Lawton Campbell

Charles Lawton Campbell (April 17, 1896 – 1980) was a business executive in the advertising field, a reporter, and playwright from Montgomery, Alabama.[1]

Campbell went to Princeton University (class of 1916). He served with American Expeditionary Forces in Europe during World War I and also served during World War II.[2] One of the companies he worked for was General Foods.[3] He wrote Immoral Isabella (1927) and Solid South (1930).[1] Files on Campbell are held at the Birmingham Public Library and some of his papers at Princeton University's rare book collection.[2]

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.[4]

Campbell was part of the Triangle Club at Princeton University with F. Scott Fitzgerald and was a friend and admirer of Zelda Fitzgerald who gave him one of her paintings.[3] He was tall and blond.[3] A friend of F. Scott Fitzgerald from Princeton, he remained a part of their social circle after they were married.[1]

He wrote for the Journal of Commerce before getting into advertising.[4]

Campbell was a charter member of the American National Theater and Academy and served as its Chairman of the Board.[4]

His play Solid South was set in the Southern United States during the reconstruction era.[5] It starred Richard Bennett, Moffat Johnston, Jessie Royce Landis, Owen Davis Jr., and Bette Davis. Rouben Mamoulian directed.[5]

Plays

He wrote several plays including three that were staged:

• Madam Malissa (1924)
• Immoral Isabella?, a three act comedy presented by Chamberlain Brown.[6]
• Solid South, performed at various venues in the Midwestern United States during the spring and summer of 1930 and in October of the same year opened at the Lyceum Theatre in New York City.[7] It was a three act play published in New York by S. French (1931).[4]

His other plays include:

• Foolish Sunset
• Shakespeare Smiles, a Comedy in One Act. New York; D. Appe (1924)[4][8]
• Gestures; a Comedy in One Act. New York (1925)
• The Girl Who Slipped
• The Bachelor Queen (1927)
• Isabella (1927)

References

1. Tate, Mary Jo (30 November 2018). Critical Companion to F. Scott Fitzgerald: A Literary Reference to His Life and Work. Infobase Publishing. ISBN 9781438108452 – via Google Books.
2. "Alabama Authors » Blog Archive of » CAMPBELL, CHARLES LAWTON, 1896-1980". www.lib.ua.edu.
3. Cline, Sally (1 September 2004). Zelda Fitzgerald: Her Voice in Paradise. Arcade Publishing. ISBN 9781559707183 – via Google Books.
4. "Alabama Authors".
5. Hischak, Thomas S. (2009-04-22). "solid+south"+alabama#v=onepage&q=lawton%20campbell%20"solid%20south"%20alabama&f=false Broadway Plays and Musicals: Descriptions and Essential Facts of More Than 14,000 Shows through 2007. ISBN 9780786453092.
6. Carson, Lionel (30 November 2018). "The Stage Year Book". Stage Offices – via Google Books.
7. Kellow, Brian (26 November 2004). The Bennetts: An Acting Family. University Press of Kentucky. ISBN 978-0813138183 – via Google Books.
8. content://media/external/file/397519

Further reading

• The Fitgeralds were my friends by C. Lawton Campbell, typescript, Princeton University Libraries
• “Scott and Zelda Were His Friends” The Villager (Bronxville, N.Y.), April 1971, pages 8 and 20