Margaret Campbell


Margaret Campbell was an American character actress in silent films. In her later years she was the secretary of the Bahá'í Spiritual Assembly of Los Angeles.

Career

Born in St. Louis, Missouri, Campbell had been the leading lady of the Bramhall Players and appeared on Broadway in revivals of Hamlet and The Merchant of Venice during the early 1910s. Later she followed her husband, German-born actor Josef Swickard, into films and was usually cast as rather grand ladies. She retired from the screen at the advent of sound.

Death

In 1939, Campbell was sexually assaulted and bludgeoned to death with a hammer. Her son, Campbell McDonald, was the initial suspect. He was also suspected of having bludgeoned to death a Russian dancer, Anya Sosoyeva, as well as having assaulted the young actress Delia Bogard, who survived. He was later cleared of those attacks when the actual murderer was captured by the Los Angeles police force. Both attacks occurred on the Los Angeles City College campus.

Filmography