Gerald Theron Campion (23 April 1921 – 9 July 2002) was an English actor. He is best remembered for his role as Billy Bunter in a 1950s television adaptation (Billy Bunter of Greyfriars School) of books by Frank Richards (Charles Hamilton).[1]
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Gerald Campion | |
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Born | Gerald Theron Campion (1921-04-23)23 April 1921 Bloomsbury, London, England |
Died | 9 July 2002(2002-07-09) (aged 81) Agen, Lot-et-Garonne, France |
Alma mater | RADA |
Occupation | Actor |
Years active | 1938–1992 |
Spouse(s) | Jean Sherman (1947–1972) (divorced) Susan Mark (1973–2002) (his death) |
Children | 3 |
Parent | Cyril Campion |
His father Cyril Theron Campion (1894–1961) – a playwright and screenwriter – and Blanche Louise Tunstall née Bear (1890–1933) – a cousin-german of Charlie Chaplin – married in 1920 in London.[2] Campion was born in Bloomsbury, London, an only child.[3]
He won a place at RADA at age 15, and appeared in numerous films and television programmes – mostly comedies.[4] In 1937, he appeared in Tavs Neiiendam's radio play Inspiration to a Poet on the BBC Home Service.[5]
• | Inspiration to a Poet | (11 Mar 1937) | [6] | |
Author | Tavs Neiiengam | |||
Translated from the Danish by | Marianne Helweg | |||
Produced by | M H Allen | |||
James Lancaster, a parson and poet | Ronald Simpson | |||
Rorke, Reporter | Eric Messiter | |||
Harkness, Reporter | Leslie Perrins | |||
Editor of the Morning Clarion | Laidman Brown | |||
Johnson, a photographer | Geoffrey Wincott | |||
Martha Duxbury, a café proprietress | Vivienne Chatterton | |||
Joe Duxbury, her son | Philip Wade | |||
Mrs Pratt, Lancaster's housekeeper | Fanny Wright | |||
Announcers, Navvies, Typists, Newsboys, Telephone Operator and other voices | Gerald Campion Diana Lincoln David Bevan Beatrice Rowe Lucie Milner |
His only major success was as Bunter, a juvenile role he played successfully despite being much older than his character (he was 40 when the series ended).[7] Campion later reprised the role (now Lord Bunter of Hove, who had succeeded in betting shops and property) in the BBC Radio 7 series Whatever Happened to ...? in the episode that speculated on whether Bunter's form master at Greyfriars School, Horace Henry Samuel Quelch, became a secret agent.[8]
In 1979, he recorded an appearance in Shada, a Doctor Who story which was not completed in its intended form.[9]
After dropping out of acting, Campion ran clubs and restaurants in London's Soho, the best known of which is Gerry's, a long running private members' club attracting a mainly theatrical membership.[10][11]
Campion's first marriage, with Jean M Sherman (Simmonds) (1925–) in London in 1947, ended in divorce in 1972. They had three children: Anthea (a singer who married composer Thomas Rajna); Anthony, born in1948; and Angelica, born in1962. His second marriage, with Susan (Suzie) Marks in 1973, ended with his death.
Campion lived in Wittersham, Kent for many years. He and his wife Suzie moved to France in 1991. He died in 2002 aged 81 in Agen, Aquitaine, France.[4]
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