Ken Campbell

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

Heartbeat poster
7.1

Set during the 1960s in the fictional North Yorkshire village of Aidensfield, this enduringly popular series interweaves crime and medical storylines.

Heartbeat

1992

Minder poster
7.2

Roguish comedy drama following the misadventures of small-time crook Arthur Daley.

Minder

1979

The Bill poster
6.8

The 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

Agatha Christie's Marple poster
7.8

The 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

Sherlock Holmes poster
8.2

Sherlock 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

The Professionals poster
7.6

The 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

Saving Grace poster
6.5

Unexpectedly 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

Creep poster
6.0

Trapped 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

Friends Reunited poster
NR

Two decades after they graduate, dark secrets, jealousies, and long-buried issues of resentment arise with a group of former classmates.

Friends Reunited

2005

Ken Campbell's Meaning of Life poster
NR

Can 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

Alice in Wonderland poster
6.2

Alice 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

Wings of Fame poster
6.5

After 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

Extraordinary Visitor poster
4.3

As 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

Hard Men poster
6.1

British 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

Secret Nation poster
6.0

A 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

A Different Hand poster
NR

A 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

No artwork available
7.0

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

A Fish Called Wanda poster
7.2

While 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

The Bride poster
5.4

Doctor 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

Scandal poster
6.0

An 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

Breaking Glass poster
6.9

Breaking 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

Dreamchild poster
6.6

80-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

A Zed & Two Noughts poster
7.0

Identical 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

Joshua Then and Now poster
5.4

Based 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

Letter to Brezhnev poster
6.6

The 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

Unfair Exchanges poster
NR

Julie 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

In the Secret State poster
7.0

A 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

Ligmalion: Or How to Help Yourself in Self-Help Britain poster
9.0

Drama 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

No artwork available
NR

Channel 4 TV drama from writer Micheal Eaton thought to be lost.

Darkest England

1988

The Moon Over Soho poster
NR

A wily publisher of arts magazines tries to cope with ever-growing financial problems - and also his formidable German mother.

The Moon Over Soho

1985

Smart Money poster
6.3

Leon, 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

No artwork available
7.0

A BAFTA award nominated black comedy about life and death in a London tower block.

Towers of Babel

1981

1970s · 8 titles

The Tempest poster
5.8

Prospero, 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

Dinner at the Sporting Club poster
5.0

Vinny 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

The Story of Pantomime poster
NR

This 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

The Secret Policeman's Ball poster
6.4

A 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

No artwork available
NR

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

Justine poster
2.2

A series of non-dramatic tableaux representing scenes from De Sade's novel.

Justine

1976

Phoelix poster
8.0

An 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

The Ken Campbell Roadshow poster
NR

The Ken Campbell Roadshow brings entertainment to the streets and pubs of Kirkby New Town.

The Ken Campbell Roadshow

1971

1960s · 5 titles

Series credits

Heartbeat poster
7.1

Set during the 1960s in the fictional North Yorkshire village of Aidensfield, this enduringly popular series interweaves crime and medical storylines.

Heartbeat

1992

Minder poster
7.2

Roguish comedy drama following the misadventures of small-time crook Arthur Daley.

Minder

1979

The Bill poster
6.8

The 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

Agatha Christie's Marple poster
7.8

The 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

Sherlock Holmes poster
8.2

Sherlock 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

The Professionals poster
7.6

The 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

Screen Two poster
7.1

Series of single made-for-television dramas.

Screen Two

1985

An Audience with... poster
5.3

An 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

Lovejoy poster
7.4

The 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

Fawlty Towers poster
8.3

Owner 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

Mystery and Imagination poster
5.8

Mystery 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

The Gentle Touch poster
7.2

Notable 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

In Sickness and in Health poster
8.1

This 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

In Sickness and in Health poster
8.1

This 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

Super Gran poster
6.4

Adapted 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

Private Schulz poster
5.3

Private 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

The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes poster
10.0

In 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

Middlemarch poster
7.8

19th 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

Home to Roost poster
6.5

Home 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 artwork available
NR

No synopsis available yet.

Local Heroes

1996

Armchair Theatre poster
6.0

Armchair 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

Law & Order poster
7.3

Law & 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

No artwork available
6.7

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 artwork available
NR

No synopsis available yet.

Dooley Gardens

1999

No artwork available
NR

No synopsis available yet.

Erasmus Microman

1988

No artwork available
NR

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

No artwork available
10.0

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

The Rules of the Game poster
8.0

Dramatist 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

Unfair Exchanges poster
NR

Julie 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

Secret Service poster
8.0

Set in Richmond, Virginia in October 1864, tells the story of a Union spy working to seize control of the telegraph office.

Secret Service

1977

The Mound Builders poster
7.0

In 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

Ken Campbell's Meaning of Life poster
NR

Can 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