Identity area
Type of entity
Person
Authorized form of name
Campbell, Norman
Parallel form(s) of name
Standardized form(s) of name according to other rules
Other form(s) of name
Identifiers for corporate bodies
Description area
Dates of existence
1924-2004
History
Norman Kenneth Campbell was born in Los Angeles, California on 4 February 1924. He was raised in Vancouver, British Columbia where he attended the University of British Columbia, earning a degree in mathematics and physics. He also acted in theatre and radio, and originally planned to pursue a career in meteorology. While he was learning to be a weatherman on Sable Island, Nova Scotia, he composed several songs that brought him to the attention of CBC producer Mavor Moore, who hired him to write songs for Juliette’s radio program, Here’s Juliette, including the theme song “Summer Romance.” Campbell became a music producer for CBC Radio in Vancouver in 1948, and moved to Toronto in 1952 to work in television.On 8 September 1952, Campbell directed the first program ever broadcast on English CBC TV, a 15-minute promo for the evening’s programming called "Let’s See." He also composed music for the CBC musical comedies Take to the Woods (1955) and The Gay Deceivers (1958)
While Campbell worked in many genres, his specialty was comedy, musicals and the performing arts. He was responsible for the broadcast of ballets, operas, and other stage productions, including performances from the Stratford Festival. In addition, Campbell worked on projects for American television, such as performance specials for entertainers like Diana Ross and Frank Sinatra and sitcoms like "All in the family" and "The Mary Tyler Moore show." Campbell is, perhaps, best known for composing the music for "Anne of Green Gables : the musical," which is still performed at the Charlottetown Festival in Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island.
Throughout his career he won many awards including Prix René Barthélemy (Romeo and Juliet), International Television Festival, Monte Carlo (1966); Outstanding Variety or Musical Program – Classical Music (NET Festival), Primetime Emmy Awards (1970); John Drainie Award, ACTRA Awards (1980); Award of Excellence, Banff Television Festival (1982); and Best Performing Arts Program (Pirates of Penzance), Gemini Awards (1986). He was a made a member of the Royal Canadian Academy of Arts in 1975, an officer of the Order of Canada in 1978, and a member of the Order of Ontario in 1978. Norman Campbell was made a fellow of Ryerson in 1994 while he was working as a producer-director of in-house productions for CBC television. He died of a stroke on April 12, 2004 in Toronto, Ontario.