Bella Thorne and Zendaya post moving tributes after their Shake It Up! boss Chris Thompson dies at 63... also worked on Laverne & Shirley

By Heidi Parker For Dailymail.com

Published: 10:13 EST, 28 June 2015 | Updated: 12:55 EST, 28 June 2015

Writer Chris Thompson has died at the age of 63 after a long illness.

The Hollywood fixture most recently worked with Bella Thorne, 17, and Zendaya, 18, on their hit series Shake It Up! The two teen actresses posted emotional tributes on Instagram soon after news of his passing.

The TV fixture made his mark in the Seventies and Eighties with such hits as Laverne & Shirley and Bosom Buddies. 

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Gone so soon: Chris Thompson, seen here with his Shake It Up! stars Zendaya (left) and Bella Thorne (right), died at the age of 63 on Saturday after a long illness

Gone so soon: Chris Thompson, seen here with his Shake It Up! stars Zendaya (left) and Bella Thorne (right), died at the age of 63 on Saturday after a long illness

They loved their boss: Both Bella, 17 (left), and Zendaya, 18 (right), posted moving tributes to Thompson
They loved their boss: Both Bella, 17 (left), and Zendaya, 18 (right), posted moving tributes to Thompson

They loved their boss: Both Bella, 17 (left), and Zendaya, 18 (right), posted moving tributes to Thompson

Touching: Thorne wrote, 'RIP to my good friend Chris Thompson, mentor and creator of Shake It Up. You were like a dad to me at an early age and protected me through many years. I will love and miss you always'

Touching: Thorne wrote, 'RIP to my good friend Chris Thompson, mentor and creator of Shake It Up. You were like a dad to me at an early age and protected me through many years. I will love and miss you always'

Shake It Up! is a teen comedy that hit the airwaves in 2010. The stars are Bell and Zendaya as well as Davis Cleveland.

It follows two teens who realize their dreams when they get jobs as dancers on a popular local show.

Both Bella and Zendaya shared a photo of Chris on Instagram soon after his death. 

Dance: Shake It Up! is a teen comedy that hit the airwaves in 2010. The stars are Bell and Zendaya as well as Davis Cleveland.

Dance: Shake It Up! is a teen comedy that hit the airwaves in 2010. The stars are Bell and Zendaya as well as Davis Cleveland.

Spirited: The show follows two teens who realize their dreams when they get jobs as dancers on a popular local show; here is a still from 2014

Spirited: The show follows two teens who realize their dreams when they get jobs as dancers on a popular local show; here is a still from 2014

Zendaya wrote, 'Last night we lost an amazing, talented and loving man. Thank you CT for always being there, for giving me my first role and creating beautiful memories I will always be thankful for. 

'I will miss you, but I know you’re in heaven finally at peace.'

Bella wrote, 'RIP to my good friend Chris Thompson, mentor and creator of Shake It Up. You were like a dad to me at an early age and protected me through many years. I will love and miss you always.' 

A start: He helped launch Tom Hanks' career with Bosom Buddies, which ran from 1980 to 1982; here Hans (right) is seen with co-star Peter Scolari

A start: He helped launch Tom Hanks' career with Bosom Buddies, which ran from 1980 to 1982; here Hans (right) is seen with co-star Peter Scolari

Naked: Tom Hanks played Kip Wilson who pretended to be Buffy and Scolari played Henry Desmond who pretended to be Hildegarde

Naked: Tom Hanks played Kip Wilson who pretended to be Buffy and Scolari played Henry Desmond who pretended to be Hildegarde

Thompson had signed on for a new project based on a hit Israeli show when he passed away unexpectedly on Friday night, according to Deadline.

The prolific writer also worked on Action, The Naked Truth and Ladies Man.

He helped launch Tom Hanks' career with Bosom Buddies, which ran from 1980 to 1982.

The show - about men dressing as women to get cheap rent - was the first to showcase the comedic talents of Tom, who quickly went on to cement his reputation as a movie star with the Eighties classics Splash and Bachelor Party.

Two gals: His other hit series was Laverne & Shirley, which ran from 1976 to 1983 and starred Penny Marshall and Cindy Williams

Two gals: His other hit series was Laverne & Shirley, which ran from 1976 to 1983 and starred Penny Marshall and Cindy Williams

His other hit series was Laverne & Shirley, which ran from 1976 to 1983 and starred Penny Marshall and Cindy Williams.

The series, about two single women living in Milwaukee in the 1950s, became a pop culture phenomenon.

Often the women went on disastrous dates and had to deal with their pesky neighbors Lenny and Squiggy.

Hot: The series, about two single women living in Milwaukee in the 1950s, became a pop culture phenomenon

Hot: The series, about two single women living in Milwaukee in the 1950s, became a pop culture phenomenon

'Chris Thompson was the kind of writer that writers write about,' friend Jim Vallely (Arrested Development, Two And A Half Men) said on Saturday night.

'He was pushing the envelope back when people still used envelopes.

'Chris’s show Bosom Buddies was the first sitcom I’d ever seen that was actively sneaking jokes by the censors. On Chris’s Fox comedy Action, after he handed in a first draft of an especially raunchy episode, it was returned from S&P with a stamped "This script has been REJECTED" on the cover page. I had never seen that stamp before or after and I don’t think I ever will. I and everyone who’s ever worked with him are devastated by this sad news.'

 

 

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