Glen Campbell has for more than thirty years been entertaining Jamaicans at home and in the Diaspora.
His unique comedic style in word choice and nuances, dramatic facial expressions and body language, have for years been throwing the sternest of stuck-ups into gut clenching laughter and tears. An artist still very much enjoying his long standing career, he recently celebrated his fiftieth birthday, and so BUZZZ Magazine sought to get the latest on this actor/comedian, whose role as the zany policeman on his wobbly bicycle in Fab Five’s ‘Ring Road’ music video, gave him his first claim to fame.
Glenroy Godfrey Campbell is the proud product of Jamaican parents, himself a Londoner by birth, as his parents migrated to London, England during the ‘gold rush’, where many Caribbean nationals flocked to the United Kingdom in search of better economic opportunities.
By 1972 however, they returned home with their son Glen, the second to last child and only boy of his close knit family. “I have four sisters and being the only boy, I may as well have been the wash belly. I was sickly and asthmatic as a child so I couldn’t dust or do much housework.”
But what he could do is entertain, so it was early on evident, that his career path would lay spread on the vinyl floors of theatre stages, the television screens of every home and the hearts and minds of an admiring audience.
“I grew up in the Mona/ Hermitage area and went to Hope Valley Experimental and I guess I always knew it was performing arts for me. I hooked up with Cathy Marsh who had a dance group, so I’m really a dancer first and foremost who just happens to stumble into acting.”
As a student of Jamaica College (JC), he was very active in the JC/Andrews Drama Club and was a regular participant in the Schools’ Drama Festival, his first production being “Pedlars’ Progress”, followed by “The Prime of Miss Jean
Brody”, directed by Paul Issa; a tremendous achievement for the young scholar, through whose participation the play copped the best production award. His English teacher it appears had a strike of divinity when she sent him to audition with Louis Marriott; there his lasting love affair with theatre would begin. “I was still in 6th form when I went and auditioned and I never took up back a book again!”
From the play ‘New Jokers’, the LTM Pantomime caught his eyes and exposed him to an even wider audience, so he became a part of what was one of the most successful pantomimes ever, the 1986/87 production of ‘River Mumma and the Golden Table.
“It was while I was doing pantomime and the Fab Five music video, that
playwright Patrick Brown saw me and thought ‘Yea I can work with him’, so he did and that was the beginning of the Brown/Campbell collaboration that has lasted more than 20 years.”
“Pantomime was really the first step in reaching a wider audience, but once you do television a deh so it deh! Patrick Brown wrote a lot of the early ‘Oliver at Large’ scripts and after seeing just how well that went over, they sought to do another successive comedy series so they came up with ‘Titus in Town’ and I was casted in the lead role with Clive Anderson (Sleepy) as the side kick.”
Television and theatre he says, has allowed him to show off his versatility as an actor as well as sharpen his skills, which have been honed over the past two decades through his association with Brown. So which play does he feel first showcased his full acting chops? “I would probably say ‘Dirty Dianna’ as Jamaican audiences saw how far I could dramatically push myself. They had been treated to stuff like ‘Titus’ with the funny, rotten teeth boy from country, so when they saw that they said ‘no man, there is way more to him than that.’”
Fame he said has it perks as well as its pitfalls. “At first it was fun. You feel like you reach. But then it started to invade my private time so it got to me. For example, when you are out with your sweetheart having a quiet moment and the waiter recognises you and expects you to burst out with a joke and he chimes in ‘Nuh you a de rotten teeth boy Titus?!’ and just ruins your moment. However as you get older you realise that the fans really don’t mean anything by it, so you smile, shake a hand, pose for a picture and just enjoy the fact that at least you are still being recognised!”
Though some people now refer to him not as ‘Titus’, but ‘Father Glen’, that is because he has amassed an enviable list of plays and productions that has cemented his place in the halls of theatre life. “ I have easily done over forty productions with Patrick Brown including the early classics like ‘Oliver and Pinocchio’, ‘Class of 73’, ‘Love Games’, ‘Charlie’s Angel’ and ‘Puppy Love’ and new favourites such as ‘Where There’s a Will There’s a Wife’ and now ‘Funny Kinda Love’. I think over the years while I developed as an actor, Patrick also developed as a writer, who has tapped into the Jamaica audience’s psyche and the art of theatre in terms of theatre craft and storylines, so when people leave the theatre you hear them saying, ‘wow.’”
One thing most people would probably not be aware of is that Campbell worked a 9 to 5 job at Telecommunications of Jamaica (now LIME) where he was gainfully employed in the Public Relations department for ten years. “After doing the Titus series, people would call and when I said my name they would be startled, ‘Glen Campbell? Titus a you dat?’
‘Yes it was interesting holding down a corporate job and I’m proud to say I was there with the introduction and growth of cellular service in Jamaica, while coordinating concerts that featured the likes of icons like Tony Rebel, Dennis Brown and Marcia Griffiths, so I was not only competent on the job, but I was able to hone my event planning skills. In 1994 however, I got the opportunity to go to India for 3 months and I applied for leave which they said they couldn’t afford to give me for so long a period, so we parted company but it was for the best as I had to self–actualize.”
Now when not performing, Glen is still never far from a stage of some sort, as he is a self acknowledged party animal. “Give me a good retro party any day. Me deh a Mello Vibe, Rae Town and Lava Lounge pon a Wednesday etc. I enjoy life and I love to dance.”
As a music aficionado, he also spins a wicked turntable as DJ Glen C of GC Sounds. “I collect music and I like to play, but time and performing restricts that at times. My collection is very wide with my personal musical preference being anything from the 1970s to early 1990s. When my daughter started getting into music, I had to vet what she listened to so then I was able to stay current. The girls at the theatre complain that I listen to too much old music so they also keep me abreast of what people are listening to nowadays.”
See September-October Issue for Full Article
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His unique comedic style in word choice and nuances, dramatic facial expressions and body language, have for years been throwing the sternest of stuck-ups into gut clenching laughter and tears. An artist still very much enjoying his long standing career, he recently celebrated his fiftieth birthday, and so BUZZZ Magazine sought to get the latest on this actor/comedian, whose role as the zany policeman on his wobbly bicycle in Fab Five’s ‘Ring Road’ music video, gave him his first claim to fame.
Glenroy Godfrey Campbell is the proud product of Jamaican parents, himself a Londoner by birth, as his parents migrated to London, England during the ‘gold rush’, where many Caribbean nationals flocked to the United Kingdom in search of better economic opportunities.
By 1972 however, they returned home with their son Glen, the second to last child and only boy of his close knit family. “I have four sisters and being the only boy, I may as well have been the wash belly. I was sickly and asthmatic as a child so I couldn’t dust or do much housework.”
But what he could do is entertain, so it was early on evident, that his career path would lay spread on the vinyl floors of theatre stages, the television screens of every home and the hearts and minds of an admiring audience.
“I grew up in the Mona/ Hermitage area and went to Hope Valley Experimental and I guess I always knew it was performing arts for me. I hooked up with Cathy Marsh who had a dance group, so I’m really a dancer first and foremost who just happens to stumble into acting.”
Brody”, directed by Paul Issa; a tremendous achievement for the young scholar, through whose participation the play copped the best production award. His English teacher it appears had a strike of divinity when she sent him to audition with Louis Marriott; there his lasting love affair with theatre would begin. “I was still in 6th form when I went and auditioned and I never took up back a book again!”
From the play ‘New Jokers’, the LTM Pantomime caught his eyes and exposed him to an even wider audience, so he became a part of what was one of the most successful pantomimes ever, the 1986/87 production of ‘River Mumma and the Golden Table.
“It was while I was doing pantomime and the Fab Five music video, that
playwright Patrick Brown saw me and thought ‘Yea I can work with him’, so he did and that was the beginning of the Brown/Campbell collaboration that has lasted more than 20 years.”
“Pantomime was really the first step in reaching a wider audience, but once you do television a deh so it deh! Patrick Brown wrote a lot of the early ‘Oliver at Large’ scripts and after seeing just how well that went over, they sought to do another successive comedy series so they came up with ‘Titus in Town’ and I was casted in the lead role with Clive Anderson (Sleepy) as the side kick.”
Television and theatre he says, has allowed him to show off his versatility as an actor as well as sharpen his skills, which have been honed over the past two decades through his association with Brown. So which play does he feel first showcased his full acting chops? “I would probably say ‘Dirty Dianna’ as Jamaican audiences saw how far I could dramatically push myself. They had been treated to stuff like ‘Titus’ with the funny, rotten teeth boy from country, so when they saw that they said ‘no man, there is way more to him than that.’”
Fame he said has it perks as well as its pitfalls. “At first it was fun. You feel like you reach. But then it started to invade my private time so it got to me. For example, when you are out with your sweetheart having a quiet moment and the waiter recognises you and expects you to burst out with a joke and he chimes in ‘Nuh you a de rotten teeth boy Titus?!’ and just ruins your moment. However as you get older you realise that the fans really don’t mean anything by it, so you smile, shake a hand, pose for a picture and just enjoy the fact that at least you are still being recognised!”
Though some people now refer to him not as ‘Titus’, but ‘Father Glen’, that is because he has amassed an enviable list of plays and productions that has cemented his place in the halls of theatre life. “ I have easily done over forty productions with Patrick Brown including the early classics like ‘Oliver and Pinocchio’, ‘Class of 73’, ‘Love Games’, ‘Charlie’s Angel’ and ‘Puppy Love’ and new favourites such as ‘Where There’s a Will There’s a Wife’ and now ‘Funny Kinda Love’. I think over the years while I developed as an actor, Patrick also developed as a writer, who has tapped into the Jamaica audience’s psyche and the art of theatre in terms of theatre craft and storylines, so when people leave the theatre you hear them saying, ‘wow.’”
One thing most people would probably not be aware of is that Campbell worked a 9 to 5 job at Telecommunications of Jamaica (now LIME) where he was gainfully employed in the Public Relations department for ten years. “After doing the Titus series, people would call and when I said my name they would be startled, ‘Glen Campbell? Titus a you dat?’
‘Yes it was interesting holding down a corporate job and I’m proud to say I was there with the introduction and growth of cellular service in Jamaica, while coordinating concerts that featured the likes of icons like Tony Rebel, Dennis Brown and Marcia Griffiths, so I was not only competent on the job, but I was able to hone my event planning skills. In 1994 however, I got the opportunity to go to India for 3 months and I applied for leave which they said they couldn’t afford to give me for so long a period, so we parted company but it was for the best as I had to self–actualize.”
Now when not performing, Glen is still never far from a stage of some sort, as he is a self acknowledged party animal. “Give me a good retro party any day. Me deh a Mello Vibe, Rae Town and Lava Lounge pon a Wednesday etc. I enjoy life and I love to dance.”
As a music aficionado, he also spins a wicked turntable as DJ Glen C of GC Sounds. “I collect music and I like to play, but time and performing restricts that at times. My collection is very wide with my personal musical preference being anything from the 1970s to early 1990s. When my daughter started getting into music, I had to vet what she listened to so then I was able to stay current. The girls at the theatre complain that I listen to too much old music so they also keep me abreast of what people are listening to nowadays.”
See September-October Issue for Full Article
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