J. Lee Thompson
Director

J. Lee Thompson Net Worth

J. Lee Thompson was a British director, writer, and producer born in Bristol, England on August 1, 1914. He is best known for his work on The Guns of Navarone (1961), Woman in a Dressing Gown (1957), and Ice Cold in Alex (1958). He was married four times throughout his life and passed away on August 30, 2002 in Sooke, British Columbia, Canada.
J. Lee Thompson is a member of Director

Age, Biography and Wiki

Who is it? Director, Writer, Producer
Birth Day August 01, 1914
Birth Place  Bristol, England, United Kingdom
Age 106 YEARS OLD
Died On 30 August 2002(2002-08-30) (aged 88)\nSooke, British Columbia, Canada
Birth Sign Virgo
Occupation Film director
Years active 1937–1989

💰 Net worth

J. Lee Thompson, a prominent figure in the entertainment industry, is estimated to have a net worth ranging from $100K to $1M in 2024. Hailing from the United Kingdom, Thompson has made significant contributions as a talented director, writer, and producer. Throughout his career, he has garnered a reputation for his exceptional storytelling abilities and remarkable skills behind the camera. With his diverse range of talents, Thompson has undoubtedly played a pivotal role in shaping the world of cinema, leaving an indelible mark on the industry.

Biography/Timeline

1914

Thompson was born in Bristol on 1 August 1914. His family had links to the theatre. Thompson studied at Dover College then went to work in the theatre. He wrote plays in his spare time and one of them, Double Error, was put on in the West End.

1937

British International Pictures hired him as a Screenwriter. His first credit was The Price of Folly (1937), based on his play. In 1938 he worked as dialogue coach on Jamaica Inn (1939), directed by Alfred Hitchcock. He wrote the scripts for The Middle Watch (1940), made at Associated British Picture Corporation (ABPC) and East of Piccadilly (1941).

1949

Thompson served in World War Two as a tailgunner and wireless operator in the RAF. He returned to his work as scriptwriter on such films as No Place for Jennifer (1949). He was dialogue Director on The Hasty Heart (1949)

1950

His first film as a Director was Murder Without Crime (1950), made at ABPC, who put Thompson under contract. 'The film was about a man who thinks he has committed murder; Thompson also wrote the screenplay, based on his own play, Double Error. In the words of Thompson's Screenonline profile "this well structured film went largely unnoticed but contained many of the themes which were to characterise Lee Thompson's work: a good person's struggle with their conscience, an external force of evil, and an out-of-character moment of violence which has long-term consequences. Believing people can "commit crimes without being criminals", he sought to make his audiences condone or at least understand behaviour that they would normally condemn."

1953

Thompson's first film success was one he directed and co-wrote, The Yellow Balloon (1953), the story of a child who is blackmailed into helping a Criminal after accidentally causing his friend's death. He followed it with a comedy, For Better, For Worse (1954) starring Dirk Bogarde, which was even more popular though it is little remembered today.

1954

Thompson's fourth film as Director The Weak and the Wicked (1954), portrays the lives of women in prison and is based on memoirs by Joan Henry, who became Thompson's second wife. It starred Glynis Johns and Diana Dors and was a hit at the box office.

1955

Thompson was leant to Rank Films to direct a Jack Buchanan comedy, As Long as They're Happy (1955), co-starring Dors and An Alligator Named Daisy (1955), also starring Dors, along with Donald Sinden. He returned to ABPC and the theme of female prisoners in Yield to the Night (1956), an anti-capital punishment tale with Diana Dors as the condemned prisoner. The Good Companions (1957) was lighter fare, based on a book by J.B. Priestley. Woman in a Dressing Gown (1957), with Yvonne Mitchell, Anthony Quayle and Sylvia Syms and written by Ted Willis, deals with the collapse of a 20-year marriage.

1958

Thompson had a big success with Ice Cold in Alex (1958), the story of a British Army unit trekking across North Africa in the Second World War. It featured John Mills, Sylvia Syms, Anthony Quayle and Harry Andrews; it won three BAFTA Awards, including Best British Film. He followed it North West Frontier (1959), an adventure film set in British India starring Kenneth More and Lauren Bacall. It was one of the most popular films in Britain in 1959.

1959

No Trees in the Street (1959) was a thriller written by Willis. Also in that genre was Tiger Bay (1959), starring John Mills; it introduced cinema audiences to Mills' daughter Hayley and German actor Horst Buchholz. Hayley Mills also earned a BAFTA for Most Promising Newcomer portraying a 12-year-old girl who refuses to betray a Sailor accused of murder.

1960


Thompson maintained a steady career in Hollywood through the 1960s, '70s and '80s. He retained his knack for working with dynamic actors, joining Yul Brynner in the Cossack epic Taras Bulba (1962) and the Mayan Indian epic Kings of the Sun (1963). He made two films with Shirley MacLaine, What a Way to Go! (1964) and John Goldfarb, Please Come Home (1965).

1961

Thompson vaulted to international fame with The Guns of Navarone (1961) as a last-minute replacement for Director Alexander Mackendrick. His take-charge attitude during its production earned him the nickname 'Mighty Mouse' from lead actor Gregory Peck. The Guns of Navarone, a Second World War epic filmed on location in Rhodes, Greece, was nominated for seven Academy Awards including Thompson for Best Director.

1962

The success of that film won him entry into Hollywood, where he directed Cape Fear (1962), a psychological thriller with Gregory Peck, Robert Mitchum, Polly Bergen and Lori Martin. Based on a novel called The Executioners by John D. MacDonald, Cape Fear shows how a sex offender can manipulate the justice system and terrorise an entire family. Highly controversial for its time, the film was cut heavily in both the United States and the United Kingdom.

1965

Back in England Thompson made Return from the Ashes (1965) and a thriller about cults with David Niven, Eye of the Devil (1967); Thompson stepped in at the last minute to replace Michael Anderson.

1968

After a war film, Before Winter Comes (1968) he was reunited with the star,producer and Writer of Navarrone in the Western Mackenna's Gold (1969) but it did poorly as the box office. So too did the espionage tale The Chairman (1969) with Gregory Peck.

1970

Back in the UK he made Country Dance AKA Brotherly Love (1970). He did two science fiction films, Conquest of the Planet of the Apes and Battle for the Planet of the Apes.

1972

He began working more for US: A Great American Tragedy (1972); Huckleberry Finn (1974) starring Jeff East and Paul Winfield; The Reincarnation of Peter Proud (1974); The Blue Knight (1975), for television; Widow (1976).

1976

With Charles Bronson he made the Warner Bros. crime story St. Ives (1976). Bronson and Thompson teamed again on an unconventional western called The White Buffalo (1977). Thompson made The Greek Tycoon (1978) and The Passage (1978) then was reunited with Bronson in a Casablanca spinoff, Caboblanco (1980).

1980

He tried a horror film, Happy Birthday to Me (1980) and a TV show, Code Red (1981), then it was back to Bronson films: 10 to Midnight (1983), The Evil That Men Do (1983).

1984

The Ambassador (1984) starred Robert Mitchum. King Solomon's Mines (1985) was an Indian Jones-style pastiche shot in Zimbabwe with Richard Chamberlain and reasonably successful at the box office. After Murphy's Law (1986) with Bronson tried another Indiana Jones-type tale with Chuck Norris, Firewalker (1986).

1987

Thompson's last three films were with Bronson and Cannon Films: Death Wish 4: The Crackdown (1987), Messenger of Death (1988) and Kinjite: Forbidden Subjects (1989).

2002

Thompson died of congestive heart failure on 30 August 2002, at his holiday home in Sooke, British Columbia, Canada aged 88.

Some J. Lee Thompson images

About the author

Lisa Scholfield

As a Senior Writer at Famous Net Worth, I spearhead an exceptional team dedicated to uncovering and sharing the stories of pioneering individuals. My passion for unearthing untold narratives drives me to delve deep into the essence of each subject, bringing forth a unique blend of factual accuracy and narrative allure. In orchestrating the editorial workflow, I am deeply involved in every step—from initial research to the final touches of publishing, ensuring each biography not only informs but also engages and inspires our readership.