Nell Campbell
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Laura Elizabeth Campbell (born 24 May 1953), better known as Nell Campbell or by her
stage name A stage name or professional name is a pseudonym used by performers, authors, and entertainers—such as actors, comedians, singers, and musicians. The equivalent concept among writers is called a ''nom de plume'' (pen name). Some performers ...
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 ''The Rocky Horror Picture Show'' is a 1975 independent musical comedy horror film produced by Lou Adler and Michael White, directed by Jim Sharman, and distributed by 20th Century Fox. The screenplay was written by Sharman and Richard O ...
'', 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 A&M Records is an American record label owned by Universal Music Group and functions as a branch of Interscope Geffen A&M Records, Interscope-Geffen-A&M. Established in 1962 by Herb Alpert and Jerry Moss, the label initially operated independent ...
in 1978. She appeared as Nurse Ansalong in the 1981 film ''
Shock Treatment ''Shock Treatment'' is a 1981 American musical comedy film directed by Jim Sharman, and co-written by Sharman and Richard O'Brien. It is a follow-up to the 1975 film ''The Rocky Horror Picture Show''. While not an outright sequel, the film does ...
''. In 1984, she appeared as Beth in the
BAFTA The British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA, ) is an independent trade association and charity that supports, develops, and promotes the arts of film, television and video games in the United Kingdom. In addition to its annual awa ...
and
Oscar Oscar, OSCAR, or The Oscar may refer to: People and fictional and mythical characters * Oscar (given name), including lists of people and fictional characters named Oscar, Óscar or Oskar * Oscar (footballer, born 1954), Brazilian footballer ...
-award-winning drama film '' The Killing Fields''.


Early life

Campbell was born in Sydney, to Ruth and Ross Campbell. Ross, a writer, Note: n-lineversion established at White Room Electronic Publishing Pty Ltd in 2007 and was expanded from the 2002 edition. referred to her as "Little Nell" (after a character in
Charles Dickens Charles John Huffam Dickens (; 7 February 1812 – 9 June 1870) was an English novelist, journalist, short story writer and Social criticism, social critic. He created some of literature's best-known fictional characters, and is regarded by ...
' ''
The Old Curiosity Shop ''The Old Curiosity Shop'' is the fourth novel by English author Charles Dickens; being one of his two novels (the other being ''Barnaby Rudge'') published along with short stories in his weekly serial ''Master Humphrey's Clock'', from 1840 t ...
'') 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 The University of New South Wales (UNSW) is a public research university based in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. It was established in 1949. The university comprises seven faculties, through which it offers bachelor's, master's and docto ...
. Nell began dancing when she was 10, in order to remain healthy following being diagnosed with
hepatitis A Hepatitis A is an infectious liver disease caused by Hepatitis A virus (HAV); it is a type of viral hepatitis. Many cases have few or no symptoms, especially in the young. The time between infection and symptoms, in those who develop them, is ...
. 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 Kensington Market is a distinctive multicultural neighbourhood in Downtown Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The Market is an older neighbourhood and one of the city's best-known. In November 2006, it was designated a National Historic Sites of Canada, ...
; her stall was next to
Freddie Mercury Freddie Mercury (born Farrokh Bulsara; 5 September 1946 – 24 November 1991) was a British singer and songwriter who achieved global fame as the lead vocalist and pianist of the rock band Queen (band), Queen. Regarded as one of the gre ...
's. She also worked as a busker and as a
soda jerk Soda jerk (or soda jerker) is an American term used to refer to a person—typically a young man—who would operate the soda fountain in a restaurant, preparing and serving carbonated drink, soda drinks and ice cream sodas. The drinks were made ...
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. She reprised the role in ''The Rocky Horror Picture Show'', released in 1975, and starred as Nurse Ansalong in the 1981 sequel, ''
Shock Treatment ''Shock Treatment'' is a 1981 American musical comedy film directed by Jim Sharman, and co-written by Sharman and Richard O'Brien. It is a follow-up to the 1975 film ''The Rocky Horror Picture Show''. While not an outright sequel, the film does ...
''. After ''The Rocky Horror Picture Show'', Campbell signed a recording contract with
A&M Records A&M Records is an American record label owned by Universal Music Group and functions as a branch of Interscope Geffen A&M Records, Interscope-Geffen-A&M. Established in 1962 by Herb Alpert and Jerry Moss, the label initially operated independent ...
. Her debut single was "Stilettos and Lipstick" backed with "Do the Swim", released in 1975. She also recorded a
disco Disco is a music genre, genre of dance music and a subculture that emerged in the late 1960s from the United States' urban nightclub, nightlife, particularly in African Americans, African-American, Italian-Americans, Italian-American, LGBTQ ...
version of the song "
Fever Fever or pyrexia in humans is a symptom of an anti-infection defense mechanism that appears with Human body temperature, body temperature exceeding the normal range caused by an increase in the body's temperature Human body temperature#Fever, s ...
" 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 A blooper, or gag reel, is short clip from a film, television program or video production, usually a deleted scene, containing a mistake made by a member of the cast or crew. It also refers to an error made during a live radio or TV broadcast o ...
shows (beginning with the British show '' It'll be Alright on the Night'' in 1977). 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 A beauty pageant is a competition in which the contestants are judged and ranked based on various physical and mental attributes. Per its name, beauty pageants traditionally focus on judging the contestants' physical attractiveness, sometimes so ...
" from the film ''The Alternative Miss World'', was released on PRE Records in 1980. Campbell has also appeared in several stage productions, including the
Off-Broadway An off-Broadway theatre is any professional theatre venue in New York City with a seating capacity between 100 and 499, inclusive. These theatres are smaller than Broadway theatres, but larger than off-off-Broadway theatres, which seat fewer tha ...
play ''You Should Be So Lucky'' and the Broadway musical ''
Nine 9 (nine) is the natural number following and preceding . Evolution of the Hindu–Arabic digit Circa 300 BC, as part of the Brahmi numerals, various Indians wrote a digit 9 similar in shape to the modern closing question mark without the bot ...
''. 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 Keith McNally (born 1951) is a British-born New York City restaurateur, the owner of several establishments including the Parisian-style brasserie Balthazar (restaurant), Balthazar, and formerly Nell's, Nell's nightclub. Early life McNally was ...
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. The club closed in 2004. 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


Television


Television (as self)


Theatre

*


Discography

Singles / EPs * "Stillettos and Lipstick" / "Do the Swim" ( A&M, 1975) * "See You Round like a Record" / "Dance that Cocktail Latin Way" (A&M, 1976) * "
Fever Fever or pyrexia in humans is a symptom of an anti-infection defense mechanism that appears with Human body temperature, body temperature exceeding the normal range caused by an increase in the body's temperature Human body temperature#Fever, s ...
" / "Do the Swim" (A&M, 1976) * ''The Musical World of Little Nell (Aquatic Teenage Sex & Squalor)'' (A&M, 1978) * "Fever" / "See You Round like a Record" (reissue) (A&M, 1978) * "Beauty Queen" (Pre Records, 1980) Guest vocals * Tuff Little Surfer Boy (featured as "Roxanne" for the song by Truth & Beauty) (1974) Soundtracks and Cast Recordings * ''
The Rocky Horror Show ''The Rocky Horror Show'' is a Musical theatre, musical with music, lyrics and book by Richard O'Brien. A humorous tribute to various B movies associated with the Science fiction film, science fiction and Horror film, horror genres from the 193 ...
'' (Original London Cast) (1973) * ''
The Rocky Horror Picture Show ''The Rocky Horror Picture Show'' is a 1975 independent musical comedy horror film produced by Lou Adler and Michael White, directed by Jim Sharman, and distributed by 20th Century Fox. The screenplay was written by Sharman and Richard O ...
'' (1975) * ''
Shock Treatment ''Shock Treatment'' is a 1981 American musical comedy film directed by Jim Sharman, and co-written by Sharman and Richard O'Brien. It is a follow-up to the 1975 film ''The Rocky Horror Picture Show''. While not an outright sequel, the film does ...
'' (1981)


References


External links


Website
*
Little Nell at RockyMusic.org
{{DEFAULTSORT:Campbell, Nell 1953 births Australian women singers Australian film actresses Living people Actresses from Sydney People educated at Abbotsleigh Australian expatriates in England