Robert Campbell
Robert Wright Campbell was an American writer and illustrator born in 1927 in Newark, New Jersey. He studied illustration at Pratt Institute and began his career as a freelance illustrator before transitioning to screenwriting in Hollywood. His notable collaborations with director Roger Corman included writing screenplays for several films, such as "Five Guns West" and "The Man of a Thousand Faces," and he occasionally acted in roles within these films.
After facing personal challenges, including health issues and a struggle with alcoholism, Campbell relocated to Carmel, California, where he shifted his focus to fiction writing. He gained acclaim for his mystery novels, particularly "The Junkyard Dog," which won the Edgar Award, and introduced the character Jimmy Flannery, reflecting his experiences with political machinations in Chicago. His work is recognized for its authentic dialogue and gritty themes, helping to establish him as a significant figure in modern hard-boiled detective fiction. Campbell passed away in 2000, leaving behind a legacy of influential literary contributions.
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Subject Terms
Robert Campbell
Writer
- Born: June 9, 1927
- Birthplace: Newark, New Jersey
- Died: September 21, 2000
- Place of death: Carmel, California
Biography
Robert Wright Campbell was born in Newark, New Jersey, in 1927, the son of Florence Gladys Clinton and William James Campbell, a city water department employee. He was educated at Pratt Institute in Brooklyn, New York, receiving a certificate in illustration in 1947. Campbell worked as a freelance illustrator from 1947 to 1950 and served in the army during the Korean War from 1950 to 1952.
After he was discharged from the army, Campbell and his brother, William, drove across the country to southern California in order for William to pursue his career as an actor. At first seeking employment as an illustrator, Campbell found he could transfer his talents to screenwriting. Early in his career, he wrote several screenplays for legendary film director Roger Corman, including Corman’s first motion picture, Five Guns West, filmed in 1955. In that film, Campbell also played a younger version of the character played by his brother, William. In 1960, he wrote the screenplay The Night Fighters, in which he played the brother of the character played by William.
Campbell wrote scripts for six movies directed and produced by Corman; other screenplays include the Academy Award-nominated The Man of a Thousand Faces. He also wrote scripts for many television shows, such as Marcus Welby, M.D., Medic, Maverick, Twelve o’Clock High, The Loretta Young Show, and Harry-O. During this time, Campbell came down with a partial paralysis of the face known as Bell’s palsy.
In 1975, disillusioned with both Los Angeles and the motion picture industry, Campbell moved to the seaside town of Carmel in central California and began to concentrate on writing fiction. His first novel, The Spy Who Sat and Waited, published in 1975 under the name R. Wright Campbell, was nominated for a National Book Award. By the early 1980’s, Campbell had beaten a drinking problem and a four-pack-a-day cigarette habit and was considering a return to screenwriting when, at the suggestion of a novelist friend, he began to develop several mystery-detective series.
He published the The Junkyard Dog, his first mystery novel, in 1986. It received the Edgar Award from the Mystery Writers of America and the Anthony Award for Best Paperback. The Junkyard Dog introduced one of his series heroes, Jimmy Flannery, a hard-boiled precinct captain in the Chicago Democratic machine. Campbell chose the city of Chicago as the setting for this series because it reminded him of the machine politics he knew when he was growing up in Newark. He based the character of Flannery on his father.
In 1986, Campbell also published In La-La Land We Trust, the first of a series of mysteries featuring a recovering alcoholic and private detective named Whistler, whose investigations reveal a Hollywood underside of violence and depravity. Campbell has been given the credit for creating a new nickname, La-La Land, for the southern California region. Campbell also wrote two novels featuring Jake Hatch, a railroad detective for the Burlington Northern Railroad, and published two stand-alone mystery novels. In addition, he wrote several plays that were produced during the 1990’s. However, he is most noted for his mysteries, whose authentic dialogue and edgy content earned him his reputation as an important American writer of modern hard-boiled detective fiction. Campbell died in Carmel on September 21, 2000.