Marshall Thompson

James Marshall Thompson (November 27, 1925 – May 18, 1992) was an American film and television actor. Early years Thompson was born in Peoria, Illinois. He and his parents, Dr. and Mrs. Laurence B. Thompson, moved to California when he was a year old. He attended University High School where he was a classmate of Norma Jean Baker, later to be known worldwide as Marilyn Monroe. Thompson enrolled at Occidental College with plans to become a dentist, but he switched to divinity studies. 1940s 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, so that same year Thompson moved over to MGM. His film roles steadily increased and improved with appearances in The Clock, the lead in Gallant Bess, MGM's first film shot in Cinecolor, and as one of the main stars in Battleground, as a green replacement in the 101st Airborne Division during the Siege of Bastogne. 1950s At the age of 24, Thompson narrated the storyline in Stars in My Crown (1950). He became a freelance actor during the 1950s and worked for various studios on a variety of pictures, including the horror and science fiction films Cult of the Cobra (1955), Fiend Without a Face (1958), and First Man Into Space (1959), as well as Audie Murphy's To Hell and Back (1955). His starring role as Carruthers in It! The Terror from Beyond Space (1958) was one of the two genre films that later inspired the plot for director Ridley Scott's 1979 big-budget feature Alien. Thompson also starred in the short-lived (13-episodes) 1959 syndicated science fiction TV series World of Giants. The drama follows Mel Hunter, a U. S. counter-espionage agent, accidentally miniaturized to just six inches in height, who must live in a dollhouse when not on missions.