Raymond Thompson
Encyclopedia
Raymond Thompson is a screenwriter, composer and producer.
Thompson was born in Redditch
, Worcestershire
and grew up in Ontario
, after his parents emigrated to Canada
. He studied Drama at York University
and embarked upon a successful career in the music industry as both a songwriter and musician. His groups include Stillwater
, and one evolved into Edison Lighthouse
, who had the number one record "Love Grows (Where My Rosemary Goes)
".
Thompson published a novel in 1979, The Number to Call Is... before becoming a script consultant for various producers. His television writing credits include Squadron
and the iconic Howards' Way
, which ran for six years and was considered to be one the BBC's most loved drama series, drawing huge ratings. He acquired the position of Head of Development for BBC
Television Drama Series and worked on many other titles, including Bergerac
and The House of Eliott
. In 1994 and in association with the Sanctuary Group PLC, Thompson founded his own production company, the Cloud 9 Screen Entertainment Group, which has since specialized in family entertainment.
The company trades through offices in London
, Wellington
(New Zealand), and has expanded into the Australia
n market. Southern Star currently distribute the substantial back catalogoe. Since 1994, Thompson has created and produced several television series and movies, including The Enid Blyton Adventure Series
, The Enid Blyton Secret Series, The Adventures of Swiss Family Robinson
(starring Richard Thomas), Return to Treasure Island
, The Legend of William Tell
(created by Thompson), William Shatner's A Twist in the Tale
(also created by Thompson). Other series Thompson created include Atlantis High
, Revelations – The Initial Journey, and The New Tomorrow
. Perhaps his best known creation is the teen drama/sci-fi hybrid The Tribe, which has become a cult classic around the world and ran for five years with almost three hundred episodes being produced. The series is constantly being repeated and has a fanatical fan base.
Thompson has Asperger syndrome
, an autism spectrum
condition. Thompson's son Cameron was also diagnosed. Thompson founded the Cloud 9's Children Foundation, which aims to support families in Oceania affected by Asperger syndrome.
In 2001, he returned to his music roots and composed the soundtracks of Cloud 9's portfolio, as well as the Spirit Symphony, which was partly inspired by his Asperger syndrome. It was performed by the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra and released on CD in 2004. The proceeds of the song "With You Every Step of the Way" (also composed by Raymond) were donated to the foundation.
He has been a juror at BAFTA
and the International Emmy Award
s. In 2003, he was appointed by Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II
as a member of the New Zealand Order of Merit for his services to television. In the same year he also received an Honours Award at Dragon*Con
.
A wine lover, Thompson owns Tirohana Estate.
Thompson is currently focusing on his screenwriting activities and is developing a portfolio of motion pictures which he hopes to produce.
Thompson was born in Redditch
Redditch
Redditch is a town and local government district in north-east Worcestershire, England, approximately south of Birmingham. The district had a population of 79,216 in 2005. In the 19th century it became the international centre for the needle and fishing tackle industry...
, Worcestershire
Worcestershire
Worcestershire is a non-metropolitan county, established in antiquity, located in the West Midlands region of England. For Eurostat purposes it is a NUTS 3 region and is one of three counties that comprise the "Herefordshire, Worcestershire and Warwickshire" NUTS 2 region...
and grew up in Ontario
Ontario
Ontario is a province of Canada, located in east-central Canada. It is Canada's most populous province and second largest in total area. It is home to the nation's most populous city, Toronto, and the nation's capital, Ottawa....
, after his parents emigrated to Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
. He studied Drama at York University
York University
York University is a public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is Canada's third-largest university, Ontario's second-largest graduate school, and Canada's leading interdisciplinary university....
and embarked upon a successful career in the music industry as both a songwriter and musician. His groups include Stillwater
Stillwater (band)
Stillwater was an American band of the 1970s, which played Southern rock with a folk flair.Their song Mindbender charted in the top 100 singles in 1978. The band existed from 1973 to 1982 and was based in Warner Robins, Georgia. They released two albums on Capricorn Records, Stillwater , which...
, and one evolved into Edison Lighthouse
Edison Lighthouse
Edison Lighthouse was a UK pop group, initially a studio-only assemblage that served as a vehicle for session vocalist Tony Burrows and songwriter/record producers Tony Macaulay and Barry Mason, are best known for their 1970 UK chart-topper and million-selling record, "Love Grows ".-Career:The...
, who had the number one record "Love Grows (Where My Rosemary Goes)
Love Grows (Where My Rosemary Goes)
"Love Grows " is a popular song by "one-hit wonder" Edison Lighthouse. The single hit the number one spot on the UK singles chart on the week ending on 31 January 1970, where it remained for a total of five weeks.- Song profile :...
".
Thompson published a novel in 1979, The Number to Call Is... before becoming a script consultant for various producers. His television writing credits include Squadron
Squadron (TV series)
Squadron is a British television series produced by the BBC in 1982.The series dealt with the adventures of 370 Rapid Deployment Squadron of the Royal Air Force. The Squadron operated a mix of operational RAF aircraft including the Harrier GR Mk 3, Hercules C Mk 1, Puma HC Mk 1 and the first...
and the iconic Howards' Way
Howards' Way
Howards' Way is a television drama series produced by BBC Birmingham and transmitted on BBC One between 1 September 1985 and 25 November 1990. The series deals with the personal and professional lives of the yachting and business communities in the fictional town of Tarrant on the South Coast of...
, which ran for six years and was considered to be one the BBC's most loved drama series, drawing huge ratings. He acquired the position of Head of Development for BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
Television Drama Series and worked on many other titles, including Bergerac
Bergerac (TV series)
Bergerac was a British television show set on Jersey. Produced by the BBC in association with the Seven Network, and screened on BBC1, it starred John Nettles as the title character Detective Sergeant Jim Bergerac, a detective in "Le Bureau des Étrangers" Bergerac was a British television show...
and The House of Eliott
The House of Eliott
The House of Eliott is a British television series produced and broadcast by the BBC in three series between 1991 and 1994. The series starred Stella Gonet and Louise Lombard as two sisters in 1920s London who establish a dressmaking business and eventually their own haute couture fashion house...
. In 1994 and in association with the Sanctuary Group PLC, Thompson founded his own production company, the Cloud 9 Screen Entertainment Group, which has since specialized in family entertainment.
The company trades through offices in 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...
, Wellington
Wellington
Wellington is the capital city and third most populous urban area of New Zealand, although it is likely to have surpassed Christchurch due to the exodus following the Canterbury Earthquake. It is at the southwestern tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Rimutaka Range...
(New Zealand), and has expanded into the Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
n market. Southern Star currently distribute the substantial back catalogoe. Since 1994, Thompson has created and produced several television series and movies, including The Enid Blyton Adventure Series
The Adventure Series
The Adventure Series by Enid Blyton, a prolific English children's author, is a series of eight children's novels. These books feature the same child characters: Philip, Jack, Dinah, and Lucy-Ann, along with several adult characters...
, The Enid Blyton Secret Series, The Adventures of Swiss Family Robinson
The Swiss Family Robinson
-History:Written by Swiss pastor Johann David Wyss and edited by his son Johann Rudolf Wyss, the novel was intended to teach his four sons about family values, good husbandry, the uses of the natural world and self-reliance...
(starring Richard Thomas), Return to Treasure Island
Return to Treasure Island
Return to Treasure Island is a Disney mini-series, starring Brian Blessed as Long John Silver.Disney Channel contracted the UK ITV broadcaster HTV Wales to actually produce the series, and it was shot in Wales, Spain and Jamaica...
, The Legend of William Tell
The Legend of William Tell
The Legend of William Tell is a 16-part television fantasy/drama series produced in 1998 by Cloud 9 Productions in New Zealand. The basic premise of the series — a crossbow-wielding rebel defies a corrupt governor — and the name of the title character were adopted from the traditional story, but...
(created by Thompson), William Shatner's A Twist in the Tale
A Twist in the Tale (TV series)
A Twist in the Tale is a 1998 TV series starring William Shatner.Willam Shatner's A Twist In The Tale was a 15 episode short lived television series in the late 1990's. Every week the narrator/host would have a group of children he would tell a story to. The main children were always in the story...
(also created by Thompson). Other series Thompson created include Atlantis High
Atlantis High
Atlantis High is a teen comedy TV show, shot in New Zealand in 2001.The plot revolves around 16-year-old Giles Gordon , who has just moved to Sunset Cove, "a beautiful coastal surfing town where the sun is always shining, the people are all beautiful and everything is perfect.....
, Revelations – The Initial Journey, and The New Tomorrow
The New Tomorrow
The New Tomorrow is a New Zealand-based television series produced by Cloud 9 and is a sequel to the cult television series The Tribe. The show was created by Raymond Thompson and premiered on 17 September 2005 on the Seven Network in Australia....
. Perhaps his best known creation is the teen drama/sci-fi hybrid The Tribe, which has become a cult classic around the world and ran for five years with almost three hundred episodes being produced. The series is constantly being repeated and has a fanatical fan base.
Thompson has Asperger syndrome
Asperger syndrome
Asperger's syndrome that is characterized by significant difficulties in social interaction, alongside restricted and repetitive patterns of behavior and interests. It differs from other autism spectrum disorders by its relative preservation of linguistic and cognitive development...
, an autism spectrum
Autism spectrum
The term "autism spectrum" is often used to describe disorders that are currently classified as pervasive developmental disorders. Pervasive developmental disorders include autism, Asperger syndrome, Childhood disintegrative disorder, Rett syndrome and Pervasive Developmental Disorder Not Otherwise...
condition. Thompson's son Cameron was also diagnosed. Thompson founded the Cloud 9's Children Foundation, which aims to support families in Oceania affected by Asperger syndrome.
In 2001, he returned to his music roots and composed the soundtracks of Cloud 9's portfolio, as well as the Spirit Symphony, which was partly inspired by his Asperger syndrome. It was performed by the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra and released on CD in 2004. The proceeds of the song "With You Every Step of the Way" (also composed by Raymond) were donated to the foundation.
He has been a juror at BAFTA
British Academy of Film and Television Arts
The British Academy of Film and Television Arts is a charity in the United Kingdom that hosts annual awards shows for excellence in film, television, television craft, video games and forms of animation.-Introduction:...
and the International Emmy Award
Emmy Award
An Emmy Award, often referred to simply as the Emmy, is a television production award, similar in nature to the Peabody Awards but more focused on entertainment, and is considered the television equivalent to the Academy Awards and the Grammy Awards .A majority of Emmys are presented in various...
s. In 2003, he was appointed by Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II
Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom
Elizabeth II is the constitutional monarch of 16 sovereign states known as the Commonwealth realms: the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Jamaica, Barbados, the Bahamas, Grenada, Papua New Guinea, the Solomon Islands, Tuvalu, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Belize,...
as a member of the New Zealand Order of Merit for his services to television. In the same year he also received an Honours Award at Dragon*Con
Dragon Con
Dragon*Con is a North America multigenre convention, founded in 1987, which takes place once each year in Atlanta, Georgia...
.
A wine lover, Thompson owns Tirohana Estate.
Thompson is currently focusing on his screenwriting activities and is developing a portfolio of motion pictures which he hopes to produce.