Larry A. Thompson (born August 1, 1944) is a Hollywood film producer, personal manager, book packager, lawyer, author, and motivational speaker.

Early life and education

Thompson was born in

Clarksdale, Mississippi Clarksdale is a city in and the county seat of Coahoma County, Mississippi, United States. It is located along the Sunflower River. Clarksdale is named after John Clark, a settler who founded the city in the mid-19th century when he establishe ...

, to Angelo and Anne (maiden name, Tuminello) Thompson. He graduated from the

University of Mississippi The University of Mississippi (byname Ole Miss) is a public research university that is located adjacent to Oxford, Mississippi, and has a medical center in Jackson. It is Mississippi's oldest public university and its largest by enrollment. ...

with a

Juris Doctor The Juris Doctor (J.D. or JD), also known as Doctor of Jurisprudence (J.D., JD, D.Jur., or DJur), is a graduate-entry professional degree in law and one of several Doctor of Law degrees. The J.D. is the standard degree obtained to practice law ...

(J.D.) in 1968.

Career

Thompson started his entertainment-industry career as in-house counsel for

Capitol Records Capitol Records, LLC (known legally as Capitol Records, Inc. until 2007) is an American record label distributed by Universal Music Group through its Capitol Music Group imprint. It was founded as the first West Coast-based record label of note ...

. He was the youngest lawyer working for the label and negotiated separate contracts for each of the

Beatles The Beatles were an English rock band, formed in Liverpool in 1960, that comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are regarded as the most influential band of all time and were integral to the developme ...

when the group broke up. By the 1970s, he was a founding partner in the entertainment law firm of Thompson, Shankman, Bond and Moss. For five years, he packaged movie and television projects and represented the careers of many prominent actors and performers. He also orchestrated the $300-million-dollar merger of

Harrah's Harrah's Entertainment (later named Caesars Entertainment Corporation, previously The Promus Companies) was an American casino and hotel company founded in Reno, Nevada, and based in Paradise, Nevada, that operated over 50 properties and seven go ...

and

Holiday Inn Holiday Inn is an American chain of hotels based in Atlanta, Georgia. and a brand of IHG Hotels & Resorts. The chain was founded in 1952 by Kemmons Wilson, who opened the first location in Memphis, Tennessee that year. The chain was a division ...

. When the law partnership was dissolved, Thompson created the Larry A. Thompson Organization, a company devoted to film production and the personal management of talent. Thompson and fellow lawyers

Harry E. Sloan Harry Evans Sloan (born March 8, 1950) is an American business executive, a former chairman of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) and SBS Broadcasting, and a former entertainment lawyer. In partnership with fellow former motion picture company chairman ...

and Larry Kuppin subsequently purchased

New World Pictures New World Pictures (also known as New World Entertainment and New World Communications Group, Inc.) was an American independent production, distribution, and (in its final years as an autonomous entity) multimedia company. It was founded in 197 ...

from

Roger Corman Roger William Corman (born April 5, 1926) is an American film director, producer, and actor. He has been called "The Pope of Pop Cinema" and is known as a trailblazer in the world of independent film. Many of Corman's films are based on works t ...

for $16.5 million and immediately took the company public. He sold his New World equity position in 1983 and refocused his attention to independent film production and talent management. He received the Vision Award in 1993.

Talent management

Thompson and his company have managed over 200 artists including

Drew Barrymore Drew Blythe Barrymore (born February 22, 1975) is an American actress, director, producer, talk show host and author. A member of the Barrymore family of actors, she is the recipient of several accolades, including a Golden Globe Award and a ...

Jason Bateman Jason Kent Bateman (born January 14, 1969) is an American actor, director and producer known for his roles of Michael Bluth in the Fox Broadcasting Company, Fox/Netflix sitcom ''Arrested Development (TV series), Arrested Development'' and of Mart ...

Justine Bateman Justine Tanya Bateman (born February 19, 1966) is an American writer, director and producer. Her former acting work includes ''Family Ties'', '' Satisfaction'', ''Men Behaving Badly'', ''The TV Set'', ''Desperate Housewives'', and ''Californic ...

Linda Blair Linda Denise Blair (born January 22, 1959) is an American actress and activist. She played Regan MacNeil in the horror film ''The Exorcist'' (1973), for which she won a Golden Globe Award and received a nomination for an Academy Award. The film ...

Robert Blake Robert Blake may refer to: Sportspeople * Bob Blake (American football) (1885–1962), American football player * Robbie Blake (born 1976), English footballer * Bob Blake (ice hockey) (1914–2008), American ice hockey player * Rob Blake (born 19 ...

Bruce Boxleitner Bruce William Boxleitner (born May 12, 1950) is an American actor and science fiction and suspense writer. He is known for his leading roles in the television series '' How the West Was Won'', '' Bring 'Em Back Alive'', ''Scarecrow and Mrs. King ...

Delta Burke Delta Ramona Leah Burke (born July 30, 1956) is an American actress, producer, and author. From 1986 to 1991, she starred as Suzanne Sugarbaker in the CBS sitcom ''Designing Women'', for which she was nominated for two Emmy Awards for Outsta ...

Cindy Crawford Cynthia Ann Crawford (born February 20, 1966) is an American model, actress and television personality. During the 1980s and 1990s, she was among the most popular supermodels and a ubiquitous presence on magazine covers, runways, as well as fash ...

William Devane William Joseph Devane (born September 5, 1939) is an American actor. He is known for his role as Greg Sumner on the primetime soap opera '' Knots Landing'' (1983–1993) and as James Heller on the Fox serial dramas '' 24'' (2001–2010) and '' ...

Donna Dixon Donna Lynn Dixon is an American film and television actress, best known for playing Sonny Lumet in the TV series ''Bosom Buddies'' (1980-1982). Biography Dixon was born in Alexandria, Virginia, to Earl Dixon. Her father owned a nightclub in ...

Shannen Doherty Shannen Doherty (, born April 12, 1971) is an American actress. She is known for her roles as Jenny Wilder in ''Little House on the Prairie'' (1982–1983); Maggie Malene in ''Girls Just Want to Have Fun'' (1985); Kris Witherspoon in '' Our Hous ...

Linda Evans Linda Evans (born Linda Evenstad; November 18, 1942) is an American actress known primarily for her roles on television. In the 1960s she played Audra Barkley, the daughter of Victoria Barkley (played by Barbara Stanwyck) in the Western tel ...

Steve Guttenberg Steven Robert Guttenberg (born August 24, 1958) is an American actor, author, businessman, producer, and director. He is known for his lead roles in Hollywood films of the 1980s and 1990s, including '' Cocoon'', ''Police Academy'', ''Three Men a ...

Merle Haggard Merle Ronald Haggard (April 6, 1937 – April 6, 2016) was an American country music singer, songwriter, guitarist, and fiddler. Haggard was born in Oildale, California, toward the end of the Great Depression. His childhood was troubled af ...

, Scott Hamilton,

Mariska Hargitay Mariska Magdolna Hargitay (; born January 23, 1964) is an American actress, director and philanthropist. The daughter of bodybuilder and actor Mickey Hargitay and actress Jayne Mansfield, her accolades include a Primetime Emmy Award, a People's ...

David Hasselhoff David Michael Hasselhoff (born July 17, 1952), nicknamed "The Hoff", is an American actor, singer, and television personality. He has set a Guinness World Record as the most watched man on TV. Hasselhoff first gained recognition on ''The You ...

Iman Iman, Imann, Imaan, Eman, Emaan, or Imman may refer to: Places * Iman, Iran, a village in Kalashi District, Kermanshah Province * The Iman River, the former name of the Bolshaya Ussurka River, a tributary of the Ussuri River in Russia's Primors ...

Sally Kellerman Sally Clare Kellerman (June 2, 1937 – February 24, 2022) was an American actress and singer whose acting career spanned 60 years. Her role as Major Margaret "Hot Lips" Houlihan in Robert Altman's film ''M*A*S*H'' (1970) earned her an Oscar no ...

Donna Mills Donna Mills (born Donna Jean Miller on December 11, 1940) is an American actress. She began her television career in 1966 with a recurring role on ''The Secret Storm'', and in the same year appeared on Broadway in the Woody Allen comedy '' Don ...

Tatum O'Neal Tatum Beatrice O'Neal (born November 5, 1963) is an American actress. She is the youngest person ever to win an Academy Award, winning at age 10 for her performance as Addie Loggins in '' Paper Moon'' (1973) opposite her father, Ryan O'Neal. S ...

Richard Pryor Richard Franklin Lennox Thomas Pryor Sr. (December 1, 1940 – December 10, 2005) was an American stand-up comedian and actor. He reached a broad audience with his trenchant observations and storytelling style, and is widely regarded as on ...

Joan Rivers Joan Alexandra Molinsky (June 8, 1933 – September 4, 2014), known professionally as Joan Rivers, was an American comedian, actress, producer, writer and television host. She was noted for her blunt, often controversial comedic persona—heavi ...

Melissa Rivers Melissa Warburg Rosenberg (previously Endicott; born January 20, 1968), known professionally as Melissa Rivers, is an American actress and television host. She is the only child of comedian Joan Rivers and producer Edgar Rosenberg. Early life M ...

William Shatner William Shatner (born March 22, 1931) is a Canadian actor. In a career spanning seven decades, he is best known for his portrayal of James T. Kirk in the ''Star Trek'' franchise, from his 1965 debut as the captain of the starship USS Enterpri ...

Sonny & Cher Sonny & Cher were an American pop and entertainment duo in the 1960s and 1970s, made up of husband and wife Sonny Bono and Cher. The couple started their career in the mid-1960s as R&B backing singers for record producer Phil Spector. The pair f ...

Tori Spelling Victoria Davey Spelling (born May 16, 1973) is an American actress and author. Her first major role was Donna Martin on ''Beverly Hills, 90210'', beginning in 1990. She has appeared in made for television films, including ''A Friend to Die For' ...

Alan Thicke Alan Thicke (born Alan Willis Jeffrey; March 1, 1947December 13, 2016) was a Canadian actor, songwriter, and game and talk show host. He is the father of singer Robin Thicke. In 2013, Thicke was inducted into Canada's Walk of Fame. Thicke was be ...

Cicely Tyson Cicely Louise Tyson (December 19, 1924January 28, 2021) was an American actress. In a career which spanned more than seven decades in film, television and theatre, she became known for her portrayal of strong African-American women. Tyson recei ...

, and

Barry White Barry Eugene Carter (September 12, 1944 – July 4, 2003), better known by his stage name Barry White, was an American singer and songwriter. A two-time Grammy Award winner known for his bass voice and romantic image, his greatest success came ...

Productions

Thompson's productions include: *'' Little Girl Lost: The Delimar Vera Story'' (air date August 17, 2008) on

Lifetime Movie Network LMN (also known previously as Lifetime Movies, and an initialism for Lifetime Movie Network) is an American pay television network owned by A&E Networks, a joint venture between the Disney Media Networks subsidiary of The Walt Disney Company and t ...

, was the highest-rated two-hour movie in that network's 10-year history. In 2009, the movie garnered six

Imagen Awards The Imagen Awards are administered by the Imagen Foundation, an organization dedicated to "encouraging and recognizing the positive portrayals of Latinos in film, Latinos in the entertainment industry." To be considered for an Imagen Award, a medi ...

nominations, of which it won two: one for Best Primetime Television Program and the other for Best Actor/Television – Hector Bustamante. *''

Amish Grace ''Amish Grace'' is a television film that premiered on the Lifetime Movie Network on Palm Sunday, March 28, 2010. The film is based on the 2006 West Nickel Mines School shooting at Nickel Mines, Pennsylvania, and the spirit of forgiveness the Am ...

'' (air date March 28, 2010), based on the true story of the 2006 Nickel Mines, Pennsylvania, schoolhouse shooting, premiered on Lifetime Movie Network and became the highest-rated original movie on that network. *'' Liz & Dick'' (air date November 28, 2012) is a Lifetime Television movie starring

Lindsay Lohan Lindsay Dee Lohan ( ; born July 2, 1986) is an American actress and singer. Born in New York City and raised on Long Island, Lohan was signed to Ford Models at the age of three. Having appeared as a regular on the television soap opera '' An ...

and

Grant Bowler Grant Bowler (born 18 July 1968) is a New Zealand-Australian actor and television presenter who has worked in American, Australian, New Zealand, and Canadian film, television, and theatre. He is known for playing the role of Constable Wayne ...

, directed by Lloyd Kramer, and written by

Christopher Monger Christopher Monger (born 1950, in Taffs Well, Cardiff, Wales) is a Welsh screenwriter, director and editor, best known for writing and directing ''The Englishman who Went up a Hill but Came down a Mountain'' and writing the HBO biopic ''Temple G ...

, which chronicles the love story of

Elizabeth Taylor Dame Elizabeth Rosemond Taylor (February 27, 1932 – March 23, 2011) was a British-American actress. She began her career as a child actress in the early 1940s and was one of the most popular stars of classical Hollywood cinema in the 1950s. ...

and

Richard Burton Richard Burton (; born Richard Walter Jenkins Jr.; 10 November 1925 – 5 August 1984) was a Welsh actor. Noted for his baritone voice, Burton established himself as a formidable Shakespearean actor in the 1950s, and he gave a memorable pe ...

. It drew an audience of 3.5 million people and has been nominated for two

Emmy The Emmy Awards, or Emmys, are an extensive range of awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international television industry. A number of annual Emmy Award ceremonies are held throughout the calendar year, each with the ...

s, one each for hairstyling and makeup. *Thompson produced William Shatner's one-man show on Broadway, entitled ''Shatner’s World: We Just Live in It...'', which ran at

The Music Box ''The Music Box'' is a Laurel and Hardy short film comedy released in 1932. It was directed by James Parrott, produced by Hal Roach and distributed by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. The film, which depicts the pair attempting to move a piano up a long f ...

in New York from February 16 – March 4, 2012 and toured North America. The December 8, 2012 performance was filmed for a broadcast release. *In 2013, Thompson began developing a project about the life of

Oprah Winfrey Oprah Gail Winfrey (; born Orpah Gail Winfrey; January 29, 1954), or simply Oprah, is an American talk show host, television producer, actress, author, and philanthropist. She is best known for her talk show, ''The Oprah Winfrey Show'', br ...

, based on

Kitty Kelley Katherine Kelley (born April 4, 1942) is an American journalist and author of best-selling unauthorized biographies of Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, Elizabeth Taylor, Frank Sinatra, Nancy Reagan, the British Royal Family, the Bush family, and ...

's '' Oprah: A Biography''. *In April 2013, Thompson optioned the screenplay ''Missing Mona Lisa,'' written by Mark Hudelson, "a slightly romanticized telling of the fact-based story" of how

Vincenzo Peruggia Vincenzo Peruggia (8 October 1881 8 October 1925) was an Italian museum worker, artist, and thief, most famous for stealing the ''Mona Lisa'' from the Louvre museum in Paris on 21 August 1911.

stole

Leonardo da Vinci Leonardo di ser Piero da Vinci (15 April 14522 May 1519) was an Italian polymath of the High Renaissance who was active as a painter, Drawing, draughtsman, engineer, scientist, theorist, sculptor, and architect. While his fame initially res ...

's masterpiece, ''

Mona Lisa The ''Mona Lisa'' ( ; it, Gioconda or ; french: Joconde ) is a half-length portrait painting by Italian artist Leonardo da Vinci. Considered an archetypal masterpiece of the Italian Renaissance, it has been described as "the best known ...

'', from the

Louvre The Louvre ( ), or the Louvre Museum ( ), is the world's most-visited museum, and an historic landmark in Paris, France. It is the home of some of the best-known works of art, including the ''Mona Lisa'' and the ''Venus de Milo''. A central l ...

in 1913.

Book packager

Thompson is also a book packager. He has developed books with

, including a series of murder mystery novels titled ''The Red Carpet Murder Mysteries'',

Motivational speaker

He is also a motivational speaker.

U.S. Congressional Candidate

Thompson is presently running for

United States Congress The United States Congress is the legislature of the federal government of the United States. It is bicameral, composed of a lower body, the House of Representatives, and an upper body, the Senate. It meets in the U.S. Capitol in Washing ...

California's 37th congressional district California's 37th congressional district is a congressional district in the U.S. state of California based in Los Angeles County. It includes many neighborhoods west and southwest of Downtown Los Angeles. The district includes *Culver City * I ...

. The Primary Election is March 3, 2020.

Personal life

As of early 2013, Thompson, his wife Kelly, their daughter Taylor, and son Trevor live in

Beverly Hills, California Beverly Hills is a city located in Los Angeles County, California. A notable and historic suburb of Greater Los Angeles, it is in a wealthy area immediately southwest of the Hollywood Hills, approximately northwest of downtown Los Angeles. B ...

Accolades

*His productions have received nominations for ten

Emmy Awards The Emmy Awards, or Emmys, are an extensive range of awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international television industry. A number of annual Emmy Award ceremonies are held throughout the calendar year, each with the ...

*nominations for six

*nominations for two Prism Awards *one nomination for the

Humanitas Prize The Humanitas Prize is an award for film and television writing, and is given to writers whose work explores the human condition in a nuanced and meaningful way. It began in 1974 with Father Ellwood "Bud" Kieser—also the founder of Paulist P ...

*one nomination for a Golden Globe *Vision Award, 1993 *

Seymour Heller Seymour Heller (September 9, 1914 – October 8, 2001) was an American talent agent and artist's manager. Beginning his career during the Big Band Era, Heller spent more than 60 years in the entertainment industry. He was best known for his ass ...

Lifetime Achievement Award *National Conference of Personal Managers Hall of Fame Inductee *Thompson was knighted in Rome, Italy on May 20, 2017. Grand Prior, Prince Lorenzo de' Medici, sponsored Thompson, an American of Italian Heritage, into the Ordine di San Martino del Monte delle Beatitudini and presided at the Investiture Mass of Knighthood at the Chiesa di

San Silvestro al Quirinale San Silvestro al Quirinale (or ''St. Sylvester on Quirinal Hill'') is a historic church in central Rome, Italy. It is located near Via XXIV Maggio corner with Via Mazzarino, a few blocks south of the Piazza del Quirinale. History The first ment ...

(Church of San Silvestro at Quirinal Hill) *

Albert Nelson Marquis Albert Nelson Marquis (January 10, 1855 - December 21, 1943) was a Chicago publisher best known for creating the '' Who's Who'' book series, starting with ''Who's Who in America'' which was first published in 1899.(22 December 1943)Albert N. Marqu ...

Lifetime Achievement Award by

Marquis Who's Who Marquis Who's Who ( or ) is an American publisher of a number of directories containing short biographies. The books usually are entitled ''Who's Who in...'' followed by some subject, such as ''Who's Who in America'', ''Who's Who of American Wome ...

Board affiliations

As of 2014, Thompson serves on the Advisory Boards of

Paulist Productions Paulist Productions is a Catholic film production company founded in 1960 by the Paulist priest Father Ellwood "Bud" Kieser. The Paulists describe the company as a "creator of films and television programs that uncover God’s presence in the c ...

, The

Delta Blues Museum The Delta Blues Museum in Clarksdale, Mississippi, United States, is a museum dedicated to collecting, preserving, and providing public access to and awareness of the musical genre known as the blues. Along with holdings of significant blues-rel ...

, and Good News Communications.

Credits

TV-movies

*''Mickey Spillane's Margin for Murder'' (1981) *''Mickey Spillane's Mike Hammer Murder Me, Murder You'' (1983) *''

The Other Lover ''The Other Lover'' is a 1985 American made-for-television drama film directed by Robert Ellis Miller and executive produced by Larry A. Thompson. Plot Jack Hollander is a novelist, infuriated with his publicists for putting a soft-porn cover on h ...

'' (1985) *''Convicted'' (1986) *''Intimate Encounters'' (1986) *''The Woman He Loved'' (1988) *''Original Sin'' (1989) *''Class Cruise'' (1989) *''Little White Lies'' (1989) *'' Lucy & Desi: Before the Laughter'' (1991) *''Broken Promises: Taking Emily Back'' (1993) *''Separated By Murder'' *''

Face of Evil ''Face of Evil'' is a 1996 American television film starring Tracey Gold as Darcy Palmer, Perry King as Russell Polk and Shawnee Smith as his daughter Jeanelle Polk. Plot Darcy Palmer (Gold) is a promising young artist. On the night before her ...

'' (1996) *''Replacing Dad'' (1999) *''And The Beat Goes On: The Sonny & Cher Story'' (1999) *''Murder in the Mirror'' (2000) *'' A Date with Darkness: The Trial and Capture of Andrew Luster'' (2003) *'' Little Girl Lost: The Delimar Vera Story'' (2008) *''

'' (2010) *'' Liz & Dick'' (2012)

Movies

*''

Crimes of Passion A crime of passion (French: ''crime passionnel''), in popular usage, refers to a violent crime, especially homicide, in which the perpetrator commits the act against someone because of sudden strong impulse such as anger rather than as a premed ...

'' (1984) *''

Fraternity Vacation ''Fraternity Vacation'' is a 1985 American sex comedy teen movie starring Stephen Geoffreys as a nerdy pledge to the Theta Pi Gamma fraternity at Iowa State University, Iowa State, with Tim Robbins and Cameron Dye as Theta Pi Gamma frat boys (or, ...

'' (1985) *''Quiet Cool'' (1986) *''My Demon Lover'' (1987) *'' Breaking the Rules'' (1992)

Television series

*''The Jim Nabors Show'' (1978) *'' Bring 'Em Back Alive'' (1982)

Television specials and pilots

*''The Eagle and the Bear'' (1985) *''Mann in the Middle'' (1989) *''Tonight at the House of Blues'' (1998) *''

Iron Chef USA is a Japanese television cooking show produced by Fuji Television. The series, which premiered on October 10, 1993, was a stylized cook-off featuring guest chefs challenging one of the show's resident "Iron Chefs" in a timed cooking battle bui ...

: Showdown in Las Vegas'' (2001) *''

: Holiday Showdown'' (2001) *''Comedy Central Roast of Joan Rivers'' (2009) *''Scott Hamilton: Return to the Ice'' (2010) *''

: Don't Start With Me'' (2012) *''Shatner's World...We Just Live In It'' (2013) *''22nd Annual

Movieguide Millard Robert E. Theodore Baehr (born 1946) is an American media critic and chairman of the Christian Film and Television Commission, a division of Good News Communications, Inc. He is publisher and editor-in-chief of ''Movieguide'', a website ...

Faith & Values Awards'' (producer)

Reelz Reelz (formerly known as Reelz Channel) is an American digital cable and satellite television network owned by Hubbard Broadcasting. The network's programming was formerly devoted to entertainment-oriented programming focusing on the Hollywood ...

Channel, March 1, 2014. *''23rd Annual

Faith & Values Awards'' (producer)

Channel, February 21, 2015. *''24th Annual

Faith & Values Awards'' (producer)

Channel, February 22, 2016.

Books

References

External links

*
movies.msn.com biohollywood.com bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Thompson, Larry A. Film producers from California 1944 births Living people People from Clarksdale, Mississippi People from Beverly Hills, California University of Mississippi alumni