æz tˈɪɹfəli ɹᵻpˈoːɹɾᵻd baɪ pˈɛn dʒɪlˈɛt ˌɔn hɪz pˈɑːdkæst, "pˈɛnz sˈʌndeɪ skˈuːl" ɹᵻlˈiːst mˈɑːɹtʃ tˈɛn, tˈuː θˈaʊzənd nˈaɪntiːn:  "dʒˈɑːni tˈɑːmpsən, mˈɛnɪəv juː nˈoʊ, maɪ hˈiəɹoʊ, maɪ mˈɛntoːɹ, maɪ fɹˈɛnd, maɪ kˈoʊwˈɜːkɚ...hˌuː fɔːɹ ˌoʊvɚ twˈɛnti jˈɪɹz hɐdbɪn wˈɜːkɪŋ wɪð pˈɛn ænd tˈɛlɚ, ɡˈaɪdɪŋ ˌʌs ˌɔn ˈɛvɹɪθˌɪŋ; dʒˈɑːni tˈɑːmpsən hˌuː wʌz lˈaɪk ɐ ɡɹˈændfɑːðɚ tə maɪ tʃˈɪldɹən, dʒˈɑːni dˈaɪd tədˈeɪ.
As tearfully reported by Penn Jillette on his podcast, "Penn's Sunday School" released March 10, 2019:  "Johnny Thompson, many of you know, my hero, my mentor, my friend, my co-worker...who for over 20 years had been working with Penn and Teller, guiding us on everything; Johnny Thompson who was like a grandfather to my children, Johnny died today.