Thompson died of renal cell carcinoma (kidney cancer) in Los Angeles. It was just two months after his bandmate Robert Palmer died from a heart attack. Thompson was a member of the band Non-Toxic at the time of his death. He was survived by his wife, Patrice Jennings, and two children. On 19 September 2005, Thompson and the rest of the Chic band members were inducted into the Dance Music Hall of Fame.