Norman Campbell was born in February 1924 in Los Angeles to Canadian parents. He grew up in Vancouver, where he developed a passion for writing songs from a young age. In 1947, he met Elaine Leiterman, and they married in 1949.
Although Campbell took a degree in meteorology from the University of British Columbia, he began his career with the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation in 1946 as a songwriter. He was asked to write a song a week for a series called Summer Romance, and he joined the corporation full-time in 1948.
In 1952, Campbell moved to Toronto, where he directed some of Canada's first live TV shows. Two years later, he wrote his first musical for television, Take to the Woods, starring Robert Goulet and featuring a book by Eric Nicol and lyrics by Elaine Campbell.
However, it was in 1956 that Campbell made his most enduring contribution to Canadian culture. Along with his wife Elaine and actor Don Harron, he wrote the beloved musical Anne of Green Gables. The show has been presented numerous times in Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island, and is now in its fortieth season.
Campbell established a reputation for adapting ballet for television, winning two Emmy awards, including one in 1972 for Sleeping Beauty featuring Rudolph Nureyev. He also directed the feature film Ballerina, filmed in Denmark and starring a young Jenny Agutter, for Walt Disney in 1966.
In addition to his work on Anne of Green Gables, Campbell wrote several other musicals, including Turvey and The Wonder Of It All. He was made an officer of the Order of Canada in 1978, and his legacy continues to be celebrated in Canada and around the world.
