Bill Thompson, a longtime studio executive who booked features with companies like Miramax Films, Gramercy Pictures and Lot 47 Films, died Sunday of cancer, according to his wife. He was 83 years old.
Thompson’s career has spanned more than 50 years in film and exhibition distribution in both executive sales and senior film buying positions.
The New York native was launched on a successful path in the film industry when he joined the Washington DC affiliate of 20th Century Fox. He returned home in 1978 to work at Cinema 5 Distribution, where he became well acquainted with the film buying process by the following year. Having discovered a new connection, Thompson went on to take on movie buying roles with exhibitors like Walter Reade, Cineplex Odeon, and City Cinemas.
On the distribution side of the industry, Thompson has booked with high profile clients such as Picturehouse, Apparition, Newmarket Films and the Film District. Bob Birney, CEO of The Picturehouse and former President of Thompson’s Workplace, fondly recalled the experience of collaborating with the seasoned executive: “Bill has always been part of my core team at Newmarket, Picturehouse and FilmDistrict. Bill is dedicated to the theatrical experience and people in the business in equal measure. I’m not alone in saying he was one of a kind, a true gentleman and we will miss him.”
Thompson went on to serve as Senior Vice President of Distribution and Exhibits at Cohen Media Group for seven years while also teaching at NYU’s School of Continuing Education, before announcing his retirement in 2020. In 2022, he was awarded the Motion Picture Club Lifetime Achievement Award for his decades of service .
Thompson was also an avid philanthropist who regularly supported the New York Monetary Policy Committee, the Variety Children’s Charity, the Ronald McDonald House, the Alzheimer’s Association, and the National Kidney Foundation.
He is survived by Sherri Thompson, his wife of 43 years, as well as his daughter Samantha Thompson and daughter Sarah Sugar. Thompson was also survived by his brother-in-law, Jonathan Sugar and his sons, Eli and Nathan Sugar.
Donations may be made to Motion Picture Club New York in his honor.
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