Chris Thompson obit

Chris Thompson Dies: Writer-Producer Created ‘Shake It Up!’, ‘Bosom Buddies’

 

He was not on the list.

Veteran TV writer and producer Chris Thompson, creator of comedy series Shake It Up!, Action, The Naked Truth, Ladies Man and co-creator of Bosom Buddies, died unexpectedly Friday night after a long illness. He was 63. Thompson recently had solidified a deal to create a new comedy series based on a hit Israeli show. Amazon just last week had given the go-ahead for Thompson to produce a pilot.

“Chris Thompson was the kind of writer that writers write about,” longtime friend Jim Vallely (Arrested Development, Two And A Half Men) noted Saturday night. “He was pushing the envelope back when people still used envelopes. Chris’s show Bosom Buddies was the first sitcom I’d ever seen that was actively sneaking jokes by the censors.  On Chris’s Fox comedy Action, after he handed in a first draft of an especially raunchy episode, it was returned from S&P with a stamped ‘This script has been REJECTED’ on the cover page. I had never seen that stamp before or after and I don’t think I ever will. I and everyone who’s ever worked with him are devastated by this sad news. 

Shake It Up! stars Zendaya and Bella Thorne shared the photo above on Instagram. “Last night we lost an amazing, talented and loving man,” Zendaya wrote. “Thank you CT for always being there, for giving me my first role and creating beautiful memories I will always be thankful for. I will miss you, but I know you’re in heaven finally at peace.” Added Thorne, “RIP to my good friend Chris Thompson, mentor and creator of Shake It Up. You were like a dad to me at an early age and protected me through many years. I will love and miss you always.”

What Thompson thought was going to be his big acting break came when he was 23 and a producer approached him after seeing his improv performance at L.A.’s Off The Wall theater. Instead, it was the start of a long writing career that began when that producer offered him an apprentice writing position on the series Sirota’s Court. He later was introduced to and went to work for producer Garry Marshall on Blansky’s Beauties with Nancy Walker and Scott Baio. That let to a seven-year stint writing and later executive producing Laverne & Shirley which starred co-creator Garry Marshall’s sister Penny Marshall and Cindy Williams.

 Chris Thompson was on the verge of closing a deal for a pilot at Amazon that he hoped would be the start of a career turnaround. Just a few days ago, he sent a text message to his daughter Lola asking where she wanted to go to celebrate her birthday.

But on Friday evening, the veteran TV comedy writer, known for his hard-partying lifestyle and professional highs and lows, was found dead at the Toluca Lake home of actor Tim Curry, his longtime friend. He was 63.

Thompson’s death was confirmed by his ex-wife, director-producer Lyndall Hobbs. She said Thompson was discovered unconscious by a caregiver at Curry’s home on Friday night. An autopsy is being performed to determine the cause of death, Hobbs said.

By 1980, Thompson created his first sitcom, ABC’s “Bosom Buddies,” which is notable for giving a young Hanks an important career boost. The series starred Hanks and Peter Scolari as friends who disguised themselves as women in order to secure an affordable apartment in New York City. It only lasted two seasons but remains a pop culture touchstone.

He went on to co-create the Tom Hanks starrer Bosom Buddies and create a slew of other starring vehicles, The Naked Truth starring Tea Leoni, Action, toplined by Jay Mohr, Ladies Man with Alfred Molina, and Shake It Up!. Additional writing and producing credits include the groundbreaking The Larry Sanders Show with Garry Shandling, House Rules, Hard Knocks and more than 30 pilots for various networks and studios. His credits also include the TV movies Big Deals, Lola, Slickers and the features Jumpin’ Jack Flash and Back To The Beach.

 

Filmography

 

Sirota's Court (1976–1977) (TV)

Blansky's Beauties (1977) (TV)

Laverne & Shirley (1977–1979) (TV)

Bosom Buddies (1980–1982) (TV)

The President of Love (1984) (TV)

Slickers (1985) (TV)

Jumpin' Jack Flash (with Charles Shyer, Nancy Meyers and David Franzoni) (1986)

Hard Knocks (1987) (TV)

Back to the Beach (with Peter Krikes and Steve Meerson) (1987)

Lola (1990) (TV)

Big Deals (1991) (TV)

The Larry Sanders Show (1992–1993) (TV)

Dave's World (1994) (TV)

The Naked Truth (1995-1997) (TV)

House Rules (1998) (TV)

Action (1999) (TV)

Ladies Man (1999) (TV)

Trash (2003) (TV)

Shake It Up (2010–2013) (TV)