Cast & creator
Marshall Thompson
Best known for Perry Mason, Murder, She Wrote, Wagon Train
Marshall Thompson (November 27, 1925 – May 18, 1992) was an American film and television actor. He was born James Marshall Thompson in Peoria, Illinois. In 1943 Thompson, known for his boy-next-door good looks, was signed by Universal Pictures. He played quiet, thoughtful teens in Universal's feature films, including a lead opposite singing star Gloria Jean in Reckless Age, earning $350 weekly. During 1946 Universal discharged most of its contract players; that same year Thompson moved to MGM and his film roles steadily increased and improved. Thompson became a freelance actor in the 1950s and worked for various studios on a variety of pictures, including a number of horror and science-fiction features; this included the role of Carruthers in It! The Terror from Beyond Space (1958), one of the two feature films that would later inspire the plot for director Ridley Scott's 1979 big budget feature film Alien. Thompson also starred as Mel Hunter in the syndicated science fiction TV series World of Giants, about a man who has been miniaturized and must live in a dollhouse. By the 1960s, Thompson's boyish looks had matured and his screen persona became more authoritative. He co-starred with Annie Fargé in the 33-episode CBS sitcom Angel (1960–1961) about an American architect with a charming but scatterbrained French wife, who often got into zany, Lucy Ricardo-esque situations, caused in part by her lack of English; the show was canceled after 33 episodes due to low ratings, despite critical acclaim for French-born newcomer Annie Fargé. In the mid-1960s Thompson starred in CBS's Daktari, a television series about a veterinarian in Africa; the series was based on Thompson's 1965 feature film Clarence, the Cross-Eyed Lion. Later in his career, he appeared in many television episodes and in feature films such as The Turning Point (1977) and The Formula(1980). Thompson was a brother-in-law of actor Richard Long, best known for his role as Jarrod Barkley in ABC's The Big Valley. Thompson's wife, Barbara, was Long's sister. Marshall Thompson died from congestive heart failure at the age of sixty-six in Royal Oak, Michigan. Description above from the Wikipedia article Marshall Thompson , licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.
Also known as: James Marshall Thompson, J. Marsh Thomson
66
film credits
43
television credits
102
1944–1991 · acting roles
6.6
average across scored titles
Signature credits
Known for
Across film & television
Filmography (109)
Showing 109 of 109 credits
Perry Mason
Arthur Poe
1957
Murder, She Wrote
Ward Silloway
1984
Wagon Train
Bradley Mason
1957Wagon Train
Will Stebbins
1957
Ironside
Tom Ames
1967
Quincy, M.E.
1976
Charlie's Angels
Meadows
1976
Climax!
(segment "Child of the Wind")
1954
Matinee Theater
1955
Robert Montgomery Presents
1950
Studio One
1948
Dick Powell's Zane Grey Theatre
Eli Hendericks
1956
Lou Grant
Paul Newman
1977
Gunsmoke
Leach Fields
1955
The Streets of San Francisco
Fr. Carey
1972
The 20th Century Fox Hour
Matt Clay
1955
The Partridge Family
Dr. Milstead
1970
Benson
1979
The Ford Television Theatre
1952
Bronco
1958
The Millionaire
Tom Hunt
1955The Millionaire
Bill Andreson
1955
Owen Marshall: Counselor at Law
Jeff Crane
1971
Public Defender
Jeff Norton
1954
Startime
Lt. Train
1959
Flipper
1964Flipper
Director
1964
Men Into Space
1959
Daktari
Dr. Marsh Tracy
1966
Letter to Loretta
Jim Turner
1953Letter to Loretta
Dan Jenkins
1953
Panic!
1957
The Whistler
1954
Angel
Johnny Smith
1960
The Eddie Capra Mysteries
1978
Hallmark Hall of Fame
George Washington
1951Hallmark Hall of Fame
Pythias
1951
Schlitz Playhouse of Stars
James Wilson
1951Schlitz Playhouse of Stars
1951
The Valley of Decision
Ted Scott
1945
White Dog
Director
1982
World of Giants
1959
George
Jim Hunter
1974George
Creator
1974
Battleground
Jim Layton
1949
That's Entertainment, Part II
(archive footage) (uncredited)
1976
To Hell and Back
Johnson
1955
Good Morning, Miss Dove
Wilfred Banning Pendleton III
1955
They Were Expendable
Ens. 'Snake' Gardner
1945
It! The Terror from Beyond Space
Carruthers
1958
The Clock
Bill
1945
Cult of the Cobra
Tom Markel
1955
The Turning Point
Carter
1977
Stars in My Crown
Narrator (adult John Kenyon) (voice)
1950
Mystery Street
Henry Shanway
1950
Around the World Under the Sea
Dr. Orin Hillyard
1965
Fiend Without a Face
Major Jeff Cummings
1958
Words and Music
Herbert Fields
1948
The Romance of Rosy Ridge
Ben Mac Bean
1947
Clarence, the Cross-Eyed Lion
Dr. Marsh Tracy
1965Clarence, the Cross-Eyed Lion
Story
1965
The Caddy
Bruce Reeber
1953
B.F.'s Daughter
The Sailor
1948
Command Decision
Capt. George Washington Bellpepper Lee
1948
McBain
Mr. Rich
1991
The Formula
Geologist #1
1980
Devil's Doorway
Rod MacDougall
1950
The Secret Heart
Brandon Reynolds
1946
No Man Is an Island
Jonn Sonnenberg
1962
Dallas: The Early Years
Dr. Ted Johnson
1986
The Tall Target
Lance Beaufort
1951
My Six Convicts
Blivens Scott
1952
Zebra in the Kitchen
Shaving Man
1965
First Man into Space
Cmdr. Charles Ernest Prescott
1959
The Rose Bowl Story
Steve Davis
1952
Lure of the Swamp
Simon Lewt
1957
Flight of the Lost Balloon
Dr.Joseph Farady
1961
The Purple Heart
Morrison (uncredited)
1944
Cruise Into Terror
Bennett
1978
Jambo
1969
Dial 1119
Gunther Wyckoff
1950
Roseanna McCoy
Tolbert McCoy
1949
Crashout
Billy Lang
1955
To the Shores of Hell
Maj. Greg Donahue
1966
Homecoming
Staff Sgt. 'Mac' McKeen
1948
The Show-Off
Joe Fisher
1946
Reckless Age
Roy Connors
1944
The Cockeyed Miracle
Jim Griggs
1946
The Basketball Fix
Johnny Long
1951
Down Liberty Road
Mysterious Stranger
1957
Blonde Fever
Freddie Bilson
1944
A Yank in Viet-Nam
Maj. Benson
1964A Yank in Viet-Nam
Director
1964
Port of Hell
Marsh Walker
1954
Bog
Dr. Brad Wednesday
1979
Twice Blessed
Jimmy
1945
The Mighty Jungle
1964
Battle Taxi
2nd Lt. Tim Vernon
1955
Gallant Bess
Tex Barton
1946
The Secret Man
Dr. Cliff Mitchell
1958
George
Jim
1972George
Original Story
1972George
Producer
1972
The Blackwell Story
David
1957
Bad Bascomb
Jimmy Holden
1946
Race for Survival
Story
1978
Ride the Tiger
1970
Born to Fight
Man Exiting Airplane (uncredited)
1956
East of Kilimanjaro
Marsh Connors
1962