David Ray Campbell (born July 1, 1954) is an

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, p ...

television writer, theater producer, and former comedy manager. With his partner,

Jim Jinkins James Jinkins (born August 8, 1953) is an American animator, cartoonist, and children's author. He is best known as the creator of the animated television series '' Doug'', which was later the basis for a feature film. Jinkins also created '' PB&J ...

, Campbell helped create the

Nickelodeon Nickelodeon (nicknamed Nick) is an American pay television channel and the flagship property of the Nickelodeon Group, a sub-division of the Paramount Media Networks division of Paramount Global. Launched on April 1, 1979, as the first ca ...

animated television series ''

Doug Doug is a male personal name (or, depending on which definition of "personal name" one uses, part of a personal name). It is sometimes a given name (or "first name"), but more often it is a hypocorism (affectionate variation of a personal name) whi ...

'', which launched the

Nicktoons Nicktoons is the brand name used by Nickelodeon for their original animated series. All Nicktoons are produced partly at the Nickelodeon Animation Studio and list Nickelodeon's parent company (Paramount Global) in their copyright bylines. Since ...

brand. He is also the co-founder of

Jumbo Pictures Jumbo Pictures was an American animation studio founded by Jim Jinkins and David Campbell on July 20, 1990. On February 29, 1996, Disney, which completed its purchase of ABC nearly 3 weeks prior on February 9, purchased Jumbo Pictures to add ...

and

Cartoon Pizza Cartoon Pizza was an American animation studio located in Nashville, Tennessee. It was co-founded by Jim Jinkins and David Campbell serving as the successor to Jinkins' former company, Jumbo Pictures. The studio had partnered with several stud ...

, and is currently developing the

Broadway Broadway may refer to: Theatre * Broadway Theatre (disambiguation) * Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S. ** Broadway (Manhattan), the street ** Broadway Theatre (53rd Stre ...

musical, ''Holy Fire!''

Biography and career

Campbell was born in

Palatka, Florida Palatka () is a city in and the county seat of Putnam County, Florida, Putnam County, Florida, United States. Palatka is the principal city of the Palatka Micropolitan Statistical Area, which is home to 72,893 residents. The Palatka micropolitan ...

and grew up in

Searcy, Arkansas Searcy ( ) is the largest city in and the county seat of White County, Arkansas, United States. According to 2019 Census Bureau estimates, the population of the city is 23,767. It is the principal city of the Searcy, AR Micropolitan Statisti ...

. He began his career working on many theatrical productions in New York and Los Angeles as a stage manager. He later produced such show business legends as

Mickey Rooney Mickey Rooney (born Ninnian Joseph Yule Jr.; other pseudonym Mickey Maguire; September 23, 1920 – April 6, 2014) was an American actor. In a career spanning nearly nine decades, he appeared in more than 300 films and was among the last survivi ...

Ann Miller Ann Miller (born Johnnie Lucille Collier; April 12, 1923 – January 22, 2004) was an American actress and dancer. She is best remembered for her work in the classical Hollywood cinema musical film, musicals of the 1940s and 1950s. Her early fi ...

Carol Channing Carol Elaine Channing (January 31, 1921 – January 15, 2019) was an American actress, comedian, singer and dancer who starred in Broadway and film musicals. Each of her characters typically possessed a fervent expressiveness and an easily ide ...

, and Donald O’Connor in multiple productions of '' Sugar Babies'', which played more than 1,200 performances on Broadway. Campbell was also the founder and director of a New York talent management company, helping launch the early careers of

Louis CK Louis Alfred Székely (; born September 12, 1967), known professionally as Louis C.K. (), is an American stand-up comedian, actor and filmmaker. C.K. has won three Peabody Awards, three Grammy Awards, six Primetime Emmy Awards, and a Screen Act ...

, Brett Butler, The Higgins Boys and Gruber, and television series including ''

Mystery Science Theater 3000 ''Mystery Science Theater 3000'' (abbreviated as ''MST3K'') is an American science fiction comedy television series created by Joel Hodgson. The show premiered on WUCW, KTMA-TV (now WUCW) in Saint Paul, Minnesota, on November 24, 1988. It then ...

'' and ''

Grace Under Fire ''Grace Under Fire'' is an American television sitcom that aired on ABC from September 29, 1993, to February 17, 1998. Created by Chuck Lorre, the series starred Brett Butler as Grace Kelly, a single mother and recovering alcoholic raising t ...

''. David and his partner Jim Jinkins would go on to create ''Doug'' after Jinkins showed Campbell doodlings of the character at a small restaurant in New York. The series received the 1993 and 1994 Parents’ Choice Awards and the 1995 Kids’ Choice Award. It was also nominated for three Cable ACE Awards, four

Emmys The Emmy Awards, or Emmys, are an extensive range of awards for artistic and technical merit for the television industry. A number of annual Emmy Award ceremonies are held throughout the year, each with their own set of rules and award categor ...

as Best Animated Children’s Show and the prestigious Prix Jeunesse International Award. Following the success of ''Doug'', Walt Disney Studios acquired Jumbo Pictures, and made ''Doug'' the anchor of ABC’s Saturday morning lineup. It became a top-rated show, and inspired various books, merchandise, a live musical stage show, and a theatrical feature. He has been the Executive Producer on more than 300 episodes of award-winning children’s television including '' 101 Dalmatians: The Series'', '' PB&J Otter'', ''

Stanley Stanley may refer to: Arts and entertainment Film and television * ''Stanley'' (1972 film), an American horror film * ''Stanley'' (1984 film), an Australian comedy * ''Stanley'' (1999 film), an animated short * ''Stanley'' (1956 TV series) ...

'', ''

JoJo's Circus ''JoJo's Circus'' is a stop-motion animated television series created by Jim Jinkins, David Campbell, Lisa Jinkins, and Eric Weiner and produced by the Canada-based Cuppa Coffee Studios and Cartoon Pizza. The series was written by Douglas Woo ...

'', ''The Beginner’s Bible'', ''

Pinky Dinky Doo ''Pinky Dinky Doo'' is an animated children's television series created by Jim Jinkins. It was produced and co-owned by Jinkins' Cartoon Pizza and Sesame Workshop. The series was made in association with Discovery Kids Latin America, and the Ca ...

'', and many more. Most recently, Campbell was the Chief Content Officer at Dance Network, a digital television network in Nashville, TN. He is also working on several new projects including the video series, ''HoopDogz'', winner of the Parent’s

Dove Awards A Dove Award is an accolade by the Gospel Music Association (GMA) of the United States to recognize outstanding achievement in the Christian music industry. The awards ceremonies presented annually and have been held in Nashville, Tennessee excep ...

and ''Holy Fire'', a Broadway-bound musical comedy. Campbell resides in

Nashville, Tennessee Nashville, often known as Music City, is the capital and List of municipalities in Tennessee, most populous city in the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is the county seat, seat of Davidson County, Tennessee, Davidson County in Middle Tennessee, locat ...

with his wife and two daughters.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Campbell, David Ray American Christians American television writers Disney Television Animation people Nickelodeon Animation Studio people Nickelodeon people American theatre people Harding University alumni 1954 births Living people Screenwriters from Arkansas