Douglas Campbell, CM (11 June 1922 – 6 October 2009) was a Canadian-based stage actor. He was born in Glasgow, Scotland.
Douglas Campbell | |
|---|---|
 Campbell circa 2007 | |
| Born | 11 June 1922 |
| Died | 6 October 2009 (aged 87) |
| Nationality | British, Canadian |
| Occupation | Actor |
| Years active | 1941–2000 |
| Spouses |
|
| Children | 6, including Benedict and Torquil |
Acting career
editCampbell's interest in the theatre began at London's Old Vic Theatre at age 17, where working as a stage hand he saw Tyrone Guthrie's production of King John. He first performed in the 1941 Old Vic touring productions of Medea and Jacob's Ladder.[1][2]
He was invited to Canada in 1953 by Guthrie, who had just been appointed the first artistic director of the fledgling Stratford Festival of Canada in Stratford, Ontario. Campbell played Hastings in the opening production of Richard III in 1953, and King Oedipus in the stage and screen production of Oedipus Rex in 1954. He appeared many times at Stratford in the fifty years that followed, drawing great acclaim in the role of Othello in 1959, and in many appearances as Falstaff.[3][4]
Campbell founded the Canadian Players in 1954, and was artistic director at the Guthrie Theater in Minneapolis from 1966 to 1967. He was awarded the Order of Canada on 17 April 1997. Campbell received a Governor General's Performing Arts Award, Canada's highest honour in the performing arts, in 2003.[5]
Personal life
editIn 1947, Campbell married Ann Casson, actress and daughter of Sir Lewis Casson and Dame Sybil Thorndike.[6] His children from that marriage are Dirk Campbell, television director; Teresa Padden who played Cordelia to his first King Lear, Tom Campbell, painter; Benedict Campbell, actor. In the late 1960s, Campbell developed a relationship with Moira Wylie, an actress and director, with whom his children Beatrice and Torquil Campbell were born. Beatrice Campbell is a stage manager at the Shaw Festival while Torquil Campbell is an actor and lead singer/songwriter of the indie rock band Stars. Casson, whom Campbell never divorced, died in 1990. He and Wylie married in 1993.[6] Campbell was a pacificist and vegetarian.[7]
Campbell died at Hôtel Dieu hospital in Montreal, Quebec from complications of diabetes and congestive heart disease on 6 October 2009.[1][8]
Filmography
editFilms
edit| Film | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 1957 | Oedipus Rex | Oedipus | |
| 1965 | When Tomorrow Dies | Doug James | |
| 1972 | A Fan's Notes | Paddy the Duke | |
| 1979 | Lost and Found | British Professor | |
| 1980 | Double Negative | Crichett, Sr. | |
| Nothing Personal | The Walker | ||
| 1982 | If You Could See What I Hear | Porky Sullivan | |
| 1983 | Strange Brew | Henry Green | |
| Snow | Nick | Short film | |
| 1985 | Perfect | Party Pro | Credited as Doug Campbell |
| 1990 | I Bought a Vampire Motorcycle | Mr. Bancroft | |
| 2000 | Once Upon a Christmas | Santa Claus | Final film role |
Television
edit| Television | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 1953 | Sunday Night Theatre | The Stranger | Season 4, episode 19: "The Lady from the Sea" |
| 1955 | Omnibus | Season 3, episode 16: "Hamlet" | |
| On Camera | Season 1, episode 23: "The Queen's Ring" | ||
| Scope | Colonel Thomas Talbot | Season 1, episode 19: "The Colonel and the Lady" | |
| First Performance | Colonel Thomas Talbot | Season 1, episode 1: "The Colonel and the Lady" | |
| 1955-1959 | General Motors Theatre | Cal / O'Brien / Claggart / Terrence | 4 episodes |
| 1957-1960 | DuPont Show of the Month | Squire Trelawny / Danglars / King Henry VIII / Various | 4 episodes |
| 1958 | Suspicion | Armstrong | Episode 27: "The Girl Upstairs" |
| 1958-1959 | Folio | Sean Kelly | 2 episodes |
| 1959 | Day of Decision | Narrator | Miniseries |
| The Unforeseen | 2 episodes | ||
| 1959-1960 | Startime | W.S. Gilbert | 3 episodes |
| 1960-1962 | Festival | Don Alhambra del Bolero, the Grand Inquisitor / W.S. Gilbert / Dunlavin / Bill Bobstay, Boatswain's mate |
4 episodes |
| 1962 | John Brown's Body | John Brown | TV movie |
| 1964 | The Defenders | Ed Clark | Season 3, episode 20: "The Pill Man" |
| Twelfth Night | Sir Toby Belch | TV movie | |
| 1965 | Profiles in Courage | John Quincy Adams | Episode 22: "John Quincy Adams" |
| 1975 | Performance | Sir George Simpson | Episode 5: "The Man in the Tin Canoe" |
| 1976 | Bill Brand | Reg Starr | Miniseries |
| 1979–1982 | The Great Detective | Inspector Alistair Cameron | 35 episodes |
| 1981 | You've Come a Long Way, Katie | Miniseries 3 episodes | |
| 1984 | Sam Hughes's War | TV movie | |
| Charlie Grant's War | Manlus | TV movie | |
| 1985 | The Edison Twins | Harry | Season 3, episode 4: "Monkey in the Middle" |
| 1986 | The Boys from Syracuse | Prologue | Uncredited |
| 1986-1990 | The Campbells | Justice Harris | 2 episodes - 1 uncredited |
| 1988 | Adderly | Marty | Season 2, episode 20: "The Interrogation" |
| 1991 | Mark Twain and Me | TV movie | |
| 1998 | Due South | Capt. Ed Smithers | 2 episodes |
| 2000 | Anne of Green Gables: The Continuing Story | Dr. Powell | Miniseries 2 episodes Final TV role |
References
edit- ^ a b Ouzounian, Richard (7 October 2009). "Douglas Campbell, 87: Canadian theatre giant". Toronto Star. Retrieved 24 February 2010.
- ^ "Douglas Campbell Biography (1922–)". FilmReference.com. Retrieved 24 February 2010.
- ^ J. Alan B. Somerset. 1991. The Stratford Festival Story, 1st edition. Greenwood Press. ISBN 978-0-313-27804-4
- ^ "Actor Douglas Campbell dies at 87". CBC News. 7 October 2009. Retrieved 24 February 2010.
- ^ "Douglas Campbell – biography". Governor General's Performing Arts Awards Foundation. Retrieved 27 January 2014.
- ^ a b Martin, Sandra (10 October 2009). "Douglas Campbell, 87 / Actor – 'A gloriously forthright, honest, full-blooded trouper'". The Globe and Mail. Retrieved 24 February 2010.
- ^ "Douglas Campbell obituary". theguardian.com. 11 July 2023.
- ^ "Renowned Actor Douglas Campbell Dead at 87". BroadwayWorld.com. 9 October 2009. Retrieved 24 February 2010.
External links
edit- Douglas Campbell at IMDb
- Douglas Campbell at the Internet Broadway Database
- Douglas Campbell at the Internet Off-Broadway Database
- An Interview with Douglas Campbell by TheatreMuseumCanada
- Order of Canada: Douglas Campbell
- A gloriously forthright, honest, full-blooded trouper (Globe and Mail obituary)
- Douglas Campbell at NorthernStars
- Obituary from The Guardian (United Kingdom) "A socialist, pacifist and vegetarian, he delighted audiences as Falstaff, a character who reflected perfectly his larger-than-life personality and capacity for enjoyment."
- On 28 July 2013 the City of Toronto unveiled DOUGLAS CAMPBELL LANE (https://web.archive.org/web/20131214023912/http://www.harbordvillage.com/laneways/lanewayinteractivemap.html). It runs North from College (half block West of Spadina) and then turns West to join Robert Street.
