Jimmy Thompson

Appealing blond dancer and actor Jimmy Thompson is remembered for his two stand-out performances in Singin' in the Rain (1952) and Brigadoon (1954). Despite the potential exhibited in these two appearances, Thompson would never go on achieve greater success as a performer. Thompson moved to Los Angeles from his native Kansas City, Missouri as a teenager with his mother and sister, a professional dancer six years older than himself. Josephine "Joan" Thompson was married in 1939 to vaudeville dancer Bob Harrison with whom she formed a touring dance and comedy act, Harrison, Carroll and Ross, and later operated a dance school in Chicago. By age 18, "Jimmie" was describing himself as a free-lance actor, however his early appearances have not yet come to light. His burgeoning career was interrupted from 1943 to 1945 while he served in the U.S. Army. Following his military service, Thompson's career as a dancer/actor took off, with ample work on the stage, on television, and especially as a chorus dancer in films. Thompson worked primarily for MGM, on the highest quality productions with the top stars; he can be seen with Gene Kelly and Judy Garland in Summer Stock (1950), with Fred Astaire and Cyd Charisse in The Band Wagon (1953), and with Vera-Ellen in White Christmas (1954), among many others. In mid-1950, Jimmie had joined Kay Thompson's successful nightclub act for a European tour, an engagement that would lead to one of his big breaks. Kay (who had been a top vocal arranger and coach at MGM in the 1940s) made a visit to Gene Kelly during the production of Singin' in the Rain (1952) and learned that Kelly was looking for someone for the "Beautiful Girl" segment of the film. Kay's recommendation of Jimmie would lead to what would be his best-remembered appearance. This role allowed him to sing, dance, and deliver lines in an amusing and polished manner - seemingly the ideal showcase to boost his career to a new level. His second break came in 1953, again working for Gene Kelly. When Michael Maule, a dancer with the New York City Ballet who had been cast in the role of "Charlie Dalrymple" in Brigadoon (1954), had to withdraw from the film, Thompson was installed as his last-minute replacement. While Thompson was a capable singer, the vocal tracks for Maule had already been prerecorded by Los Angeles tenor John Gustafson, so while Thompson's on-screen singing voice was not his own, it was arguably the best in the film and contributed to Thompson's success in the role. Despite these two very strong performances, Thompson's career appears to have stalled; he continued to dance in undistinguished chorus parts. In 1956, Thompson left Hollywood to try his luck in New York. He continued to appear on television, and played in the successful Broadway musical "Mr. Wonderful" starring Sammy Davis, Jr. While this show provided him steady work for almost a year, it was a showcase for Davis and gave Thompson little benefit. Thompson played a leading role in a Northeast summer stock tour of "The Boy Friend" in 1957 to high praise, starred in a very short run of "The Gay Divorce" off-off-Broadway in 1960, backed Teresa Brewer in a 1960 club tour, and directed a musical revue for the dinner theater at the Pierre Hotel Cotillion Room in 1962, but then faded completely from the limelight. Despite the disappointing trajectory of his career, today's audiences are fortunate to have this talented and appealing performer's work preserved in some of Hollywood's greatest and most enduring movie musicals.