Mark LaMarr Thompson (born December 1, 1955) is an American radio personality (disc jockey) and occasional actor, best known for the nationally syndicated Mark & Brian morning show.
After attending the University of North Alabama, Thompson worked as a disc jockey at several stations in the southern United States before meeting his partner Brian Phelps in Birmingham, Alabama in 1986. The next year the duo moved their show to KLOS-FM in Los Angeles, where they are still based. Thompson's wife Lynda and their three children (Matthew, Amy and Katie) along with David his nephew and Nina his niece are well-known among regular listeners of the program. Thompson plays drums and is a huge Elvis Presley fan.
The enormous popularity of his radio show has given Thompson several opportunities to branch out into other entertainment media. In 1991-92, he and Phelps hosted a short-lived NBC TV series, The Adventures of Mark & Brian, based on their radio show. Thompson has also appeared in several motion pictures, notably Jason Goes to Hell: The Final Friday (the 1993 ninth installment in the Friday the 13th series) and The Princess Diaries (2001). He also wrote & starred in the 2002 independent film, Mother Ghost, and briefly appeared as a love interest (coincidentally named Brian) of Reba McEntire's character on three episodes in the 2002-2003 season of the Reba television show.
On June 13, 2012, Thompson announced that he is retiring from radio after 25 years and will move to Charlotte, North Carolina with his wife, but notes that his new home will also come equipped with a studio that will allow him to do occasional media work. His last day at KLOS was August 17, 2012.
Famous quotes containing the words mark and/or thompson:
“It is the mark of a great man that he puts to flight all ordinary calculations. He is at once sublime and touching, childlike and of the race of giants.”
—Honoré De Balzac (1799–1850)
“I stand amid the dust o’ the mounded years—
My mangled youth lies dead beneath the heap,
My days have crackled and gone up in smoke,
Have puffed and burst as sun-starts on a stream.”
—Francis Thompson (1859–1907)