Actor and Director Douglas Campbell Dies at 87

Douglas Campbell, a founding member of the acting company of Canada’s Stratford Shakespeare Festival, died on October 6, at a hospital in Montreal. He was 87.

Campbell starred in the 1961 Broadway production of Paddy Chayefsky’s Gideon, and directed the 1962 Broadway production of Orson Welles’ adaptation of Moby Dick. Other Broadway performing credits include Equus, The House of Atreus, The Golden Age (which he also directed), The Broken Jug, Two Gentlemen of Verona, and Mary Stuart.

He was born in Glasgow on June 11, 1922, and began acting in his teens. He moved to Canada in 1953, for the inaugural season of the Stratford Shakespearean Festival, and continued to appear in many productions with the company over the years. In addition, Campbell co-founded the Canadian Players in 1954, and appeared in every major Canadian theater as well as many U.S. regional theaters. His TV work includes playing the title role in CBC-TV’s The Great Detective.

In a statement, current Stratford Shakespeare Festival director Des McAnuff said, “Douglas Campbell was one of the true giants in the history of this institution. He was one of our pioneers and a force behind the resident theatre movement in North America from its very beginnings. He had many talents as a theatre artist but, most of all, he was the quintessential classical actor.”

Campbell is survived by his second wife, Moira Wylie, his children, Dirk, Teresa, Thomas, Benedict, Beatrice, and Torquil, eight grandchildren, and two great-grandchildren.