On 26 March 1967, Jim Thompson vanished in Malaysia's Cameron Highlands during a trip with friends from Thailand and Singapore. Despite a massive manhunt, no trace was ever found of him. There has been no end of theories about what happened. Was he kidnapped by communists, assassinated by business rivals, run over by a logging truck, eaten by a tiger, or did he vanish because of financial difficulties?
Conspiracy theorists have feasted on this great unsolved mystery. The American architect credited with reviving the Thai silk industry, and building one of the most beautiful homes in Bangkok, had an interesting history. He was a former operative in the US Office of Strategic Services (OSS), the forerunner of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), and set up the first OSS office in Bangkok. In 1946, he became one of the US military attaches. Thompson divorced his wife and stayed on in Thailand to found the Thai Silk Company. A celebrated host, he came to know everybody in town, and also at one stage had shares in The Oriental hotel.
Has the mystery of his disappearance finally been solved? The answer may hinge on a deathbed confession. The Foreign Correspondents' Club of Thailand is pleased to host the first showing in Thailand of 'Who Killed Jim Thompson the Thai Silk King?', the latest film from Adventure Film Productions. It premiered on Oct. 20 at the Eugene International Film Festival in the US state of Oregon.
We are also pleased to welcome Barry Broman, the film's producer, and hope to have with him: Xuwicha Hiranprueck , a Thai businessman with particular experience in Myanmar and Laos who unearthed new information relating to the mystery; Teo Pin, a Singaporean businessman whose late uncle was a senior cadre in the Malayan Communist Party; Willis Bird Jr, a Thai-American businessman resident in Chiang Mai whose father, Willis Bird Sr., was a colonel in the American army, a senior officer in the OSS, and a close personal friend of Jim Thompson.
Barry Broman, a graduate of the University of Washington in political science and Southeast Asian studies, first came to Asia in 1962 as an Associated Press photographer covering Thailand, Cambodia, and South Vietnam. He joined the FCCT at that time, and rejoined in the 1970s. In between, he served as an infantry officer in the Marine Corps during the Vietnam war, and was a liaison officer in Bangkok. Broman went on to a 26-year diplomatic career with postings in Cambodia, Thailand, Indonesia, France, and Myanmar. He retired in 1996, and returned to writing and photography. He has written and/or photographed more than a dozen books on Asian themes including Old Homes of Bangkok and Spiritual Abodes of Thailand with William Warren. He has produced ten documentary films including 'Burma: A Human Tragedy'.
