Raymond Thompson
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Raymond Webster Thompson (born 5 April 1949) is a British-born Canadian/
New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island coun ...
screenwriter A screenplay writer (also called screenwriter, scriptwriter, scribe or scenarist) is a writer who practices the craft of screenwriting, writing screenplays on which mass media, such as films, television programs and video games, are based. ...
,
composer A composer is a person who writes music. The term is especially used to indicate composers of Western classical music, or those who are composers by occupation. Many composers are, or were, also skilled performers of music. Etymology and Def ...
and producer.


Early life and career

Thompson was born in
Redditch Redditch is a town, and local government district, in north-east Worcestershire, England, approximately south of Birmingham. The district has a population of 85,000 as of 2019. In the 19th century, it became the international centre for the ...
,
Worcestershire Worcestershire ( , ; written abbreviation: Worcs) is a county in the West Midlands of England. The area that is now Worcestershire was absorbed into the unified Kingdom of England in 927, at which time it was constituted as a county (see H ...
and grew up in Windsor, Berkshire where he formed a school band with David Samuels , Keith Barnes and Ray Dorey who went on to become guitarist with Edison Lighthouse He studied drama at
York University York University (french: Université York), also known as YorkU or simply YU, is a public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is Canada's fourth-largest university, and it has approximately 55,700 students, 7,000 faculty and sta ...
and embarked upon a successful career in the music industry as both a songwriter and musician. His groups include a Canadian duo called Stillwater, and his school band The Avengers, which evolved into
Edison Lighthouse Edison Lighthouse are an English pop band, formed in London in 1969. The band was best known for their 1970 hit single "Love Grows (Where My Rosemary Goes)" recorded in late 1969. Career Before the name Edison Lighthouse, they were known as ...
, who had the number one record "
Love Grows (Where My Rosemary Goes) "Love Grows (Where My Rosemary Goes)" is the debut single by Edison Lighthouse. The song reached the number one spot on the UK Singles Chart on the week ending 31 January 1970, where it remained for a total of five weeks. It also became the firs ...
".


With the BBC

Thompson published a novel in 1979, ''The Number to Call Is...'' before becoming a script consultant for various producers. His television writing credits include '' Squadron'' and the iconic ''
Howards' Way ''Howards' Way'' is a television drama series produced by BBC Birmingham and transmitted on BBC1 between 1 September 1985 and 25 November 1990. The series deals with the personal and professional lives of the wealthy yachting and business comm ...
'', which ran for six years and was considered to be one the BBC's most loved drama series, drawing huge ratings. He acquired the position of Head of Development for
BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...
...
Television Drama Series and worked on many other titles, including '' Bergerac'' and ''
The House of Eliott ''The House of Eliott'' is a British television series produced and broadcast by the BBC in three series between 1991 and 1994. The series starred Stella Gonet as Beatrice Eliott and Louise Lombard as Evangeline Eliott, two sisters in 1920s Lon ...
''.


Cloud 9

In 1994 and in association with the Sanctuary Group PLC, Thompson founded his own production company, the Cloud 9 Screen Entertainment Group, which has since specialized in family entertainment. The company trades through offices in
London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...
,
Wellington Wellington ( mi, Te Whanganui-a-Tara or ) is the capital city of New Zealand. It is located at the south-western tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Remutaka Range. Wellington is the second-largest city in New Zealand by ...
(New Zealand), and has expanded into the
Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands. With an area of , Australia is the largest country by ...
n market. Southern Star currently distribute the substantial back catalogue. Since 1994, Thompson has created and produced several television series and movies, including ''
The Enid Blyton Adventure Series ''The Adventure Series'' by Enid Blyton, a prolific English children's author, is a series of eight children's novels. These books feature the same child characters: Philip, Jack, Dinah, and Lucy-Ann, along with several adult characters. Ja ...
'', ''The Enid Blyton Secret Series'', ''
The Adventures of Swiss Family Robinson ''The Adventures of Swiss Family Robinson'' is a 1998 family adventure series that originally aired on Pax. Based on the 1812 novel ''The Swiss Family Robinson'' by Johann David Wyss, it follows the adventures of nine survivors of a shipwreck a ...
'' (starring Richard Thomas), '' Return to Treasure Island'', ''
The Legend of William Tell ''The Legend of William Tell'' is a 16-part television fantasy/drama series produced in 1998 by Cloud 9 Productions in New Zealand. The basic premise of the series — a crossbow-wielding rebel defies a corrupt governor — and the name of ...
'' (created by Thompson), '' William Shatner's A Twist in the Tale'' (also created by Thompson). Other series Thompson created include ''
Atlantis High ''Atlantis High'' is a teen comedy melodrama television series, filmed in New Zealand, that aired on Channel 5 in the United Kingdom from September 2001 to March 2002. ''Atlantis High'' both parodies soap operas and pays homage to spoof televisi ...
'', ''
Revelations – The Initial Journey ''Revelations – The Initial Journey'' is a 2002 TV series, produced by Cloud 9 Screen Entertainment Group in New Zealand. The stories are told through the narrator who is called Jess and played by Tom Hern. Each episode contains a story from a ...
'', and ''
The New Tomorrow ''The New Tomorrow'' is a New Zealand-based television series produced by Cloud 9 Screen Entertainment Group in association with Channel 5 and is a sequel to the series '' The Tribe''. The show was created by Raymond Thompson and premiered on ...
''. Perhaps his best known creation is the teen drama/sci-fi hybrid '' The Tribe'', which has become a cult classic around the world and ran for five years with almost three hundred episodes being produced. The series is constantly being repeated and has a fanatical fan base. In 2001, he returned to his music roots and composed the soundtracks of Cloud 9's portfolio, as well as the ''Spirit Symphony'', which was partly inspired by his Asperger syndrome. It was performed by the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra and released on CD in 2004. The proceeds of the song "With You Every Step of the Way" (also composed by Raymond) were donated to the foundation.


Honours

Thompson has been a juror at BAFTA and the International
Emmy Award 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. In the
2003 New Year Honours The 2003 New Year's Honours List is one of the annual New Year Honours, a part of the British monarch's honours system, where 1 January is marked by naming new members of orders of chivalry and recipients of other official honours. A number of ot ...
, he was appointed a
Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit The New Zealand Order of Merit is an order of merit in the New Zealand royal honours system. It was established by royal warrant on 30 May 1996 by Elizabeth II, Queen of New Zealand, "for those persons who in any field of endeavour, have re ...
, for services to television and entertainment. In the same year he also received an honours award at
Dragon*Con Dragon Con (previously Dragon*Con and sometimes DragonCon) is a North American List of multigenre conventions, multigenre convention, founded in 1987, which takes place annually over the Labor Day weekend in Atlanta, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia ...
.


Personal life

Thompson has
Asperger syndrome Asperger syndrome (AS), also known as Asperger's, is a former neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by significant difficulties in social interaction and nonverbal communication, along with restricted and repetitive patterns of beha ...
, an
autism spectrum The autism spectrum, often referred to as just autism or in the context of a professional diagnosis autism spectrum disorder (ASD) or autism spectrum condition (ASC), is a neurodevelopmental condition (or conditions) characterized by difficulti ...
condition. Thompson's son was also diagnosed. Thompson founded the Cloud 9's Children Foundation, which aims to support families in Oceania affected by Asperger syndrome. A wine lover, Thompson owns Tirohana Estate, a boutique New Zealand vineyard on the outskirts of
Martinborough Martinborough ( mi, Wharekaka) is a town in the South Wairarapa District, in the Wellington region of New Zealand. It is 65 kilometres east of Wellington and 35 kilometres south-west of Masterton. The town has a resident population of The town ...
, in the
Wairarapa The Wairarapa (; ), a geographical region of New Zealand, lies in the south-eastern corner of the North Island, east of metropolitan Wellington and south-west of the Hawke's Bay Region. It is lightly populated, having several rural service ...
region.


References


External links


Cloud 9 Screen Entertainment GroupCloud 9 Children's FoundationTirohana Estate
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Thompson, Raymond 1949 births English emigrants to Canada English emigrants to New Zealand Living people Members of the New Zealand Order of Merit New Zealand composers New Zealand producers New Zealand screenwriters Male screenwriters People from Redditch People with Asperger syndrome