Douglas Campbell was big part of Guthrie Theater history

Douglas Campbell, the second artistic director of the Guthrie Theater, died in Montreal at the age of 87. Campbell followed his mentor, Tyrone Guthrie, when the theater founder stepped down in 1966. He lasted only until 1967, although he returned to act and direct at the theater many times.

Star Tribune critic Mike Steele, in a 1993 Guthrie retrospective, wrote that the volatile Campbell was "headstrong and politically populist and clashed almost immediately with management and board" in his tenure as artistic head of the theater.

"It's a sad break with the past," said Guthrie director Joe Dowling. "There are very few left who were here when they broke ground for the theater, and Dougie was an important part of our history."

Campbell was born in Scotland and chose a life in theater after seeing Guthrie's 1941 London production of "King John" at the Old Vic. Shortly thereafter, he worked in the company of Dame Sybil Thondike. He married her daughter, Ann Casson, in 1947. She died in 1990, and Campbell is survived by his second wife, Moira Wylie, and six children.

Campbell followed Guthrie to found the Stratford Festival in Ontario in 1953, and then again a decade later to Minneapolis. In the Guthrie's inaugural season, Campbell directed Hume Cronyn and Jessica Tandy in "Death of a Salesman."

He left the theater after a tempestuous administration and helped start the Heartland Players in Marshall, Minn., a short-lived experiment in touring shows across the rural Midwest. Among other prominent productions in the Twin Cities, Campbell staged and starred in Dominick Argento's "Shoemaker's Holiday" in 1967. That show featured Michael Moriarty, Len Cariou, Richard Ramos and Helen Carey. Campbell reprised his role in a 1997 concert version by the Plymouth Music Series (now VocalEssence) in Minneapolis.

It was in Canada that Campbell achieved his greatest renown as an actor. His last performance was at Stratford in 2001, where he played Falstaff in "Henry IV, Parts 1 & 2." He also played the title role in CBC TV's "The Great Detective" from 1979 to 1982.

"He had a fantastic voice and a marvelous presence," Dowling said. "He emulated Guthrie. He had that Guthriesque size and bravura."

Graydon Royce • 612-673-7299