Charles Lawton Campbell (April 17, 1896 – 1980) was a business executive in the advertising field, a reporter, and playwright from

Montgomery, Alabama Montgomery is the capital city of the U.S. state of Alabama and the county seat of Montgomery County. Named for the Irish soldier Richard Montgomery, it stands beside the Alabama River, on the coastal Plain of the Gulf of Mexico. In the 202 ...

Education and career

Campbell went to

Princeton University Princeton University is a private university, private research university in Princeton, New Jersey. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth, New Jersey, Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the List of Colonial Colleges, fourth-oldest ins ...

(class of 1916). He served with

American Expeditionary Force The American Expeditionary Forces (A. E. F.) was a formation of the United States Army on the Western Front of World War I. The A. E. F. was established on July 5, 1917, in France under the command of General John J. Pershing. It fought alon ...

s in Europe during World War I and also served during World War II. One of the companies he worked for was

General Foods General Foods Corporation was a company whose direct predecessor was established in the United States by Charles William Post as the Postum Cereal Company in 1895. The company changed its name to "General Foods" in 1929, after several corporate ...

. He wrote ''Immoral Isabella'' (1927) and ''Solid South'' (1930). Files on Campbell are held at the Birmingham Public Library and some of his papers at Princeton University's rare book collection. His parents were Charles L. and Myrtle (Booth) Campbell and he grew up on Sayre Street in Montgomery. He went to

Sidney Lanier High School Sidney Lanier High School is a public high school in Montgomery, Alabama, United States. History Established in 1910 on the southern outskirts of downtown Montgomery, Alabama, the school was named for a Southern poet, Sidney Lanier, who lived in ...

. Campbell was part of the

Triangle Club The Princeton Triangle Club is a theater troupe at Princeton University. Founded in 1891, it is one of the oldest collegiate theater troupes in the United States. Triangle premieres an original student-written musical every year, and then takes ...

with

F. Scott Fitzgerald Francis Scott Key Fitzgerald (September 24, 1896 – December 21, 1940) was an American novelist, essayist, and short story writer. He is best known for his novels depicting the flamboyance and excess of the Jazz Age—a term he popularize ...

and was a friend and admirer of

Zelda Fitzgerald Zelda Fitzgerald (; July 24, 1900 – March 10, 1948) was an American novelist, painter, dancer, and socialite. Born in Montgomery, Alabama, she was noted for her beauty and high spirits, and was dubbed by her husband F. Scott Fitzgerald a ...

who gave him one of her paintings. He was tall and blond. A friend of F. Scott Fitzgerald from Princeton, he remained a part of their social circle after they were married. He wrote for the ''

Journal of Commerce ''The Journal of Commerce'' is a biweekly magazine published in the United States that focuses on global trade topics. First published in 1827 in New York, it has a circulation of approximately 15,000. It provides editorial content to manage da ...

'' before getting into advertising. Campbell was a charter member of the

American National Theater and Academy The American National Theatre and Academy (ANTA) is a non-profit theatre producer and training organization that was established in 1935 to be the official United States national theatre that would be an alternative to the for-profit Broadway houses ...

and served as its chairman of the board. His play Solid South was set in the Southern United States during the

reconstruction era The Reconstruction era was a period in American history following the American Civil War (1861–1865) and lasting until approximately the Compromise of 1877. During Reconstruction, attempts were made to rebuild the country after the bloo ...

. It starred Richard Bennett,

Moffat Johnston Moffat Johnston (18861935) was a Scottish-born actor with a substantial United States stage career. Career Johnston was born to John Moffat Johnston and Margaret Parke (Boyd). He was educated at Watson's School and the University of Edinburgh. He ...

Jessie Royce Landis Jessie Royce Landis (born Jessie Medbury, November 25, 1896 – February 2, 1972) was an American actress. Her name is also seen as Jesse Royce-Landis. She remains perhaps best-known for her mother roles in the Hitchcock films ''To Catch a Thief' ...

Owen Davis Jr. Owen Gould Davis Jr. (October 6, 1907 – May 21, 1949) was an American actor known primarily for his work in film. He also performed in the theatre, making his Broadway debut in the play ''Carry On'' (1928), which his father, Owen Davis, had w ...

, and

Bette Davis Ruth Elizabeth "Bette" Davis (; April 5, 1908 – October 6, 1989) was an American actress with a career spanning more than 50 years and 100 acting credits. She was noted for playing unsympathetic, sardonic characters, and was famous for her pe ...

Rouben Mamoulian Rouben Zachary Mamoulian ( ; hy, Ռուբէն Մամուլեան; October 8, 1897 – December 4, 1987) was an American film and theatre director. Early life Mamoulian was born in Tiflis, Russian Empire, to a family of Armenian descent. H ...

directed.

Plays

He wrote several plays including three that were staged: * ''Madam Malissa'' (1924) * ''Immoral Isabella?'', a three act comedy presented by Chamberlain Brown. * ''Solid South'', performed at various venues in the

Midwestern United States The Midwestern United States, also referred to as the Midwest or the American Midwest, is one of four census regions of the United States Census Bureau (also known as "Region 2"). It occupies the northern central part of the United States. I ...

during the spring and summer of 1930 and in October of the same year opened at the Lyceum Theatre in New York City. It was a three act play published in New York by S. French (1931). His other plays include: *''Foolish Sunset'' *''Shakespeare Smiles, a Comedy in One Act''. New York; D. Appe (1924)content://media/external/file/397519 *''Gestures; a Comedy in One Act''. New York (1925) *''The Girl Who Slipped'' *''The Bachelor Queen'' (1927) *''Isabella'' (1927)

Education and career

Plays

References

Further reading