Gerald Campion
Encyclopedia
Gerald Theron CampionGerald Theron Campion (23 April 1921, Bloomsbury
, London
, England
– 9 July 2002, Agen
, France
), was an English
actor
best-known for his role as Billy Bunter
in a 1950s television
adaptation of book
s by Frank Richards
.
The son of a screen writer, Cyril Campion, Gerald Campion appeared in numerous film
s and television programmes — mostly comedies — but his only major success was as Bunter, a juvenile role he played successfully despite being much older than his character (he was 40 when the series ended). In 1979 he recorded an appearance in Shada
, a Doctor Who
story which was recorded in part but never broadcast.
After dropping out of acting, he ran clubs and restaurants in London's Soho, the most famous - and enduring - of which is Gerry's, a private member's club attracting a mainly theatrical membership.
Campion later reprised the role of Bunter (now Lord Bunter of Hove, who had succeeded in betting shops and property) in the BBC Radio 7 series Whatever Happened to...? in the episode that speculated on whether his form master at Greyfriars School
, Horace Henry Samuel Quelch, became a secret agent.
), Anthony and Angelica. He lived in Wittersham
, Kent
for many years. His mother Blanche Louise was Charlie Chaplin's first cousin (Chaplin His Life And Art by David Robinson).
Bloomsbury
-Places:* Bloomsbury is an area in central London.* Bloomsbury , related local government unit* Bloomsbury, New Jersey, New Jersey, USA* Bloomsbury , listed on the NRHP in Maryland...
, London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
– 9 July 2002, Agen
Agen
Agen is a commune in the Lot-et-Garonne department in Aquitaine in south-western France. It lies on the river Garonne southeast of Bordeaux. It is the capital of the department.-Economy:The town has a higher level of unemployment than the national average...
, France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
), was an English
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
actor
Actor
An actor is a person who acts in a dramatic production and who works in film, television, theatre, or radio in that capacity...
best-known for his role as Billy Bunter
Billy Bunter
William George Bunter , is a fictional character created by Charles Hamilton using the pen name Frank Richards...
in a 1950s television
Television
Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...
adaptation of book
Book
A book is a set or collection of written, printed, illustrated, or blank sheets, made of hot lava, paper, parchment, or other materials, usually fastened together to hinge at one side. A single sheet within a book is called a leaf or leaflet, and each side of a leaf is called a page...
s by Frank Richards
Charles Hamilton (writer)
Charles Harold St. John Hamilton , was an English writer, specializing in writing long-running series of stories for weekly magazines about recurrent casts of characters, his most frequent and famous genre being boys' public school stories, though he also dealt with other genres...
.
The son of a screen writer, Cyril Campion, Gerald Campion appeared in numerous film
Film
A film, also called a movie or motion picture, is a series of still or moving images. It is produced by recording photographic images with cameras, or by creating images using animation techniques or visual effects...
s and television programmes — mostly comedies — but his only major success was as Bunter, a juvenile role he played successfully despite being much older than his character (he was 40 when the series ended). In 1979 he recorded an appearance in Shada
Shada
Shada is an unaired serial of the British science fiction television series Doctor Who. It was intended to be the final serial of the 1979-80 season , but was never completed due to a strike at the BBC during filming...
, a Doctor Who
Doctor Who
Doctor Who is a British science fiction television programme produced by the BBC. The programme depicts the adventures of a time-travelling humanoid alien known as the Doctor who explores the universe in a sentient time machine called the TARDIS that flies through time and space, whose exterior...
story which was recorded in part but never broadcast.
After dropping out of acting, he ran clubs and restaurants in London's Soho, the most famous - and enduring - of which is Gerry's, a private member's club attracting a mainly theatrical membership.
Campion later reprised the role of Bunter (now Lord Bunter of Hove, who had succeeded in betting shops and property) in the BBC Radio 7 series Whatever Happened to...? in the episode that speculated on whether his form master at Greyfriars School
Greyfriars School
Greyfriars School is a fictional English public school used as a setting in the long running series of stories by the writer Charles Hamilton, who wrote under the pen-name Frank Richards. Although the stories are focused on the Remove , whose most famous pupil was Billy Bunter, other characters...
, Horace Henry Samuel Quelch, became a secret agent.
Personal life
He was married twice: to Jean Simmons in 1947 (divorced 1972) and to Susan Mark in 1972 until his death. He had three children with his first wife: Anthea (a singer who married composer Thomas RajnaThomas Rajna
Thomas Rajna is a Hungarian-born composer and pianist, domiciled in Cape Town in South Africa since 1970. He started to play the piano and compose at an early age and studied at the Franz Liszt Academy of Music where he won the Liszt Prize in 1947. That year he left Hungary to settle in London...
), Anthony and Angelica. He lived in Wittersham
Wittersham
Wittersham is a village and civil parish, part of the Isle of Oxney, south of Ashford in Kent, South East England, near Tenterden.The Domesday Book does not mention Wittersham, but it does assign the manor of Palstre to Odo, Bishop of Bayeux. Palstre was only one of four places in the Weald,...
, Kent
Kent
Kent is a county in southeast England, and is one of the home counties. It borders East Sussex, Surrey and Greater London and has a defined boundary with Essex in the middle of the Thames Estuary. The ceremonial county boundaries of Kent include the shire county of Kent and the unitary borough of...
for many years. His mother Blanche Louise was Charlie Chaplin's first cousin (Chaplin His Life And Art by David Robinson).
Selected filmography
- Knave of HeartsKnave of Hearts (film)Knave of Hearts is a 1954 film about the adventures of a French philanderer in Paris and London. In France, it was released as Monsieur Ripois . In the United States, it was originally released as Lovers, Happy Lovers!, then later re-released as Lover Boy...
(1954) - Up to His NeckUp to His NeckUp to His Neck is a 1954 British comedy film directed by John Paddy Carstairs and starring Ronald Shiner as Jack Carter, Hattie Jacques as Rakiki and Anthony Newley as Tommy.-Cast:* Ronald Shiner as Jack Carter* Brian Rix as Wiggy* Laya Raki as Lao Win Tan...
(1954) - Fun at St. Fanny's (1956)
- Carry On SergeantCarry On SergeantCarry On Sergeant is the first Carry On film. Its first public screening was on 1 August 1958 at Screen One, London. Actors in this film who went on to be part of the regular team in the series were Kenneth Williams, Charles Hawtrey, Hattie Jacques, Kenneth Connor and Terry Scott...
(1958) - Inn for TroubleInn for TroubleInn for Trouble is a 1960 British comedy film - a movie spin-off of the 1950s sitcom 'The Larkins' - starring Peggy Mount, David Kossoff and Leslie Phillips....
(1960) - The Fast LadyThe Fast LadyThe Fast Lady is a 1962 British comedy film, directed by Ken Annakin. The screenplay was written by Henry Blyth and Jack Davies, based on a story by Keble Howard.It marked the film debut of Julie Christie.-Plot:...
(1962) - The Comedy ManThe Comedy ManThe Comedy Man is a 1964 British drama film directed by Alvin Rakoff and starring Kenneth More, Cecil Parker, Dennis Price and Billie Whitelaw...
(1964) - The Sandwich ManThe Sandwich ManThe Sandwich Man is a 1966 British comedy film starring Michael Bentine, Dora Bryan, Harry H. Corbett, Bernard Cribbins, Diana Dors, Norman Wisdom, Terry-Thomas and Ian Hendry. It was written by Bentine in conjunction with Robert Hartford-Davis...
(1966) - The Sorcerers (1967)
- Chitty Chitty Bang BangChitty Chitty Bang BangChitty Chitty Bang Bang: The Magical Car is a children's book written by Ian Fleming for his son Caspar, with illustrations by John Burningham...
(1968)