Thompson reported on science and environmental issues for KRON-TV, then an NBC affiliate in San Francisco, before getting upped to a nightly weather anchor posting at that station in addition to those duties. Thompson was the on-air nightly weather anchor, science, and even lifestyle reporter for KTTV FOX 11 in Los Angeles. Since he started appearing on Channel 13, Thompson pioneered Neighborhood Weather, where he would read weather forecasts from various cities in the Bay Area. This became Neighborhood Watch. Thompson was known for dancing during the weather reports on the 11 PM newscasts, which he originally did on a whim. However, when email reaction was so enormously positive, he kept it going. He quickly gained not only a local following but nationwide attention as well. He was featured on Jimmy Kimmel Live! on October 5, 2006, and on Brit Hume's program on Fox News Channel, among others. He left both stations as of June 3, 2011. He made no on-air announcements of his future plans as a weather anchor. Thompson previously served as an on-air weather anchor and science/environmental reporter at KMGH-TV, the ABC affiliate in Denver, Colorado, and also worked at WKBW-TV, the ABC affiliate in Buffalo, New York.
Thompson hosts a daily 10 AM-to-noon radio show on San Francisco talk station KGO. The show concentrates on politics and pop culture and features calls from listeners across the Bay Area and California. Thompson had originally done fill-in talk show hosting on KGO when he first worked in San Francisco as a news person. Thompson also regularly appears on The Tim Conway Jr. Show on KFI in Los Angeles. Thompson and CNN Latino anchor Elizabeth Espinosa hosted an early afternoon weekday talk program from early 2014 to late 2015.
Television hosting and announcing
Thompson is a regular hosting television shows of high drama and even life and death. He has hosted high-profile "event" shows like Celebrity Daredevils Live with Dennis Rodman and Angie Everhart, all the Robbie Knievel jumps since 1990. He also hosted a live Knievel jump during which the weather prevented the jump and Thompson was asked to "fill" for the entire hour. The show still registered a 25 share. Thompson has been a regular New Year's Eve host for FOX Television as well. In these shows, he has presided over everything from building implosions to musical acts. Thompson hosted the red carpet arrival show for the Emmy Awards on Fox Television. It was his second time hosting an Emmy red carpet show. Thompson also hosted Hole in the Wall along with Brooke Burns for Fremantle Television. The show aired on Fox during 2008-2009. For three successful seasons, Thompson hosted Guinness World Records Primetime on the Fox network, and those familiar with the genre will remember him as the host of When Good Pets Go Bad and the voice of many of the edgy Fox primetime reality shows at the time. Thompson was the host of the weekly entertainment program That's So Hollywood, and was one of the primary fill-in hosts on Good Day L.A., Fox's highest rated Los Angeles morning show.
Career as a producer
Thompson was formerly a creative partner in NEXT entertainment with Mike Fleiss. Together they were responsible for a number of successful specials for Fox, and Thompson was the first person to pitch The Bachelor to ABC, though he credits Fleiss with the idea itself.
Other work
Thompson is a frequent panelist on political and cultural issues on The Young Turks network, and fills in for host, Cenk Uygur, on the show, The Conversation. His regular weekly podcast, The Edge with Mark Thompson, features conversations on politics, show business, and popular culture. Thompson has been seen as a reporter, an anchorman, and even a moderator of presidential debates in feature films such as Set It Off, The Day After Tomorrow and The American President, and television shows such as 24 and Ghost Whisperer. Thompson has been one of the leading voices in reality television, as his voiceovers were heard in the earliest days of reality TV and are still heard on shows such as American Idol, Paradise Hotel, Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader?, The Simple Life and Don't Forget the Lyrics. He was also the announcer on former Fox game shows Greed and It's Your Chance of a Lifetime. Thompson is the vocalist for the So You ThinkYou Can Dancetelevision showtheme song for all versions of the show worldwide, and he is also the announcer for the US version of the show.
Personal
A native of Washington, D.C., Thompson graduated from Colgate University. He also studied at Oxford University in the United Kingdom. A regular on the charity and fundraising circuit, Thompson is an active supporter of many philanthropic enterprises with a concentration in the areas of advocacy for animals, education and environmental charities.
