Guthrie Theater

The entire Guthrie family is saddened by the death Douglas Campbell, who served as this theater's artistic director during the 1966 and 1967 seasons. Douglas died in Montreal Oct. 6, 2009 of congestive heart disease at age 87. Below is a report from the Toronto Star 

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Theatre giant Douglas Campbell dies at 87 
by Richard Ouzounian
Toronto Star (October 7, 2009)

Douglas Campbell, one of the giants of Canadian theatre, died Oct. 6 in the Hôtel-Dieu de Montréal Hospital of congestive heart disease at the age of 87.

Born in Glasgow, Scotland on June 11, 1922, he once described his parents as "socialists, pacifists and vegetarians" - a trifecta of beliefs that he stuck to as well for his entire life. From his amateur actress mother, he also acquired a love of the theatre.

After leaving school at the age of 17, he hitch-hiked to London and got a job at the Old Vic Theatre Company as a truck driver, helping to transport scenery.

But once he saw Tyrone Guthrie's 1941 production of King John, he decided he wanted to work as an actor and soon afterwards was employed in the company of the great Dame Sybil Thondike.

In his typical self-effacing way, Campbell later explained his rapid hiring by saying "It was World War II and all the good, handsome actors were serving at the front. I was a conscientious objector and very available. She hired me and changed my life."

Not only did Thorndike provide Campbell with employment, but in 1947, he married her daughter, Ann Casson, with whom he had four children, including Benedict, a well-known leading actor in the Shaw and Stratford Festival companies.

When Guthrie was invited to begin the Stratford Festival in 1953 he asked Campbell to join him and that began a triumphant mutual association which lasted on and off through the years, his last performance there being Falstaff in Henry IV, Parts 1 & 2 in 2001.

Campbell also founded the Canadian Players in 1954 and followed Guthrie to Minneapolis, succeeding him in [1966] as the Artistic Director of The Guthrie Theater there.

He will also be remembered fondly by many for his performance in the title role of the CBC television series The Great Detective, which was broadcast from 1979 through 1982.

He is survived by his second wife. Moira Wylie, the two children he had with her, Beatrice and Torquil, as well as the four offspring from his marriage to Casson: Dirk, Teresa, Thomas and Benedict.

Link to this story

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