Ray Thompson

born: 14 August 1892
Salt Lake City, Utah,
United States of America
died: 09 December 1937
Los Angeles, California,
United States of America
(heart disease, age 45)

American actor who also frequently worked as a salesman. The natural spelling of his surname was Thomson (minus the "p"), but he appears to have used Thompson (with the "p") professionally; that spelling is also used on his death certificate (although Thomson is still used for his father's name and for his brother, the informant).
Going by vital records and other evidence, it would appear he left his native Utah for California in the early-mid 1910s and had a film career there, then he returned to Utah by 1917, then he relocated to California once more sometime during the mid-1920s and seems to have stayed there until his passing. His death certificate states he had been acting for 25 years (beginning circa 1912), and that he last worked the month of his death (Dec 1937); it also says he had been in California for 30 years (thus arriving circa 1907), though this could be an estimation, as he's still living in Utah in the 1910 U.S. Census and at the time of his first marriage in 1913. An obituary says he left his native Salt Lake City 15 years prior to his passing (circa 1922), likely applying to his second go-around with living in California; he is living in Salt Lake City at the time of his 1923 marriage, though he was definitely back in California by 1926. He is buried at Inglewood Park Cemetery in Inglewood, California.
Not to be confused with the actor/stuntman Ray "Red" Thompson, who died from drowning in 1927 whilst filming "The Trail of '98" (released 1928) in Alaska.
Real name: Raymond Lester Thomson
Films listed on this page: complete Hal Roach filmography.

7


1916
Luke's Newsie Knockout
[?]

1916
Luke Locates The Loot
[?]

1916
Luke's Shattered Sleep
[?]

1917
Luke's Lost Liberty
[?]

1917
Lonesome Luke's Lively Life
[?]

1920
Queen's Up
[?]

1927
A One-Mama Man
Party guest (?)

Acknowledgements:
https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:MMRP-7PH (1900 Census)
https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:M5XZ-7CC (1910 Census)
https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:KSGY-91Z (1913 marriage)
https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:F8GP-R21 (1913 marriage)
https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:KSGB-WPQ (1917 marriage)
https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:KSP7-WK3 (1917 marriage)
https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:F8GY-6MB (1917 marriage)
https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:XZX4-Z8C (1917 marriage)
https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:29JM-CYJ (WWI draft reg. card)
https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:Q571-DHX4 (WWI Utah county draft board index)
https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:M8PY-5LG (1920 Census)
https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:KSP9-7CZ (1923 marriage)
https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:F8G1-ZJ2 (1923 marriage)
https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:XZXB-K4J (1923 marriage)
1926 L.A. City Dir.: Thompson Raymond L actor r rear 720 S Carondelet
https://digitalcollections.oscars.org/digital/collection/p15759coll35/id/5485/rec/1 (Standard Casting Directory, Feb 1927)
https://digitalcollections.oscars.org/digital/collection/p15759coll35/id/5673/rec/1 (Standard Casting Directory, Feb 1927)
https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:K8FH-SSD (1927 marriage)
https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:H94S-C73Z (1927 marriage)
https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:XCV7-HQD (1930 Census)
https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:QKS9-JPW1 (CA Death Index)
https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:QP4Z-4JJM (death certificate)
https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:6K4Z-1GX7 (Social Security Numident File)
https://www.familysearch.org/en/tree/person/memories/K2H5-BQ8 (family tree, FamilySearch.org)
https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/242969594 (Find a Grave)
The Harold Lloyd Encyclopedia by Annette D'Agostino Lloyd (book)
Jesse Brisson (bio notes and research)

This page was last updated on: 28 October 2025