Eric Thompson

Eric Norman Thompson (9 November 1929 – 30 November 1982) was an English actor, scriptwriter and stage director. He is best remembered for creating and performing the English narration for The Magic Roundabout, which he adapted from the original French Le Manège enchanté.

Early life Eric Norman Thompson was born on 9 November 1929 in Sleaford, Lincolnshire, England, the son of Annie (née Jackson) and George Henry Thompson, a hotel waiter, and grew up in Rudgwick, Sussex, attending Collyer's School, Horsham. He trained to be an actor at the Old Vic acting school in London and joined the Old Vic theatre company in 1952. whom he met while at the Old Vic in 1957. Their daughters Emma and Sophie Thompson followed their parents into acting.

In 1967, he had a heart attack, attributed to overwork and heavy smoking, and he therefore changed his focus to directing. He directed Kenneth Williams in My Fat Friend in 1972 and the conflicts between the two are extensively discussed in Williams' diaries.

Thompson died of a heart attack in London on 30 November 1982, aged 53.

Selected filmography