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Douglas Campbell (actor)

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Douglas Campbell
Campbell circa 2007
Born(1922-06-11)11 June 1922
Glasgow, Scotland
Died6 October 2009(2009-10-06) (aged 87)
Montreal, Quebec, Canada
NationalityBritish, Canadian
OccupationActor
Years active1941–2000
Spouses
  • ​
    ​
    (m. 1947; died 1990)​
  • Moira Wylie
    ​
    ​
    (m. 1993)​
Children6, including Benedict and Torquil

Douglas Campbell, CM (11 June 1922 – 6 October 2009) was a Canadian-based stage actor. He was born in Glasgow, Scotland.

Acting career

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Campbell'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

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In 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

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Films

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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

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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

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  1. ^ a b Ouzounian, Richard (7 October 2009). "Douglas Campbell, 87: Canadian theatre giant". Toronto Star. Retrieved 24 February 2010.
  2. ^ "Douglas Campbell Biography (1922–)". FilmReference.com. Retrieved 24 February 2010.
  3. ^ J. Alan B. Somerset. 1991. The Stratford Festival Story, 1st edition. Greenwood Press. ISBN 978-0-313-27804-4
  4. ^ "Actor Douglas Campbell dies at 87". CBC News. 7 October 2009. Retrieved 24 February 2010.
  5. ^ "Douglas Campbell – biography". Governor General's Performing Arts Awards Foundation. Retrieved 27 January 2014.
  6. ^ 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.
  7. ^ "Douglas Campbell obituary". theguardian.com. 11 July 2023.
  8. ^ "Renowned Actor Douglas Campbell Dead at 87". BroadwayWorld.com. 9 October 2009. Retrieved 24 February 2010.
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