R.I.P.: Chris Thompson

Read this is the NW Examiner this morning:

Cloyd J. “Chris” Thompson, a former
Northwest District resident, died
Sept. 16 in Ryderwood, Wash., at age
79. Mr. Thompson was born June 20,
1930, in Ryderwood. He worked as
an exhibit designer and builder for
Jensen Display and later for All West
Display in Northwest Portland. He
carved the “Nobby” door at Nob Hill
Bar & Grill in 1972. He was active in
the Portland Civic Theater in the late
1960s and early 1970s.

It's significant that it took almost six months for the news to reach his old neighborhood. After retiring, Chris had moved to Washington to live with his sister. My late friend Ger and I often wanted to drive up and visit but Chris always had an excuse why we couldn't. He was a very private man.

I met him in the late 70s as a regular at Nobby's. When I learned he had been an actor a decade earlier (starring in Man from La Mancha at the Civic), I brought him, with considerable effort, out of retirement to perform in my hyperdrama "Cocktail Suite" -- and Chris was fantastic. The Nobby regulars who saw the play, which took place in a bar, were blown away: to them, Chris was just another blue collar regular. But he was an actor and a singer, talented in both. Chris really came through for the show.

He loved jazz and had a fine collection. He was a very funny man and fun to drink with -- until he reached his limit, at which time he became morose and dark. Many fond memories of good times with Chris, who never did let me visit him. He regularly called drunk over the Christmas holidays, but in recent years this had stopped, so I figured something had changed.