INSP mourns the passing of musician, entertainer and actor Glen Campbell at age 81, on August 8, 2017.
Campbell is best known for his outstanding talent as a country and crossover pop musician, having won several prestigious awards, among them, honors from the Country Music Association, the Academy of Country Music, and the Grammys, including a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award in 2012. Previously, in 2005, he was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame. He was also renowned for his guitar session work, recording with a wide variety of stars, including Frank Sinatra, Nat King Cole, Elvis Presley, The Righteous Brothers, The Beach Boys, with whom he also toured, and The Monkees, among many others.
Campbell had dabbled in TV and movies as an actor, mostly portraying musicians, but when big screen Westerns legend, John Wayne chose him for the supporting role of fast-talking Texas Ranger, La Boeuf in the 1969 version of True Grit, Campbell ventured out of his comfort zone as an actor. His performance earned him a Golden Globe nomination for “Most Promising Newcomer,” and John Wayne an Oscar. The title song, which Campbell sang was also nominated for an Academy Award. But the movies would always take a back seat to music.
“True Grit was fun to do,” Campbell said of the experience, “but I wasn’t cut out to be an actor. I made John Wayne look so good, he won his only Oscar.”
Glen Travis Campbell was born on April 22, 1936 in Billstown, Arkansas, the son of sharecroppers, the seventh son of eight boys and four girls. He is survived by his wife, Kimberley and eight children, three of whom played in his band on his farewell tour, three of his sisters and two brothers, and many grandchildren, great-grandchildren and great-great-grandchildren.