Donald Whitney Thompson (August 18, 1937 – July 17, 2019) was an American film director, producer and screenwriter of Christian films. He was best known for the evangelical Christian film series A Thief in the Night about the Rapture and Tribulation.
Life and career Thompson was born in Hornell, New York. He graduated from Hamburg Central High School in 1956.
Upon graduating from high school, Thompson joined the Air Force where he served as a motion picture editorial specialist, director and producer. He moved to Des Moines in 1967 to write a series of movies for General Motors. In 1968, he married his wife, Beverly. For a time, he made television programs for Paramount Pictures.
In 1972, Thompson, a newly born again Christian, partnered with Russell Doughten to form the Christian film company Mark IV Pictures. Thompson wrote and directed 12 feature-length motion pictures, including the prophecy series that began with A Thief in the Night. According to film scholar Heather Hendershot,
After twelve years and twelve pictures together, a disagreement over management and distribution forced Thompson out of Mark IV in 1984. Doughten retained Mark IV Pictures, while Thompson signed on with American Media in Des Moines.
The Christian and secular film industries alike have praised Thompson's work. Harry Bristow of the Christian Film Distributors Association calls him "the finest director in the industry."
Thompson also spent time as a radio disk jockey at KRNT in Des Moines, and did a Christian radio broadcast on KWKY in Des Moines.
He died in 2019 in Iowa.
Filmography
Year Title Notes1969 Candle in the Wind (TV movie) Producer, director1972 A Thief in the Night Producer, director, writer (story) 1974 The Enemy Director 1974 Blood on the Mountain Producer, director, writer (screenplay/story) 1975 Survival Producer, director, writer (story/screenplay) 1976 A Stranger in My Forest Producer, director, writer (screenplay) 1977 All the King's Horses Director, writer 1978 A Distant Thunder Producer, director, writer (screenplay/story) 1979 Paradise Trail Producer, director, writer (screenplay) 1980 Heaven's Heroes Producer, director, writer (screenplay) 1980 Image of the Beast Producer, director, writer (screenplay/story) 1981 Home Safe Director, writer 1982 Face in the Mirror Actor 1983 The Prodigal Planet Producer, director, writer (screenplay/story) 1984 The Shepherd Producer, director, writer (original story) 1986 The Miracle Man International Silver Screen Award, New York Times Film Critics' Award 1987 Life Flight: The Movie Producer, director, writer (screenplay/story) 1993 Alone in the Dark (Short) Producer, director
References
External links
The Films of Donald W. Thompson