Douglas Campbell

Douglas Campbell’s father was a Postal Inspector and his mother an amateur actress. He was a conscientious objector during WWII and left for Canada in 1953, the same year he joined the Stratford Shakespeare Festival. Active in helping to develop theatre during the 1950s, he cofounded, with Tom Patterson, The Canadian Players in 1954, with the idea that it would provide work for off-season Stratford actors. The company toured Canada with a mix of Shakespearean and contemporary productions, until the mid-’60s, when it relocated to Toronto as a permanent company. He was also involved with the Piggery, in North Hatley, Québec. Primarily a character actor, Campbell is known for such comic roles as Falstaff, which he brought to the Stratford stage as recently as 2001. He received critical acclaim for his 1959 portrayal of Othello. Awarded the Order of Canada in 1997, Douglas was given The Barbara Hamilton Memorial Award in 1999. He also was honoured with a Governor General’s Award for Performing Arts in 2003. Because of his stage work he has few television or film credits. Campbell died at Montreal`s Hôtel Dieu hospital of complications of diabetes and heart disease. He was 87.

Douglas Campbell is pictured as Falstaff. Photo by: Chris Nicholls/Stratford Festival. The poster image for Strange Brew was scanned from an original in the Northernstars Collection.