Eric Thompson was born on the 9th of June 1901 in Drummoyne, Sydney. As a young man, his main interests were drawing and architecture, the latter of which he chose to study at Sydney Technical College. After graduating, Thompson began to make a name for himself as an architectural sketch artist. An exhibit of his sketches in New York drew the attention of MGM's Cedric Gibbons, who invited Thompson to join the company as art director. Thompson stayed at MGM for 10 years (1927-1937) and worked on many movies there before returning to Australia. In Australia, he joined the Sydney-based film company Cinesound until it closed its doors with the outbreak of war in 1939. When the war ended, Thompson returned to film, finding employment at the Australian government's Commonwealth Film Unit. Here, he worked not just as an artist, but also as a director and producer. Thompson's tenure at the CFU is often regarded as the 'peak of his career'. He died in January 1978 aged 76.