Campbell was born in
Dublin, the first son of
Charles Campbell, 2nd Baron Glenavy, and his wife the artist
Beatrice Elvery. He was educated in England at
Rossall School (which he loathed), and then at
Pembroke College, Oxford, but left Oxford without completing his degree. He was then taken on by
The Irish Times, working for
Bertie Smyllie, and began his career reporting for the column "Courts Day by Day". During the
Second World War, Campbell served as a
chief petty officer in the Irish Marine Service. After the war, he re-joined
The Irish Times (using the
pseudonym 'Quidnunc'),and was put in charge of the column "An Irishman's Diary". He also wrote a weekly column for the Irish edition of the
Sunday Dispatch before working on the paper in London from 1947 to 1949. He was assistant editor of
Lilliput from 1947 to 1953. His journalism was also published in
The Sunday Times. In 1963 he succeeded his father as
Baron Glenavy, gaining a seat in the
House of Lords of the United Kingdom, in which he rarely made an appearance. Campbell spoke with a stammer, but delighted
television audiences with his wit, notably as a regular team captain on the long-running show
Call My Bluff, opposite his longtime friend
Frank Muir. Muir noted that "When he was locked solid by a troublesome initial letter he would show his frustration by banging his knee and muttering 'Come along! Come along!'". He also made regular appearances in
Not So Much a Programme, More a Way of Life. ==Books==