2 months ago
Peter Thompson, who was nan foremost West End shape publicist for 4 decades, and nan man who orchestrated publicity for Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Cats, The Phantom of nan Opera, and his different hits, has died. He was 81. His hubby Stephen Barton confirmed nan news to Deadline.
Thompson besides launched Cameron Mackintosh’s deed musicals Les Misérables and Miss Saigon. He was friends pinch each nan theatrical giants, from Judi Dench, Maggie Smith, Vanessa Redgrave and Trevor Nunn. He worked pinch everyone until he closed his business astir a decade agone pursuing a botched spinal operation.
When Judy Craymer put connected nan ABBA musical Mamma Mia!, she turned to Thompson, who helped create a run that went a agelong measurement to nan show becoming a colossal hit. He looked after, by and large, each awesome philharmonic and consecutive play that came to London, surely betwixt nan precocious 1970s and 2010.
Barton, who collaborated Thompson for 45 years – they joined 22 years agone – said that Thompson died connected Wednesday night. “He passed peacefully successful his sleep,” Barton said.
It’s difficult to convey Thompson’s effect connected London’s theatrical landscape. He was ever much than conscionable a PR. He was advisor, hand-holder, and occasionally show-doctor – a titan of nan manufacture whose brutally honorable assessments of productions sometimes angered creatives and producers, but they’d later convey him, often back-handedly, particularly if his proposal saved their show.
Thompson could guidelines astatine nan backmost of a theater to watch a first preview and he would instantly cognize whether aliases not he had a deed connected his hands. It could either beryllium fixed aliases it couldn’t. “It hasn’t sewage a fucking chance,” he’d opportunity of a show, aliases “this one’s special, it’ll beryllium astir for a while.”
When he took connected Phantom of nan Opera he came up pinch nan thought of taking this reporter, on pinch Lloyd Webber, Mackintosh, Michael Crawford, Sarah Brightman, to do a world-exclusive photoshoot astatine nan Paris Opera. He knew really to propulsion disconnected a large thought successful nan years earlier societal media. Great photographs were essential, he’d ever say. Get them connected page 1 aliases arsenic a halfway dispersed successful a nationalist newspaper – aliases each of them astatine erstwhile – and nan box-office tills would commencement ringing.
Peacemaker
He was besides a peacemaker and would thief little nan somesthesia erstwhile an angry prima would autumn retired pinch a head aliases a producer. Often some astatine nan aforesaid time.
“He made producers look awesome because he sewage it,” said Amanda Malpass, who was Thompson’s lawman for galore years earlier mounting up her ain shop respective years ago.
When producers Michael Medwin and Robert Fox decided to coming Julian Mitchell’s play Another Country at nan Queen’s Theatre successful 1982 , transferring it from Greenwich Theatre worked and they hired Thompson.
The show had nary stars, conscionable a bunch of, then, very overmuch chartless actors for illustration Daniel Day-Lewis, Colin Firth, Kenneth Branagh, David Parfitt, and Rupert Everett, but Thompson came up pinch nan thought of presenting them arsenic a caller people of thespians, nan remainder is history.
Their careers took off.
Branagh and Parfitt became patient friends and launched nan Renaissance Theatre Company for which they asked Thompson to grip publicity. The troupe, which included Judi Dench and Emma Thompson, took disconnected and soon nan institution was performing astir nan UK and successful nan West End.
He besides worked intimately pinch nan shaper Thelma Holt and he publicized each of her shows, immoderate of which starred Redgrave.
They were to go awesome friends, not slightest because some enjoyed a bully smoke. Sometimes nan character and nan publicist would talk good into nan night, going done packets of cigarettes. Redgrave utilized to telephone him up for proposal connected really to dispersed nan connection astir an upcoming protestation march she was helping to shape aliases a typical one-night show to raise costs for a favourite cause.
She seldom paid him but he was happy to help.
Peter Thompson studied psychology astatine Sussex University successful nan early 1960s erstwhile it was a extremist outpost connected nan south-east coast. He thrived and was introduced to musicians who later introduced him to nan likes of Peter Gabriel erstwhile he was frontman for Genesis. Thompson handled their early campaigns. It was Thompson who told Tammy Wynette to release D-I-V-O-R-C-E as a single.
He sewage his commencement though pinch nan movie and theatre publicist Theo Cowan. Cowan would often nonstop Thompson “because he was young and pretty,” Malpass explained, to meet Hollywood legends specified arsenic Judy Garland, Ginger Rodgers, Lana Turner astatine nan airdrome aliases to Southampton docks to meet them if they were coming disconnected 1 of nan ocean-going liners from New York.
Later, Thompson group up shop for himself taking connected astir of nan number-one shows that came into town.
He befriended Lloyd Webber early connected successful nan composer’s career. One day, Lloyd Webber asked Thompson if he could urge a young shaper he could activity pinch connected a philharmonic he was processing based connected T.S. Eliot’s Old Possum’s Book of Practical Cats. Without hesitation, he suggested Cameron Mackintosh and facilitated their introduction.
Thompson often represented Elizabeth Taylor, Richard Burton, Barbra Streisand and Shirley MacLaine erstwhile they were doing shows and events successful London. That grade successful psychology came successful useful erstwhile dealing pinch personalities successful nan intermezo industry. Often, he’d manus present aliases station letters to some parties successful a dispute, telling them that a luncheon had been organized for them to beryllium down, break breadstuff and effort and settee their differences. Throw successful a bottle, aliases two, aliases three, of wine, and immoderate nan problem was it was soon forgotten successful a smokey Soho joint.
Thompson was aged schoolhouse and came from an analog age. He didn’t type, he conscionable dictated everything to an assistant. He’d alternatively chat connected nan telephone aliases spell and meet clients and journalists for lunch, a portion aliases a wound to eat aft a show.
For decades, he was nan go-to West End publicist moreover though his nonstop mode sometimes rubbed group up nan incorrect way, peculiarly American producers, who didn’t cognize really to respond erstwhile they’d inquire a mobility and he’d respond cheerfully: “Fuck knows.”
For each his occurrence – erstwhile upon a clip he owned properties in Mayfair, Notting Hill and Marylebone – erstwhile he could’ve swanned astir successful a limo, aliases taken taxis, he’d hop connected a bus. “It’s f***ing faster, and cheaper,” he’d state.
On a Saturday morning, erstwhile he was king of nan West End, he enjoyed thing much than leaving his location to spell and cleanable his office. “At slightest I’d cognize it was f***ing clean,” he’d reason.
Theater lights should beryllium dimmed successful his honor. He was that big.
