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Ernest Thompson | |
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 Thompson, 2015 | |
| Born | (1949-11-06)November 6, 1949 (age 75) Bellows Falls, Vermont, U.S. |
| Nationality | American |
| Occupation(s) | Writer, actor, director |
Ernest Thompson (bornRichard Ernest Thompson; November 6, 1949) is an American writer, actor, and director. He won anAcademy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay forOn Golden Pond, an adaptation of his ownplay of the same name.[1]
Thompson was born as Richard Ernest Thompson inBellows Falls, Vermont, to parents Theron and Esther Thompson.[2] He spent his early years in Massachusetts, New Hampshire, and Maine, moving to Maryland as a junior high school student. He attended theUniversity of Maryland and theCatholic University of America, before ultimately graduating cum laude fromAmerican University in 1971.
Thompson is best known as the author of the playOn Golden Pond, which he wrote at the age of 28. The play opened off-Broadway in 1978, starringTom Aldredge andFrances Sternhagen. A great success at theKennedy Center, it opened at the New Apollo Theater on Broadway February 28, 1979. Revived the following season at the Century Theatre,On Golden Pond ran for more than 400 performances. It became a hit1981 film, starringKatharine Hepburn andHenry Fonda. Thompson won theAcademy Award forBest Adapted Screenplay in 1981 as well as awards from theGolden Globes and theWriters Guild of America.
The West Side Waltz, Thompson's second popular play, opened on Broadway, starring Katharine Hepburn on November 19, 1981. Thompson is quoted as saying thatThe West Side Waltz came about after a telephone call he received on behalf of screenwriterGeorge Seaton, creator of movies such asMiracle on 34th Street, offering Thompson "the only George Seaton grant" to write a new play for the Ahmanson Theatre in Los Angeles. Thompson wrote and directed a television version based on the play, premiering on Thanksgiving night 1995, starringShirley MacLaine,Liza Minnelli,Kathy Bates, andJennifer Grey.
As an actor, Thompson's only Broadway appearance was as drifter Hal Carter inSummer Brave,William Inge's revised version of his playPicnic. He portrayed Ranger Matt Harper on NBC’s 1974 seriesSierra and Dr. Phil Parker on ABC'sWestside Medical. He appeared on the NBC soap operaSomerset as Tony Cooper, son of Rex and Laura Cooper, and in the television filmsThe Rimers of Eldritch andF. Scott Fitzgerald and The Last of the Belles. Other acting credits include roles in theBob Fosse movieStar 80 andNext Stop Wonderland, directed byBrad Anderson.
Thompson wrote the screenplay for the feature filmSweet Hearts Dance, directed byRobert Greenwald and starringSusan Sarandon andDon Johnson. He directed1969, starringKiefer Sutherland,Robert Downey, Jr., andWinona Ryder.
During the 1990s, Thompson wrote the television filmTake Me Home Again (released on DVD asThe Lies Boys Tell) in 1994, based on the novel by Lamar Herrin, starringKirk Douglas andCraig T. Nelson, in which Thompson also appeared. He directed and acted oppositeShirley MacLaine andJennifer Grey inThe West Side Waltz and co-wrote and directed the Emmy-nominated movieOut of Time, starringJames McDaniel andMel Harris.
In 2000, Thompson directedThe Penis Responds, withRichard Gilliland, as a "lighthearted" answer toThe Vagina Monologues.[3] In 2001, he directed his own live TV version ofOn Golden Pond, starringJulie Andrews andChristopher Plummer. His playWhite People Christmas played at the Zephyr Theatre in Los Angeles, directed by Thompson.
In 1991 his son August was born. In 1993, Thompson married Kristie Lanier at his home in New Hampshire, where he raised daughters Heather and Danielle. Thompson and Lanier later divorced. On Christmas Day in 2012, he married Kerrin (Rocha) Adrian.
Thompson lives most of the year in [New Hampshire][4] (very close to whereOn Golden Pond was filmed). In 2008, Thompson co-founded Whitebridge Farm Productions with partners Morgan Murphy and Lori Gigliotti-Murphy. He wrote, directed and starred in the company's first two movies,Heavenly Angle andTime and Charges, both of which were primarily filmed in the Granite State and offered by Whitebridge Farm Productions.
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