By Witney Seibold

Copyright slashfilm

Scott Thompson’s Buddy Cole character on “The Kids in the Hall” was revolutionary at the time. He was a gay character who loved to tell raunchy stories and spread gossip. Thompson, openly gay, expressed his sexuality very frankly, which was uncommon on mid-’80s television shows. Thompson also reprised his Buddy Cole role for Bruce La Bruce’s “Super 8½.” While he starred in “Kids,” he was performing in a queercore band called Mouth Congress. After “Kids,” he was one of the first celebrities to attempt to move his career online, running an interactive website. The real ones know about “ScottLand.”

Thompson’s film career included and Hollywood productions but mostly tiny indies. He was in the studio comedy “Mickey Blue Eyes” (from the director of “Brain Candy,” and he appeared in films like “Tart” and the two “Another Gay Movie” movies. He most recently appeared in the horror movie “My Animal.”

On TV, Thompson is a gadfly. Immediately after “Kids,” he landed a regular role on “The Larry Sanders Show,” playing the character of Brian. He was in an episode of “Star Trek: Voyager,” an episode of “Dharma & Greg,” and nine episodes of “Providence.” He lent his voice to “RoboRoach,” played various characters on “The Simpsons,” and voiced the wife of Kevin McDonald’s character for the “Lilo & Stitch” TV series. Like all the other Kids, he has never struggled to find acting work.

More recently, Thompson has a regular role on the hit drama “Hannibal” as crime scene investigator Jimmy Price, played a teacher on “Degrassi: The Next Generation,” and had a small part in the Arnold Schwarzenegger series “FUBAR.” Thompson has always been a delight on talk shows, and it’s worth looking up his various appearances to hear his anecdotes. He’s quite the raconteur. He survived lymphoma in 2009, and is now mercifully cancer-free.