Fred Thompson

Frederick A. Thompson, usually credited as Fred Thompson (24 January 1884 – 10 April 1949) was an English writer, best known as a librettist for about fifty British and American musical comedies in the first half of the 20th century. Among the writers with whom he collaborated were George Grossmith Jr., P. G. Wodehouse, Guy Bolton and Ira Gershwin. Composers with whom he worked included Lionel Monckton, Ivor Novello and George Gershwin.

Many of Thompson's shows became popular hits, including To-night's the Night (1914), The Bing Boys are Here (1916), The Boy (1917), Lady, Be Good! (1924), Rio Rita (1927), Funny Face (1927) and Follow the Girls (1944). Thompson was born in London and raised in Newton Abbot, Devon, in the west of England. He attended the Slade School of Fine Art in London and trained as an architect. He was a skilled caricaturist, and in the early years of the 20th century he contributed regular theatrical caricatures to at least three London newspapers. He worked for three years as an actor, giving him an inside view of stagecraft, which he later put to use in his writing.