Harry Thompson
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- This article is about the British comedy producer; for information on the American who spied for Japan please see Harry Thompson (spy). For the former football (soccer) goalkeeper, see Harry Thomson.
Harry William Thompson (February 6, 1960 – November 7, 2005) was a British producer and writer of comedies, and a successful novelist and biographer.
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[edit] Biography
Thompson attended Highgate School, going on to read history at Brasenose College, Oxford.
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).
[edit] 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.
[edit] 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.
