
Acting
Ken Campbell
Born — Died
1941-12-10 — 2008-08-31
Place of birth
Ilford, Essex, England, UK
Known for
Acting
Credits
72 titles
Kenneth Victor Campbell (10 December 1941 – 31 August 2008) was an English writer, actor, director and comedian known for his work in experimental theatre.He has been called "a one-man dynamo of British theatre." Campbell achieved notoriety in the 1970s for his nine-hour adaptation of the science-fiction trilogy Illuminatus! and his 22-hour staging of Neil Oram's play cycle The Warp. The Guinness Book of Records listed the latter as the longest play in the world. The Independent said that, "In the 1990s, through a series of sprawling monologues packed with arcane information and freakish speculations on the nature of reality, he became something approaching a grand old man of the fringe,…
Known for
7.1Set during the 1960s in the fictional North Yorkshire village of Aidensfield, this enduringly popular series interweaves crime and medical storylines.
Heartbeat
1992
7.2Roguish comedy drama following the misadventures of small-time crook Arthur Daley.
Minder
1979
6.8The daily lives of the men and women at Sun Hill Police Station as they fight crime on the streets of London. From bomb threats to armed robbery and drug raids to the routine demands of policing this ground-breaking series focuses as much on crime as it does on the personal lives of its characters.
The Bill
1984
7.8The adventures of Miss Jane Marple, an elderly spinster living in the quiet little village of St Mary Mead. During her many visits to friends and relatives in other villages, Miss Marple often stumbles upon mysterious murders which she helps solve. Although the police are sometimes reluctant to accept Miss Marple's help, her reputation and unparalleled powers of observation eventually win them over.
Agatha Christie's Marple
2004
8.2Sherlock Holmes uses his abilities to take on cases by private clients and those that the Scotland Yard are unable to solve, along with his friend Dr. Watson.
Sherlock Holmes
1984
7.6The lives of Bodie and Doyle, top agents for Britain's CI5 (Criminal Intelligence 5), and their controller, George Cowley. The mandate of CI5 was to fight terrorism and similar high-profile crimes. Cowley, a hard ex-MI5 operative, hand-picked each of his men. Bodie is a cynical ex-SAS paratrooper and mercenary whose nature ran to controlled violence, while his partner, Doyle, comes to CI5 from the regular police force, and is more of an open minded liberal. Their relationship is often contentious, but they are the top men in their field, and the ones to whom Cowley always assigned to the toughest cases.
The Professionals
1977
Film credits
2000s · 4 titles
6.5Unexpectedly widowed, prim and proper housewife Grace Trevethyn finds herself in dire financial straits when she inherits massive debts her late husband had been accruing for years. Faced with losing her house, she decides to use her talent for horticulture and hatches a plan to grow potent marijuana which can be sold at an astronomical price, thus solving her financial crisis.
Saving Grace
2000
6.0Trapped in a London subway station, a woman who's being pursued by a potential attacker heads into the unknown labyrinth of tunnels beneath the city's streets
Creep
2004
NRTwo decades after they graduate, dark secrets, jealousies, and long-buried issues of resentment arise with a group of former classmates.
Friends Reunited
2005
NRCan the time travelling community of Damanhur prevent human extinction? Could Nosebleed, an unmade movie by Jackie Chan, have prevented the 9/11 attacks? Can we defeat the Enemy of Mankind armed only with copies of Anne of Green Gables and Dr Xavier Crement's Asshole trilogy? All is revealed in Ken Campbell's brilliant one-man comedy show. In this, the penultimate one-man show by maverick comedian, playwright and director Ken Campbell (1941-2008), Ken talks about the mysteries of quantum physics, the multiverse and time travel, the significance of Jackie Chan and Anne of Green Gables, and why he doesn't believe in anything but supposes lots. And why everybody you know is some kind of arsehole. This unique film was made in 2004 at his home and environs in Loughton and Epping Forest, Essex. Written and performed by Ken Campbell, filmed by Leon Hatcher, edited by John Cattle, produced and (sort of) directed by James Nye.
Ken Campbell's Meaning of Life
2004
1990s · 7 titles
6.2Alice follows a white rabbit down a rabbit-hole into a whimsical Wonderland, where she meets characters like the delightful Cheshire Cat, the clumsy White Knight, a rude caterpillar, and the hot-tempered Queen of Hearts and can grow ten feet tall or shrink to three inches. But will she ever be able to return home?
Alice in Wonderland
1999
6.5After several attempts to approach film star Cesar Valentin, writer Brian Smith takes matters into his own hands, shooting the actor in front of hundreds of fans, only to be killed himself in the ensuing chaos. Achieving instant notoriety, Smith transcends with Valentin to a luxury hotel in the afterlife, a strange new world beyond the veil of mortality inhabited exclusively by dead celebrities.
Wings of Fame
1990
4.3As the new millennium approaches, God considers pulling the plug on the planet unless St. John the Baptist finds a reason to spare humanity. John travels to the Newfoundland city that bears his name where he becomes entangled in the lives of talk-show host Marietta, her husband Rick. (Toronto International Film Festival)
Extraordinary Visitor
1998
6.1British Gangster film with a tongue-in-cheek approach to the genre, including a part played by 'Mad' Frankie Fraser. When Tone's ex girlfriend resurfaces with a daughter he never knew he had, he moves from the world of blackmail, extortion and the occasional hit into the realm of nappies and lullabies. His pals, Speed and Bear, feel let down, but his employer Pops Den is furious and decides the best thing to do is wipe Tone out...but who will do it...and at what price?
Hard Men
1996
6.0A graduate history student returns to her native Newfoundland, searching for proof of a conspiracy surrounding the referendum that saw Newfoundland join Canada.
Secret Nation
1992
NRA musical comedy drama about a young woman (played by Tina Leslie) rebelling against society's attitudes (including her parents, her doctor, her priest and teacher) towards people like her who are without hands or in other ways different. Everyone is trying to force her to wear artificial hands, everyone except for her disabled friend (Nabil Shaban), who assists in her revolt.
A Different Hand
1992
What would happen if the nation’s criminals decided to go on strike? A comedy drama based on an idea by Czech writer Jaroslav Hasek.
Crimestrike
1990
1980s · 15 titles
7.2While a diamond advocate attempts to steal a collection of diamonds, troubles arise when he realises he’s not the only one after the collection.
A Fish Called Wanda
1988
5.4Doctor Frankenstein creates a mate for his monster, a woman called Eva, who promptly rejects the male creature. In turn, the doctor becomes obsessed with Eva, and tries to make her a perfect Victorian woman. Meanwhile, the male creature embarks on a journey of self-discovery, alongside a dwarf named Rinaldo.
The Bride
1985
6.0An English bon-vivant osteopath is enchanted with a young exotic dancer and invites her to live with him. He serves as friend and mentor, and through his contacts and parties she and her friend meet and date members of the Conservative Party. Eventually a scandal occurs when her affair with the Minister of War goes public, threatening their lifestyles and their freedom.
Scandal
1989
6.9Breaking Glass is the story of punk singer Kate and her meteoric rise to stardom. Starting out in the rock pubs of London, Kate, assisted by her manager Danny, becomes a huge star overnight. Once at the top the pressure is immense as Kate's band are squeezed out and she is left to cope alone in the spotlight.
Breaking Glass
1980
6.680-year-old Alice Hargreaves is about to visit Columbia University to attend a reception in honour of author Lewis Carroll. As a child, Alice's close friendship with the writer was the creative catalyst for Carroll's most beloved work. However, as Alice reflects on her experiences with the author, she slowly realises the complexity of their bond has had lasting, deeply felt ramifications.
Dreamchild
1985
7.0Identical twin zoologists lose their wives in a car crash caused by a white swan. They become obsessed with the death and decay of animals, and develop a strange and unusual relationship with the driver of the car, a woman who is now an amputee.
A Zed & Two Noughts
1985
5.4Based on a novel by Mordecai Richler, allegedly his autobiography, it tells the story of a Jewish writer, from his life as a young boy in Montreal to his more complicated grown-up life.
Joshua Then and Now
1985
6.6The factories, pubs, clubs, hotels and streets of 1980s Liverpool form the backdrop for this tale of love, friendship, sex and a letter to the Soviet leader, Leonid Brezhnev. Two Liverpool lasses, Teresa and Elaine meet two Russian sailors, Sergei and Peter and hook up for a night of fun and frolics. Teresa is looking for sex and a smile, Elaine wants love, romance and the dream of a life far away from the grime of the Liverpool docklands. A classic British romantic comedy filled with new wave tunes, 80s fashion, a little politics and a lot of heart.
Letter to Brezhnev
1985
NRJulie Walters stars as a single mother seemingly haunted by a sinister telephone system that seems to have become an evil intelligence in its own right.
Unfair Exchanges
1984
7.0A Government Department with data on us all in its computers is not functioning quite as its ex-Head intended. Frank Strange sets out to clear his own name and finds he is investigating a murder.
In the Secret State
1985
9.0Drama documentary which takes the form of an up-dated version of Pygmalion. With a special music score by jazz group Working Week, with real "society" characters and locations from 1984.
Ligmalion: Or How to Help Yourself in Self-Help Britain
1985
Channel 4 TV drama from writer Micheal Eaton thought to be lost.
Darkest England
1988
NRA wily publisher of arts magazines tries to cope with ever-growing financial problems - and also his formidable German mother.
The Moon Over Soho
1985
6.3Leon, a hacker convicted for a crime he did not commit, escapes from detention centre following the death of his father, to take revenge on the man who really did it.
Smart Money
1986
A BAFTA award nominated black comedy about life and death in a London tower block.
Towers of Babel
1981
1970s · 8 titles
5.8Prospero, a potent magician, lives on a desolate isle with his virginal daughter, Miranda. He's in exile, banished from his duchy by his usurping brother and the King of Naples. Providence brings these enemies near; aided by his vassal the spirit Ariel, Prospero conjures a tempest to wreck the Italian ship. The king's son, thinking all others lost, becomes Prospero's prisoner, falling in love with Miranda and she with him. Prospero's brother and the king wander the island, as do a drunken cook and sailor, who conspire with Caliban, Prospero's beastly slave, to murder Prospero. Prospero wants reason to triumph, Ariel wants his freedom, Miranda a husband; the sailors want to dance.
The Tempest
1979
5.0Vinny Mathews is a small time boxing promoter who struggles with his conscience over what to do with a fighter he knows is unfit to face his opponent. However, Mathews needs sponsorship and this would be the ideal opportunity to mix with the "frilly shirted" sportsmen who enjoy their lavish lifestyle as fighters slug it out as the steak is served!
Dinner at the Sporting Club
1978
NRThis 1976 BBC documentary sees Ken Campbell (and his Roadshow) investigate the origins and the development of the traditional British Christmas pantomime.
The Story of Pantomime
1976
6.4A series of benefit concerts to raise money for Amnesty International. Performances include comedy skits and musical numbers by a varied cast of mostly British performers. Featuring several Monty Python members, Rowan Atkinson, and Peter Cook.
The Secret Policeman's Ball
1979
When DC Denis Deacey finds himself surprisingly transferred to Belfast he gets digs in a most unusual boarding house called The Crumlin View where no one is what they seem and everyone has been living with 'the troubles' for far too long...
The Last Window Cleaner
1979
2.2A series of non-dramatic tableaux representing scenes from De Sade's novel.
Justine
1976
8.0An aged art connoisseur (Beaumont) and his young female neighbour (Coles), who has a job posing naked in a club, meet and exist in fantasy and reality. Although this raises certain much-discussed questions about the nature of representation, and about the construction of narrative and daydreams in films, 'Phoelix' tends to treat these as just pretty and pertinent issues, opting instead for a mannered concentration on detail.
Phoelix
1979
NRThe Ken Campbell Roadshow brings entertainment to the streets and pubs of Kirkby New Town.
The Ken Campbell Roadshow
1971
1960s · 5 titles
5.0Detective Inspector Jacques Clouseau is borrowed from the Surete on special assignment for Scotland Yard in hopes that a fresh outlook will help the government recover the loot from the Great Train Robbery, which is being used to underwrite a new crime wave. What they don't count on, however, is having more than one Clouseau on the job.
Inspector Clouseau
1968
6.4Joy lives a life filled with bad choices. At a young age, she marries and has a child–with an abusive thief who quickly ends up incarcerated. Left alone, she takes up with the guy's mate, another thief, who seems to give her some happiness but who also ends up locked up. She then takes up with a series of seedy types who offer nothing but momentary pleasure–if that.
Poor Cow
1967
6.8After a prolonged industrial dispute in the Liverpool Docks, the striking workers reject management demands of a return to work and decide instead to occupy the docks and run the operation themselves.
The Big Flame
1969
Thomas Chadwick is a man of dignity. He knows what's right and nothing will deter him from it. Unfortunately he cannot quite find the right job to go with his ideals, and he tries just about everything.
The Heroism of Thomas Chadwick
1967
7.0After her father's death, Maud, a young heiress, is sent to live with her Uncle Silas. She finds her new guardian living in a gothic nightmare of a mansion, and soon realizes that he wishes to murder her and claim her inheritance.
Uncle Silas
1968
Series credits
7.1Set during the 1960s in the fictional North Yorkshire village of Aidensfield, this enduringly popular series interweaves crime and medical storylines.
Heartbeat
1992
7.2Roguish comedy drama following the misadventures of small-time crook Arthur Daley.
Minder
1979
6.8The daily lives of the men and women at Sun Hill Police Station as they fight crime on the streets of London. From bomb threats to armed robbery and drug raids to the routine demands of policing this ground-breaking series focuses as much on crime as it does on the personal lives of its characters.
The Bill
1984
7.8The adventures of Miss Jane Marple, an elderly spinster living in the quiet little village of St Mary Mead. During her many visits to friends and relatives in other villages, Miss Marple often stumbles upon mysterious murders which she helps solve. Although the police are sometimes reluctant to accept Miss Marple's help, her reputation and unparalleled powers of observation eventually win them over.
Agatha Christie's Marple
2004
8.2Sherlock Holmes uses his abilities to take on cases by private clients and those that the Scotland Yard are unable to solve, along with his friend Dr. Watson.
Sherlock Holmes
1984
7.6The lives of Bodie and Doyle, top agents for Britain's CI5 (Criminal Intelligence 5), and their controller, George Cowley. The mandate of CI5 was to fight terrorism and similar high-profile crimes. Cowley, a hard ex-MI5 operative, hand-picked each of his men. Bodie is a cynical ex-SAS paratrooper and mercenary whose nature ran to controlled violence, while his partner, Doyle, comes to CI5 from the regular police force, and is more of an open minded liberal. Their relationship is often contentious, but they are the top men in their field, and the ones to whom Cowley always assigned to the toughest cases.
The Professionals
1977
7.1Series of single made-for-television dramas.
Screen Two
1985
5.3An Audience with... is a British entertainment television show produced by London Weekend Television, in which a host, usually a singer or comedian, performs for an invited audience of celebrity guests, interspersed with questions from the audience, in a light hearted revue/tribute style.
An Audience with...
1978
7.4The adventures of the eponymous Lovejoy, a likeable but roguish antiques dealer based in East Anglia. Within the trade, he has a reputation as a “divvie”, a person with an almost supernatural powers for recognising exceptional items as well as distinguishing genuine antique from clever fakes or forgeries.
Lovejoy
1986
8.3Owner Basil Fawlty, his wife Sybil, a chambermaid Polly, and Spanish waiter Manuel attempt to run their hotel amidst farcical situations and an array of demanding guests.
Fawlty Towers
1975
5.8Mystery and Imagination is a British television anthology of classic horror and supernatural dramas. Five series were broadcast from 1966 to 1970 on ITV and produced by ABC and Thames Television.
Mystery and Imagination
1966
7.2Notable as the first British series to feature a female police officer (predating Juliet Bravo by four months), Detective Inspector Maggie Forbes raises her teenage son while navigating a male-dominated police force following the murder of her police commissioner husband.
The Gentle Touch
1980
8.1This final follow-up to 'Till Death Us Do Part' follows an aged Alf Garnett, now dealing with his wife Else's declining health and mobility, as well as the challenges of navigating the social security system and other everyday situations.
In Sickness and in Health
1985
8.1This final follow-up to 'Till Death Us Do Part' follows an aged Alf Garnett, now dealing with his wife Else's declining health and mobility, as well as the challenges of navigating the social security system and other everyday situations.
In Sickness and in Health
1985
6.4Adapted from Forrest Wilson's books, the children's programme revolves around a grandmother with super powers and her arch nemesis, The Scunner Campbell.
Super Gran
1985
5.3Private Schulz is a six-part 1981 television comedy-drama serial written by Jack Pulman and produced for BBC Two. It stars Michael Elphick in the title role, with Ian Richardson, Tony Caunter, Billie Whitelaw, Billy Murray, and Mark Wingett. Set primarily in Germany, during and immediately following World War II, fraudster and petty criminal Gerhard Schulz is forced to serve in the SS. In a story based on the real, though unrealised, plot by the Germans known as Operation Bernhard, Schulz tricks the Nazis into making counterfeit British £5 notes, millions of which will be used to destroy the British economy.
Private Schulz
1981
10.0In Victorian London, consulting detective Sherlock Holmes wields not only powers of observation and deduction but also vast knowledge on anything relevant to solve mysteries, including crimes. Cases that would stump most detectives are merely short work for Holmes, who is ably assisted by his friend and colleague Dr John H. Watson.
The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes
1984
7.819th century Great Britain. The Industrial Revolution brings both the promise and fear of change. In the provincial town of Middlemarch, the progressive Dorothea Brooke desperately seeks intellectual fulfillment in a male-dominated society and is driven into an unhappy marriage to the elderly scholar Casaubon. No sooner do they embark on their honeymoon than she meets and develops an instant connection with Casaubon's young cousin, Will Ladislaw. When idealistic Doctor Lydgate arrives, his new methods of medicine sweep him into the battle between conservatives and liberals in town. He quickly becomes enamored of the beautiful, privileged Rosamond Vincy, a woman whose troubles seem bound to destroy him.
Middlemarch
1994
6.5Home to Roost is a British television sitcom produced by Yorkshire Television in the 1980s. Written by Eric Chappell, it starred John Thaw as Henry Willows and Reece Dinsdale as his 18-year-old son Matthew. The premise is that Henry Willows is forty-something, who has been divorced from his wife for seven years and is perfectly happy living alone in London. That is, until his youngest child, Matthew arrives to live with him, after being thrown out by his mother. The plots generally revolved around Henry's annoyance at having his solitude disturbed, and the age gap clash. Henry employed two cleaners throughout the show's life; first Enid Thompson, and, in the third season, Fiona Fennell.
Home to Roost
1985
No synopsis available yet.
Local Heroes
1996
6.0Armchair Theatre is a British television drama anthology series of single plays that ran on the ITV network from 1956 to 1974. It was originally produced by Associated British Corporation, and later by Thames Television from mid-1968.
Armchair Theatre
1956
7.3Law & Order is a series of four British television plays written by G. F. Newman and directed by Les Blair. It was first transmitted in 1978 on BBC2.
Law & Order
1978
A harassed secretary at a private golf club steeped in bigotry faces challenges amidst its desperate financial straits. Key events unfold in the club's bar, The Nineteenth Hole. The series was widely condemned as racist, sexist and homophobic. TV producer Paul Stewart Laing, then-controller of programmes for the Plymouth based TSW (Television South West) ITV region, stopped after only three episodes.
The Nineteenth Hole
1989
No synopsis available yet.
Dooley Gardens
1999
No synopsis available yet.
Erasmus Microman
1988
A trilogy of films in which the comic actor, Ken Campbell, tries to get to grips with Stephen Hawking’s A Brief History of Time.
Reality on the Rocks
1995
Using archive footage and stills to set the scene as well as real-life re-enactment presenter Ken Campbell recreates six revolutionary scientific experiments that changed mankind's perception of the world we live in forever.
Six Experiments that Changed the World
1999
Behind the camera
8.0Dramatist Luigi Pirandello's mordant comedy of manners tells the tale of upper-crust Italians Silia Gala and her sneering spouse, Leone, who finds his impassivity tested when he has to duel his wife's frustrated paramour.
The Rules of the Game
1975
NRJulie Walters stars as a single mother seemingly haunted by a sinister telephone system that seems to have become an evil intelligence in its own right.
Unfair Exchanges
1984
8.0Set in Richmond, Virginia in October 1864, tells the story of a Union spy working to seize control of the telegraph office.
Secret Service
1977
7.0In this production of Lanford Wilson’s Obie Award-winning play, Native American traditions conflict with modern society when archaeologists try to uncover the mysteries of ancient native temple mounds before rising waters flood the region.
The Mound Builders
1976
NRCan the time travelling community of Damanhur prevent human extinction? Could Nosebleed, an unmade movie by Jackie Chan, have prevented the 9/11 attacks? Can we defeat the Enemy of Mankind armed only with copies of Anne of Green Gables and Dr Xavier Crement's Asshole trilogy? All is revealed in Ken Campbell's brilliant one-man comedy show. In this, the penultimate one-man show by maverick comedian, playwright and director Ken Campbell (1941-2008), Ken talks about the mysteries of quantum physics, the multiverse and time travel, the significance of Jackie Chan and Anne of Green Gables, and why he doesn't believe in anything but supposes lots. And why everybody you know is some kind of arsehole. This unique film was made in 2004 at his home and environs in Loughton and Epping Forest, Essex. Written and performed by Ken Campbell, filmed by Leon Hatcher, edited by John Cattle, produced and (sort of) directed by James Nye.
Ken Campbell's Meaning of Life
2004

