it starred Fred Astaire and his sister Adele Astaire. It opened in Philadelphia to poor reviews, and amidst major re-writes,...
(1927) and Follow the Girls
Follow the Girls
Follow the Girls is a musical with a book by Guy Bolton, Eddie Davis and Fred Thompson and music and lyrics by Dan Shapiro, Milton Pascal, and Phil Charig....
(1944).
Biography
Thompson was born in London and raised in Newton AbbotNewton Abbot
Newton Abbot is a market town and civil parish in the Teignbridge District of Devon, England on the River Teign, with a population of 23,580....
, Devon
Devon
Devon is a large county in southwestern England. The county is sometimes referred to as Devonshire, although the term is rarely used inside the county itself as the county has never been officially "shired", it often indicates a traditional or historical context.The county shares borders with...
in the west of England. He attended the Slade School of Fine Art
Slade School of Fine Art
The Slade School of Fine Art is a world-renownedart school in London, United Kingdom, and a department of University College London...
in London and trained as an architect. He was a skilled caricaturist, and in the early years of the 20th century he contributed regular theatrical caricatures to at least three London newspapers. He worked for three years as an actor, giving him an inside view of stagecraft, which he later put to use in his writing.
Early career
Thompson's first stage work was the book of the show The Lady Jockey in 1908. In 1913, he began a partnership with George Grossmith Jr. with the revueRevue
A revue is a type of multi-act popular theatrical entertainment that combines music, dance and sketches. The revue has its roots in 19th century American popular entertainment and melodrama but grew into a substantial cultural presence of its own during its golden years from 1916 to 1932...
Eightpence a Mile, praised by The Times
The Times
The Times is a British daily national newspaper, first published in London in 1785 under the title The Daily Universal Register . The Times and its sister paper The Sunday Times are published by Times Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary since 1981 of News International...
as "the brightest and swiftest, and on the whole the most entertaining of all the revues that have been produced in London". In May 1914 Thompson and Philip Braham
Philip Braham
Philip Braham was an English composer of the early twentieth century, chiefly associated with theatrical work.-Biography:...
collaborated on Violet and Pink, described as "a miniature musical comedy … with plenty of singing and dancing, any amount of jokes, and some catching music." The first big joint success of the Thompson and Grossmith partnership was To-night's the Night
To-Night's the Night (musical)
To-Night's the Night is a musical comedy composed by Paul Rubens, with lyrics by Percy Greenbank and Rubens, and a book adapted by Fred Thompson. Two songs were composed by Jerome Kern. The story is based on the farce Les Dominos roses .The musical was produced by George Grossmith, Jr. and Edward...
in 1914 (Broadway
Broadway theatre
Broadway theatre, commonly called simply Broadway, refers to theatrical performances presented in one of the 40 professional theatres with 500 or more seats located in the Theatre District centered along Broadway, and in Lincoln Center, in Manhattan in New York City...
) and 1915 (London), with music by Paul Rubens
Paul Rubens (composer)
Paul Alfred Rubens was an English songwriter and librettist who wrote some of the most popular Edwardian musical comedies of the early twentieth century. He contributed to the success of dozens of musicals....
and lyrics by Harry Greenbank
Harry Greenbank
Harry Greenbank was an English author and dramatist best known for contributing lyrics to the successful series musicals produced at Daly's Theatre by George Edwardes in the 1890s.-Life and career:...
.
After this success, Thompson's services were in demand for new West End
West End theatre
West End theatre is a popular term for mainstream professional theatre staged in the large theatres of London's 'Theatreland', the West End. Along with New York's Broadway theatre, West End theatre is usually considered to represent the highest level of commercial theatre in the English speaking...
shows. In 1919 he was author, or part-author, of six shows running in London. His best-known shows in this period included the World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
sensations The Bing Boys Are Here
The Bing Boys Are Here
The Bing Boys Are Here, styled "A Picture of London Life, in a Prologue and Six Panels," is the first of a series of revues which played at the Alhambra Theatre, London during the last two years of World War I. The series included The Bing Boys on Broadway and The Bing Boys are There. The music...
(1916, in collaboration with Grossmith) and The Boy
The Boy (musical)
The Boy is a musical comedy with a book by Fred Thompson and Percy Greenbank , music by Lionel Monckton and Howard Talbot and lyrics by Greenbank and Adrian Ross...
(1917, with Lionel Monckton
Lionel Monckton
Lionel John Alexander Monckton was an English writer and composer of musical theatre. He was Britain's most popular musical theatre composer of the early years of the 20th century.-Early life:...
and Howard Talbot
Howard Talbot
Richard Lansdale Munkittrick, better known as Howard Talbot , was an American-born, English-raised conductor and composer of Irish descent...
). Other successes included Pell-Mell (1916), The Bing Boys On Broadway (1918, with Grossmith and H.M. Vernon – a West End show, despite the title), Who's Hooper (1919, based on a Pinero
Piñero
Piñero is a 2001 biopic about the troubled life of Nuyorican poet and playwright Miguel Piñero, starring Benjamin Bratt as the titular character. It was written and directed by the Cuban filmmaker, Leon Ichaso. It premiered at the Montreal Film Festival on 31 August 2001...
play, composed by Ivor Novello
Ivor Novello
David Ivor Davies , better known as Ivor Novello, was a Welsh composer, singer and actor who became one of the most popular British entertainers of the first half of the 20th century. Born into a musical family, his first successes were as a songwriter...
) and The Golden Moth (1921, with P. G. Wodehouse
P. G. Wodehouse
Sir Pelham Grenville Wodehouse, KBE was an English humorist, whose body of work includes novels, short stories, plays, poems, song lyrics, and numerous pieces of journalism. He enjoyed enormous popular success during a career that lasted more than seventy years and his many writings continue to be...
, music by Novello). Although most of Thompson's early shows premiered in the West End, other early Broadway productions included Good Morning, Judge (1919; an adaptation of Pinero
Piñero
Piñero is a 2001 biopic about the troubled life of Nuyorican poet and playwright Miguel Piñero, starring Benjamin Bratt as the titular character. It was written and directed by the Cuban filmmaker, Leon Ichaso. It premiered at the Montreal Film Festival on 31 August 2001...
's The Magistrate), Afgar (1920), Vogues of 1924 and Marjorie (1924).
In 1924, Thompson had a big success in New York with a show written in collaboration with Guy Bolton
Guy Bolton
Guy Reginald Bolton was a British-American playwright and writer of musical comedies. Born in England and educated in France and the U.S., he trained as an architect but turned to writing. Bolton preferred working in collaboration with others, principally the English writers P. G...
, Lady, Be Good!, with music and lyrics by George
George Gershwin
George Gershwin was an American composer and pianist. Gershwin's compositions spanned both popular and classical genres, and his most popular melodies are widely known...
and Ira Gershwin
Ira Gershwin
Ira Gershwin was an American lyricist who collaborated with his younger brother, composer George Gershwin, to create some of the most memorable songs of the 20th century....
, and starring Fred Astaire
Fred Astaire
Fred Astaire was an American film and Broadway stage dancer, choreographer, singer and actor. His stage and subsequent film career spanned a total of 76 years, during which he made 31 musical films. He was named the fifth Greatest Male Star of All Time by the American Film Institute...
and his sister Adele
Adele Astaire
Lady Charles Cavendish , better known as Adele Astaire, was an American dancer and entertainer. She was Fred Astaire's elder sister. Her birthdate was often given as 1897 or 1898, but the 1900 U.S...
(also playing strongly in London in 1926). This was followed in swift succession by two more Broadway shows with Gershwin songs, Tell Me More and Tip-Toes
Tip-Toes
Tip-Toes is a musical with a book by Guy Bolton and Fred Thompson , lyrics by Ira Gershwin, and music by George Gershwin. It centers on a vaudeville act known as the Three Kayes - composed of Al, Uncle Hen, and Tip-Toes - who try to pass themselves off as aristocrats in the upper class community of...
(both 1925). Bolton and Thompson followed these with a string of further Broadway successes. In 1927 they had three shows running on Broadway simultaneously: Rio Rita
Rio Rita (musical)
Rio Rita is a 1927 stage musical with a book by Guy Bolton and Fred Thompson , music by Harry Tierney, lyrics by Joseph McCarthy, and produced by Florenz Ziegfeld...
(songs by Harry Tierney and Joseph McCarthy), and two Gershwin shows, Funny Face
Funny Face (musical)
Funny Face is a 1927 musical composed by George Gershwin, with lyrics by Ira Gershwin, and book by Fred Thompson and Paul Gerard Smith.Originally called Smarty, it starred Fred Astaire and his sister Adele Astaire. It opened in Philadelphia to poor reviews, and amidst major re-writes,...
and The Five O'Clock Girl
The Five O'Clock Girl
The Five O'Clock Girl is a musical with a book by Guy Bolton and Fred Thompson, music by Harry Ruby, and lyrics by Bert Kalmar. It focuses on wealthy Beekman Place playboy Gerald Brooks and impoverished shopgirl Patricia Brown, who become acquainted with each other via a series of anonymous 5...
(which also played in the West End in 1929). Another Gershwin musical the next year was Treasure Girl
Treasure Girl
Treasure Girl is a musical with a book by Fred Thompson and Vincent Lawrence, music by George Gershwin and lyrics by Ira Gershwin. The musical's best-known song is " Crush on You", which has been recorded by a number of artists, including Frank Sinatra.After a tryout in Philadelphia beginning on...
(1928). Thompson's last Broadway success of the inter-war years was Sons O' Guns, in 1929.
Later years
Returning to London, Thompson continued to write musicals, with Bolton and others. None of his 1930s shows were smash hits like the Broadway shows of the late 1920s, but many were solid successes, including Seeing Stars (1935), Going Places (1936), Swing Along (1936) and Magyar Melody (1939). The last of these made history on 27 March 1939 as the first musical to be broadcast directly from a theatre and shown on television. Thompson and Bolton had a final Broadway hit with Follow the GirlsFollow the Girls
Follow the Girls is a musical with a book by Guy Bolton, Eddie Davis and Fred Thompson and music and lyrics by Dan Shapiro, Milton Pascal, and Phil Charig....
, which ran for almost 900 performances in 1944. The cast included Jackie Gleason
Jackie Gleason
Jackie Gleason was an American comedian, actor and musician. He was known for his brash visual and verbal comedy style, especially by his character Ralph Kramden on The Honeymooners, a situation-comedy television series. His most noted film roles were as Minnesota Fats in the drama film The...
.
Thompson had a stage and screen hit (1936) with This'll Make You Whistle
This'll Make You Whistle
This'll Make You Whistle is a 1936 British musical comedy film directed by Herbert Wilcox and starring Jack Buchanan, Elsie Randolph and William Kendall.-Cast:* Jack Buchanan - Bill Hoppings* Elsie Randolph - Bobbie Rivers* Jean Gillie - Joan Longhurst...
in collaboration with Eric Maschwitz
Eric Maschwitz
Albert Eric Maschwitz OBE , known as Eric Maschwitz and sometimes credited as Holt Marvell, was an English entertainer, writer, broadcaster and broadcasting executive.-Life and work:...
, and the two were working on a new show in 1949 when Thompson died suddenly. The obituary notice in The Times said of him: "To the [theatrical] profession he was the man to whom all turned for years in the knowledge that from his pen there would come just the right mixture to give each member of the cast the chance to shine in his or her particular way and so ensure the success of a venture which, as with all musical comedy, for all its surface gaiety, is a serious business risk."
Thompson died in London at the age of 65.
External links
- Fred Thompson at the IMDB database