Fred Thomson

Fred C. Thomson (1913)

Frederick Clifton Thomson (born February 26, 1890 in Pasadena , California , † December 25, 1928 in Los Angeles , California) was an American clergyman and actor .

Life

Childhood and youth

Fred Thomson was born the third of four sons to James H. Thomson and his wife Clara in Pasadena, California. As a teenager, Thomson played a lot of sports and played American football while at Occidental College in Los Angeles . At the same time he was active in the school band and was elected president of the student council in the senior year.

At the age of 20 years, Thomson wrote in 1910 at the Princeton University one where he at Princeton Theological Seminary Theology studied. Between July and August 1912, he was an assistant pastor at the Peck Memorial Chapel in Washington, DC before he was ordained by the Presbyterian Church in 1913 . He then took over as pastor of the Hope Chapel in Los Angeles.

Career

In June 1913 Thomson announced his engagement to Gail DuBois Jespen, a college colleague whom he married just two months later on August 1, 1913. Shortly thereafter, he was appointed pastor of Goldfield , in a small mining town in Esmeralda County ( Nevada added). In 1916, three years after the wedding, Gail Thomson suddenly died of tuberculosis . The marriage had remained childless.

The First World War broke out, and Fred Thomson volunteered for the army. With the rank of sub-lieutenant , he became a member of the 143rd Artillery Regiment , which was initially stationed in Arcadia (California). In November 1918 his unit was transferred to France . However, Thomson was never involved in combat operations, and saw the armistice of the German Empire in Paris .

While still in California, Thomson met the American writer and director Frances Marion , with whom he fell in love. Both decided to get married after the war ended, which they did on November 2, 1919 in New York City . One of her most famous wedding guests was actress Mary Pickford .

Acting career

After the Thomsons settled in California, Fred embarked on a new career - as an actor. It was his wife who shot the film drama The Love Light in 1921 , hiring her husband in a supporting role alongside her friend Mary Pickford. Even Marion's next film, Just Around the Corner , which was also produced in 1921, was made with her husband's participation.

Thomson had now laid the foundation for a short but intense career as a western star. Over the next seven years he appeared in front of the camera in 30 feature films. In Jesse James from 1927, he convinced in the title role of the same name . Thomson was soon considered a much sought-after actor, negotiating a $ 10,000 a week contract with Joseph P. Kennedy in 1926 , making him one of the most expensive actors of his time. In both 1926 and 1927 he was voted number 2 of the most successful actor of the year. First place was always taken by his competitor for the best roles, the actor Tom Mix . Thomson has always been careful to take on roles in which there was little physical violence.

Fred Thomson had a son, Frederick Thomson, in December 1926. He and his wife Frances also adopted another son, Richard Thomson.

death

A few days before Christmas 1928, Thomson suddenly had a severe fever. He also began to limp and became physically weaker. Although he was hospitalized, doctors misdiagnosed him and suspected that he was suffering from kidney stones . Surprisingly for everyone involved, Thomson died on Christmas Day at the age of 38. It was only after his death that it was discovered that Thomson had stepped into a nail in his stable and had only superficially treated the wound. Fred Thomson had died of tetanus .

Others

Today a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame commemorates Thomson.

Of the 30 films that Thomson has proven to have made, only two silent films have survived.

See also

• Film Booking Offices of America

Web links

• Fred Thomson in the Internet Movie Database (English)