Marshall Thompson (November 27, 1925 – May 18, 1992) was an American film and television actor. He was born James Marshall Thompson in Peoria, Illinois. In 1943 Thompson, known for his boy-next-door good looks, was signed by Universal Pictures. He played quiet, thoughtful teens in Universal's feature films, including a lead opposite singing star Gloria Jean in Reckless Age, earning $350 weekly. During 1946 Universal discharged most of its contract players; that same year Thompson moved to MGM and his film roles steadily increased and improved. Thompson became a freelance actor in the 1950s and worked for various studios on a variety of pictures, including a number of horror and science-fiction features; this included the role of Carruthers in It! The Terror from Beyond Space (1958), one of the two feature films that would later inspire the plot for director Ridley Scott's 1979 big budget feature film Alien. Thompson also starred as Mel Hunter in the syndicated science fiction TV series World of Giants, about a man who has been miniaturized and must live in a dollhouse. By the 1960s, Thompson's boyish looks had matured and his screen persona became more authoritative. He co-starred with Annie Fargé in the 33-episode CBS sitcom Angel (1960–1961) about an American architect with a charming but scatterbrained French wife, who often got into zany, Lucy Ricardo-esque situations, caused in part by her lack of English; the show was canceled after 33 episodes due to low ratings, despite critical acclaim for French-born newcomer Annie Fargé. In the mid-1960s Thompson starred in CBS's Daktari, a television series about a veterinarian in Africa; the series was based on Thompson's 1965 feature film Clarence, the Cross-Eyed Lion. Later in his career, he appeared in many television episodes and in feature films such as The Turning Point (1977) and The Formula(1980). Thompson was a brother-in-law of actor Richard Long, best known for his role as Jarrod Barkley in ABC's The Big Valley. Thompson's wife, Barbara, was Long's sister. Marshall Thompson died from congestive heart failure at the age of sixty-six in Royal Oak, Michigan.

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James Marshall Thompson (Peoria, Illinois, 27 de novembre de 1925 - Royal Oak, Michigan, 18 de maig de 1992) va ser un actor de cinema i televisió nord-americà.

James Marshall Thompson war ein US-amerikanischer Film- und Fernsehschauspieler.

1943 wurde Thompson von Universal Pictures unter Vertrag genommen. Er spielte ruhige, nachdenkliche Teenager in Universals Spielfilmen, darunter eine Hauptrolle in „Reckless Age“. 1946 entließ Universal die meisten seiner Vertragsschauspieler, so das Thompson im selben Jahr zu MGM wechselte. Seine Filmrollen nahmen stetig zu und verbesserten sich mit Auftritten in „The Clock“, der Hauptrolle in „Gallant Bess“, MGMs erstem in Cinecolor gedrehten Film, und als einer der Hauptdarsteller in „Battleground“, als unerfahrener Ersatz in der 101. Luftlandedivision während der Belagerung von Bastogne.

In den 1950er Jahren arbeitete er als freiberuflicher Schauspieler für verschiedene Studios an verschiedenen Filmen, darunter die Horror- und Science-Fiction-Filme Cult of the Cobra (1955), Ungeheuer ohne Gesicht (1958) und Rakete 510 (1959) sowie Audie Murphys Autobiographie Zur Hölle und zurück (1955). Seine Hauptrolle als Carruthers in It! Der Schrecken lauert im All (1958) war einer der beiden Genrefilme, die später die Handlung für Ridley Scotts Big-Budget-Film Alien (1979) inspirierten. Thompson spielte außerdem die Hauptrolle in der kurzlebigen Science-Fiction-Fernsehserie World of Giants (1959).

In den 1960er Jahren war Thompsons jungenhaftes Aussehen reifer geworden und seine Leinwandpersönlichkeit wurde autoritärer. So spielte er in der 33-teiligen CBS-Sitcom „Angel“ (1960–1961).

1965 kehrte er zu MGM zurück, um die Hauptrolle in der von Ivan Tors produzierten Abenteuerkomödie „Clarence, der schielende Löwe“ (1965) zu spielen. Er spielte Marsh Tracy, einen Tierarzt und alleinerziehenden Vater, der seine Tochter allein in Kenia großzieht. Dem Film folgte später die Fernsehserie „Daktari“ (1966–1969), in der Thompson dieselbe Rolle innehatte.