Robert Wright Campbell (June 9, 1927–September 21, 2000), often credited as R. Wright Campbell or Robert Campbell, was an American screenwriter, author and occasional actor. He was the brother of actor William Campbell and brother in law of

Judith Campbell Exner Judith Exner (January 11, 1934 – September 24, 1999) was an American woman who claimed to be the mistress of U.S. president John F. Kennedy and Mafia leaders Sam Giancana and John Roselli. She was also known as Judith Campbell Exner, and Judith ...

. He wrote ten television series, including ''Maverick'' and ''Marcus Welby, M.D.''.

Biography

Campbell was born in

Newark, New Jersey Newark ( , ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of New Jersey and the seat of Essex County and the second largest city within the New York metropolitan area.Pratt Institute Pratt Institute is a private university with its main campus in Brooklyn, New York (state), New York. It has a satellite campus in Manhattan and an extension campus in Utica, New York at the Munson-Williams-Proctor Arts Institute. The school was ...

, intending to be a commercial artist. He was drafted into the US Army during the

Korean War , date = {{Ubl, 25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953 (''de facto'')({{Age in years, months, weeks and days, month1=6, day1=25, year1=1950, month2=7, day2=27, year2=1953), 25 June 1950 – present (''de jure'')({{Age in years, months, weeks a ...

. When he asked his brother William how much he earned for acting, he went to Hollywood after his discharge.

Hollywood

Campbell began writing for

anthology series An anthology series is a radio, television, video game or film series that spans different genres and presents a different story and a different set of characters in each different episode, season, segment, or short. These usually have a differ ...

such as '' Loretta Young Theatre''. Through his brother William, Campbell met

Roger Corman Roger William Corman (born April 5, 1926) is an American film director, producer, and actor. He has been called "The Pope of Pop Cinema" and is known as a trailblazer in the world of independent film. Many of Corman's films are based on works t ...

for whom he wrote the screen play ''

Five Guns West ''Five Guns West'' is a 1955 Western film set during the American Civil War directed by Roger Corman. It was Corman's first film as director although he had already made two as producer. It was the second film released by the American Releasing ...

'' (1955), which was the first film Corman directed. Campbell sold two original Western scripts to Universal, ''

Gun for a Coward ''Gun for a Coward'' is a 1957 American CinemaScope Western film directed by Abner Biberman and starring Fred MacMurray, Jeffrey Hunter and Janice Rule. The film also stars Josephine Hutchinson as MacMurray's mother, despite being less than ...

'' and '' Quantez''. Both ended up being made with

Fred MacMurray Frederick Martin MacMurray (August 30, 1908 – November 5, 1991) was an American actor. He appeared in more than one hundred films and a successful television series, in a career that spanned nearly a half-century. His career as a major film le ...

. He also sold two stories to

Kirk Douglas Kirk Douglas (born Issur Danielovitch; December 9, 1916 – February 5, 2020) was an American actor and filmmaker. After an impoverished childhood, he made his film debut in ''The Strange Love of Martha Ivers'' (1946) with Barbara Stanwyck. Do ...

Bryna Productions Bryna Productions (later renamed The Bryna Company) is an American independent film and television production company established by actor Kirk Douglas in 1949. The company also produced a handful of films through its subsidiaries, Michael Produ ...

: ''King Kelly'' about a soldier who sets himself up as a ruler in the South West after the Civil War, and ''The Allison Brothers''. Neither was made. In 1956 he and his brother announced they had purchased a story about John Ashley, ''Requiem for an Outlaw'' and intended to make it independently but the film was not made. Campbell was hired to work on the screenplay '' Man of a Thousand Faces'', the biography of

Lon Chaney Leonidas Frank "Lon" Chaney (April 1, 1883 – August 26, 1930) was an American actor. He is regarded as one of the most versatile and powerful actors of cinema, renowned for his characterizations of tortured, often grotesque and affli ...

. The producer deliberately picked a young writer who would not be influenced by "nostalgia". The script was reworked by Ivan Goff and Ben Roberts but Campbell kept his screen credit. All the writers were nominated for Best Screenplay. Campbell did a fourth script for Universal, ''Beneath the Roses'', but it was not made. He wrote for several

Warner Bros. Television Warner Bros. Television Studios (operating under the name Warner Bros. Television; formerly known as Warner Bros. Television Division) is an American television production and distribution studio of the Warner Bros. Television Group division of ...

shows such as ''

Maverick Maverick, Maveric or Maverik may refer to: History * Maverick (animal), an unbranded range animal, derived from U.S. cattleman Samuel Maverick Aviation * AEA Maverick, an Australian single-seat sportsplane design * General Aviation Design Bureau ...

'', ''

Bronco A bucking horse is any breed or either gender of horse with a propensity to buck. They have been, and still are, referred to by various names, including bronco, broncho, and roughstock. The harder they buck, the more desirable they are for rod ...

'' and ''

Hawaiian Eye ''Hawaiian Eye'' is an American detective television series that ran from October 1959 to April 1963 on the ABC television network. Premise Private investigator Tracy Steele (Anthony Eisley) and his half-Hawaiian partner, Tom Lopaka (Robert Con ...

''. He reworked ''Five Guns West'' for Corman as ''

The Secret Invasion ''The Secret Invasion'' is a 1964 American war film directed by Roger Corman. It stars Stewart Granger, Raf Vallone, Mickey Rooney, Edd Byrnes, Henry Silva, Mia Massini and William Campbell. Appearing three years before ''The Dirty Dozen'' (196 ...

''. He planned to follow it with ''The Deserters'' another WW2 tale for Corman but it appears to have not been made. In 1972 he wrote ''Whistler'' for Corman, a biopic of James Abbott Whistler.

Novels

Campbell left screenwriting and turned to novels after visiting

Carmel-by-the-Sea, California Carmel-by-the-Sea (), often simply called Carmel, is a city in Monterey County, California, United States, founded in 1902 and incorporated on October 31, 1916. Situated on the Monterey Peninsula, Carmel is known for its natural scenery and ric ...

where he moved to. His first novel was ''The Spy Who Sat and Waited'' (1975). He wrote several novels of

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

that he called "La-La Land" with a hero named James Whistler in ''Alice in La-La Land'' and ''In La-La Land We Trust'', a series of Jimmy Flannery novels beginning with ''The Junkyard Dog'' (awarded the

Edgar Award The Edgar Allan Poe Awards, popularly called the Edgars, are presented every year by the Mystery Writers of America, based in New York City. Named after American writer Edgar Allan Poe (1809–1849), a pioneer in the genre, the awards honor the bes ...

and

Anthony Award The Anthony Awards are literary awards for mystery writers presented at the Bouchercon World Mystery Convention since 1986. The awards are named for Anthony Boucher (1911–1968), one of the founders of the Mystery Writers of America. Among the m ...

for Best Paperback Original) and ''The Cat's Meow'' and two Jake Hatch novels. His 1978 novel, ''Where Pigeons Go to Die'', was adapted into a television film of the same title for NBC by actor and filmmaker

Michael Landon Michael Landon (born Eugene Maurice Orowitz; October 31, 1936 – July 1, 1991) was an American actor and filmmaker. He is known for his roles as Little Joe Cartwright in ''Bonanza'' (1959–1973), Charles Ingalls in ''Little House on the Pr ...

Death

Campbell died at Hospice House on September 21, 2000, in

Monterey, California Monterey (; es, Monterrey; Ohlone: ) is a city located in Monterey County on the southern edge of Monterey Bay on the U.S. state of California's Central Coast. Founded on June 3, 1770, it functioned as the capital of Alta California under bo ...

at the age of 73.

Legacy

On February 2, 2003, the ''Robert Campbell Balcony'' over the

Harrison Memorial Library The Harrison Memorial Library is a historic building designed by architect Bernard Maybeck and built by Michael J. Murphy in 1928. It houses a public library for the city of Carmel-by-the-Sea, California. The library provides books, materials a ...

's main reading room was named in his honor.

Writings

Screenplays

*''

The Loretta Young Show ''The Loretta Young Show'' (originally known as ''Letter to Loretta'') is an American anthology drama television series broadcast on Sunday nights from September 2, 1953, to June 4, 1961, on NBC for a total of 165 episodes. The series was hosted ...

'' - "Thanksgiving in Beaver Run" (1954) *''

'' (1955) - also appeared as actor *''

The Star and the Story ''The Star and the Story'' is an American television anthology series which aired 1955–1956 in first-run syndication. A filmed half-hour series, episodes were approximately 25 minutes long, excluding commercials. Produced by Four Star Product ...

'' (1955) - episode "Hand to Hand" *''

Medic A medic is a person involved in medicine such as a medical doctor, medical student, paramedic or an emergency medical responder. Among physicians in the UK, the term "medic" indicates someone who has followed a "medical" career path in postgradu ...

'' (1955) - episode "All the Lonely Night" *''

Cheyenne The Cheyenne ( ) are an Indigenous people of the Great Plains. Their Cheyenne language belongs to the Algonquian language family. Today, the Cheyenne people are split into two federally recognized nations: the Southern Cheyenne, who are enroll ...

'' (1955–56) - episodes "The Outlander", "The Storm Riders" *''

'' (1957) *'' Man of a Thousand Faces'' (1957) *'' Quantez'' (1957) *''

Machine Gun Kelly George Kelly Barnes (July 18, 1895 – July 18, 1954), better known by his pseudonym "Machine Gun Kelly", was an American gangster from Memphis, Tennessee, active during the Prohibition era. His nickname came from his favorite weapon, a Thomps ...

'' (1958) *''

'' (1958) - episode "Rope of Cards" *'' Teenage Caveman'' (1958) *''Maverick'' (1960) - episode "Cruise of the Cynthia B" *''

'' (1960) - episode "Tangled Trail" *'' A Terrible Beauty'' (1960) *''

'' (1962) .- episode "An Echo of Honor" *''

The Young Racers ''The Young Racers'' is a 1963 sports drama film directed by Roger Corman and starring Mark Damon, William Campbell, Luana Anders and Patrick Magee. It is based on the Formula One races in Europe. Plot Joe Machin ( William Campbell), an Americ ...

'' (1963) - also acted *''

The Masque of the Red Death "The Masque of the Red Death" (originally published as "The Mask of the Red Death: A Fantasy") is a short story by American writer Edgar Allan Poe, first published in 1842. The story follows Prince Prospero's attempts to avoid a dangerous plague ...

'' (1964) *''

'' (1964) *'' 12 O'Clock High'' - episode "The Duel at Mont Sainte Marie" (1967) *''

Hells Angels on Wheels ''Hells Angels on Wheels'' is a 1967 American biker film directed by Richard Rush, and starring Adam Roarke, Jack Nicholson, and Sabrina Scharf. The film tells the story of a gas-station attendant with a bad attitude who finds life more exciting ...

'' (1967) *''

Captain Nemo and the Underwater City ''Captain Nemo and the Underwater City'' is a 1969 British film starring Robert Ryan, Chuck Connors and Nanette Newman. It features the character Captain Nemo and is inspired by Jules Verne's 1870 novel ''Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea''. ...

'' (1969) *''

Marcus Welby, M.D. Marcus, Markus, Márkus or Mărcuș may refer to: * Marcus (name), a masculine given name * Marcus (praenomen), a Roman personal name Places * Marcus, a main belt asteroid, also known as (369088) Marcus 2008 GG44 * Mărcuş, a village in Dobârl� ...

'' (1974) - episode "No Charity for the MacAllisters")

Novels

*''The Spy Who Sat and Waited'' (1975) *''Where Pigeons Go to Die'' (1978) *''Circus Couronne'' (1979) *''Malloy's Subway'' (1981) *''The Junkyard Dog'' (1986) *''In La-La Land We Trust'' (1986) *''Alice in La-La Land'' (1987) *''The 600-Pound Gorilla'' (1987) *''Hip Deep in Alligators'' (1987) *''Juice'' (1988) *''Thinning the Turkey Herd'' (1988) *''The Cat's Meow'' (1988) *''Plugged Nickel'' (1988) *''Nibbled to Death by Ducks'' (1989) *''Red Cent'' (1989) *''Sweet La-La Land'' (1990) *''The Gift Horse's Mouth'' (1990) *''Boneyards'' (1992) *''In a Pig's Eye'' (1992) *''The Wizard of La-La Land'' (1995) *''Sauce for the Goose'' (1996) *''The Lion's Share ''(1996) *''Pigeon Pie'' (1998)

Plays

*''Wondersmith'' (1978)STAGE REVIEW: 'Wondersmith': Bonhomie in Bohemia Christon, Lawrence. Los Angeles Times 08 Feb 1978: f12. *''Quadruped'' (1991)

As Actor Only

*''

Cell 2455, Death Row ''Cell 2455, Death Row: A Condemned Man's Own Story'' is a 1954 memoir that is the first of four books written on death row by convicted robber, rapist and kidnapper Caryl Chessman (27 May 1921 – 2 May 1960). Sentenced to death in 1948 under C ...

'' (1955)

Notes

External links

*
Obituary
at ''The Guardian'' {{DEFAULTSORT:Campbell, Robert Wright 1927 births 2000 deaths 20th-century American novelists American crime fiction writers American male screenwriters Anthony Award winners American male novelists People from Carmel-by-the-Sea, California 20th-century American male writers Novelists from California Screenwriters from California 20th-century American screenwriters