Nell Campbell

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Nell Campbell
Nell Campbell Photo Op GalaxyCon Raleigh 2019.jpg
Campbell at GalaxyCon Raleigh in 2019
Born
Laura Elizabeth Campbell

(1953-05-24) 24 May 1953 (age 72)
Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
Other namesLittle Nell
Occupations
  • Actress
  • singer
Years active1973–present
Organisation Nell's (1986–2004)
Children1
Relatives Cressida Campbell (sister)
Musical career
Genres
InstrumentVocals
Labels

Laura Elizabeth Campbell (born 24 May 1953), better known as Nell Campbell or by her stage name Little Nell, is an Australian actress, singer, and former club owner. She is best known for her role as Columbia in the 1975 film The Rocky Horror Picture Show , and the original stage play from which it was adapted. Campbell released her EP, The Musical World of Little Nell (Aquatic Teenage Sex & Squalor), through A&M Records in 1978. She appeared as Nurse Ansalong in the 1981 film Shock Treatment . In 1984, she appeared as Beth in the BAFTA and Oscar-award-winning drama film The Killing Fields .

Contents

Early life

Campbell was born in Sydney, to Ruth and Ross Campbell. Ross, a writer, [1] referred to her as "Little Nell" (after a character in Charles Dickens' The Old Curiosity Shop ) in his family life column in the Sydney Daily Telegraph . She grew up with three siblings: Sally, Patrick, and Cressida. Elder sister Sally was a property master, a set designer, and (subsequently) a fashion designer; younger sister Cressida Campbell is an artist; elder brother Patrick (who died in 2020) was a solar engineer at the University of New South Wales. Nell began dancing when she was 10, in order to remain healthy following being diagnosed with hepatitis A. She was called Laura E. Campbell until the age of about 17, when she went by the nickname "Sonny" (pronounced to rhyme with "Donny"), short for "Sonata". She attended high school at Abbotsleigh School for Girls in Sydney, supporting herself as a waitress.

Career

Campbell decided to use the name "Little Nell" as a stage name after her arrival in Britain in the early 1970s with her family. She sold clothes at Kensington Market; her stall was next to Freddie Mercury's. [2] [3] She also worked as a busker and as a soda jerk in a café, where her tap dancing is often noted as the reason why she was cast as Columbia in the original production of The Rocky Horror Show following an impromptu audition. [4] She reprised the role in The Rocky Horror Picture Show, [5] released in 1975, and starred as Nurse Ansalong in the 1981 sequel, Shock Treatment .

After The Rocky Horror Picture Show, Campbell signed a recording contract with A&M Records. Her debut single was "Stilettos and Lipstick" backed with "Do the Swim", released in 1975. She also recorded a disco version of the song "Fever" in 1978, which was again backed with "Do the Swim". The B-side of both of these releases became better-known, perhaps helped by a performance on British television in which she accidentally (and repeatedly) exposed her breasts. While edited out of the original broadcast in 1975, the unedited version was shown worldwide on bloopers shows (beginning with the British show It'll be Alright on the Night in 1977). [6] Following this notoriety, another effort was made to promote the recordings made in 1975 and 1976. In 1978, a "triple B-side" extended play titled The Musical World of Little Nell (Aquatic Teenage Sex & Squalor) was released which featured both "Do the Swim" and "Stillettos and Lipstick" along with the track "Dance that Cocktail Latin Way" (also known as "Tropical Isle") which originally appeared as the B-side of her second single from 1976. Following some success with the EP, the other two tracks, singles "Fever" and "See You Round like a Record", were released as a single but that was to be her last release on A&M. A final single, "Beauty Queen" from the film The Alternative Miss World, was released on PRE Records in 1980.

Campbell in 2015 Nell Campbell May 2015.jpg
Campbell in 2015

Campbell has also appeared in several stage productions, including the Off-Broadway play You Should Be So Lucky and the Broadway musical Nine . [7] She appeared as Sandra LeMon in the British TV series Rock Follies of '77 .

In 1986, Campbell opened the nightclub Nell's on West 14th Street in Manhattan (New York) with Keith McNally and Lynn Wagenknecht. In 1995 she opened two restaurants in New York: The Kiosk (uptown) and E&O (downtown). Nell's was sold in 1998 to Noel Ashman and his business partner, actor Chris Noth, right before Campbell gave birth to her daughter, Matilda Violet, with ex-boyfriend and business partner, Eamon Roche.[ citation needed ] The club closed in 2004. [7]

Campbell has written several magazine articles, including regular segments called "MamaTalks" and "FirstLook" in the now defunct Talk magazine, starting in the December 1999 issue.

Filmography

Film

YearTitleRoleNotes
1974 Barry McKenzie Holds His Own Nerida BrealeyFeature film
1974Ulla's FeteSelfShort film
1975 The Rocky Horror Picture Show ColumbiaFeature film
Lisztomania OlgaFeature film
Alfie Darling Party GuestFeature film
1976 Summer of Secrets KymFeature film
1977 Jubilee CrabsFeature film
Journey Among Women MegFeature film
1980The Alternative Miss WorldHerselfFilm documentary
1981The Rocky Horror TreatmentSelf (uncredited)TV film
1981 Shock Treatment Nurse AnsalongFeature film (sequel to The Rocky Horror Picture Show )
1982 Pink Floyd – The Wall GroupieAnimated film
1983 Dead on Time Female TellerShort film
Stanley Amy BentonFeature film
1984 The Killing Fields BethFeature film
1985I Wanna Be a Beauty QueenThe Opening Act
1998 Great Expectations Erica ThrallFeature film
2000 Joe Gould's Secret TamaraFeature film
The Intern The HostFeature film
2013 The Last Impresario HerselfDocumentary film
2019 Palm Beach Unimpressed GrandmotherFeature film
2021 Seriously Red Doc NellFeature film

Television

YearTitleRoleNotes
1971GTKTV series, 1 episode
1975 The London Weekend Show Performer2 episodes
1977 Rock Follies of '77 Sandra LeMon6 episodes
It'll be Alright on the Night Herself
1979 Hazell Pamela1 episode
Shoestring Joanna Lomas
1980 Armchair Thriller Zoe Summers3 episodes
1981 Funny Man Fiona1 episode
1981 Countdown Performer (singing "Beauty Queen")1 episode
1983 Bergerac Mrs. Moberley
1987 Saturday Night Live Performer
2010 Rake Flick Moyers

Television (as self)

YearTitleRoleNotes
1980 TV Bloopers & Practical Jokes SelfTV series US, 1 episode
1987 Saturday Night Live Self - GuestTV series US, 1 episode
1989After DarkSelf - GuestTV series UK, 1 episode
1990The Big PictureSelf (as Little Nell)TV series UK, 1 episode
1990The WordSelf - GuestTV series UK, 1 episode
1990 Juke Box Jury Self - Panelist (as Little Nell)TV series UK, 1 episode
1995Rocky Horror Double Feature Video ShowSelfVideo US
2000VH-1 Where Are They Now?SelfTV series US, 1 episode
2000Rocky Horror 25: Anniversary SpecialSelfTV Special US
2001 Backstory SelfTV series US, 1 episode
2001 Tracey Ullman's Visible Panty Lines SelfTV series UK, 2 episodes
2008Spicks and SpecksSelfTV series Aus, 2 episodes
2015; 2022 Studio 10 Self with Patricia QuinnTV series, 1 episode
2016; 2022 Today Extra Self - GuestTV series Aus, 1 episode
2018Horror Kung-Fu TheatreSelfTV series US, 1 episode
2019Time Warp: The Greatest Cult Films of All-TimeSelfTV miniseries US
2020Midnight Movie MacabreSelfTV series US
2021Rocky Horror 45: The MovieSelfFilm documentary UK
2022The Chronicles of PodcastSelfTV series UK, 1 episode
2022 Today Extra Self - GuestTV series Aus, 1 episode
2022 Studio 10 Self - GuestTV series Aus, 1 episode
2023The Morning ShowSelf - GuestTV series Aus, 1 episode
2023Weekend SunriseSelfTV series Aus , 1 episode
2023 Studio 10 Self - GuestTV series Aus, 1 episode

Theatre

YearTitleRoleNotes
1973 The Rocky Horror Show Columbia The Royal Court Theatre Upstairs
1975And They Used to Star in Movies Minnie Mouse Soho Theatre
1977 A Streetcar Named Desire Stella Oxford Playhouse
Censored Scenes From King KongIris Fantoccini Open Space Theatre
1978StoopHerselfSoho Theatre
1985 Women Behind Bars HostFootbridge Theatre at Sydney University
1994You Should Be So LuckyPolly Off-Broadway
2003 Nine Lina DarlingOn Broadway at Eugene O'Neill Theatre
2006The Rocky Horror Tribute ShowHerselfThe Royal Court Theatre Upstairs
2022–2023All’s Nell That Ends Nell [8] One-woman show
2023The Rocky Horror Show 50th AnniversaryNarratorLondon

Discography

Singles / EPs

Guest vocals

Soundtracks and Cast Recordings

References

  1. Spencer, Chris; Zbig Nowara; Paul McHenry (2002) [1987]. "LITTLE NELL". The Who's Who of Australian Rock. Noble Park, Vic.: Five Mile Press. ISBN   1-86503-891-1. Archived from the original on 29 February 2012. Retrieved 14 February 2010. Note: [on-line] version established at White Room Electronic Publishing Pty Ltd in 2007 and was expanded from the 2002 edition.
  2. FitzSimons, Peter (29 January 2022). "Nell Campbell: Rocky Horror brought Meat Loaf and me together". The Sydney Morning Herald.
  3. James, Michael (17 August 2022). "Watch: Nell Campbell of Rocky Horror talks her life and new show". QNews.
  4. Maynard. "Rocky Horror Night with Little Nell". Planet Maynard (Podcast). Event occurs at 8:00. Archived from the original on 6 October 2014. Retrieved 30 September 2014.
  5. "The Rocky Horror Picture Show". Australian Film Database. Murdoch University. Archived from the original (doc) on 18 September 2009. Retrieved 13 February 2010.
  6. "RockyMusic - Do The Swim (London Weekend Show) by Little Nell video". www.rockymusic.org.
  7. 1 2 "The Rocky Horror Picture Show: Whatever Happened to the Cast?". 29 September 2021.
  8. "All's Nell That Ends Nell - Brisbane Powerhouse - Tickets on sale". Brisbane Powerhouse. Retrieved 9 January 2023.