Thompson is known as the author of the play "On Golden Pond", which he wrote at the age of 28. The play opened off-Broadway in 1978, starring Tom Aldredge and Frances Sternhagen. A great success at the Kennedy Center, it opened at the New Apollo Theater on Broadway February 28, 1979. Revived the following season at the Century Theatre, "On Golden Pond" ran for more than 400 performances. It became a hit 1981 film, starring Katharine Hepburn and Henry Fonda. Thompson won the Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay in 1981 as well as awards from the Golden Globes and the Writers Guild of America.