Michael Edward Campbell Champion (November 3, 1946, in Anderson, Indiana – June 16, 2021[1] [2]) was an American singer and actor who started his public career in Detroit. In 1967, with a short-lived band called 'The Abstract Reality', he released a 45 rpm single called "Love Burns Like A Fire Inside".[3] [4] With Bob 'Babbitt' Kreinar, Ray Monette and Andrew Smith he formed Scorpion. His name appears as Mike Campbell on the album Scorpion and Meat Loaf's debut album Stoney & Meatloaf (1971). For this recording, apart from having co-written four songs, he played the harmonica on Lady Be Mine.[5] [6]
He became an actor by the name of Michael Champion and since 1979 played in several TV series and films such as Diagnosis Murder (1993), Matlock (1989), and The Flash (1991, as Captain Cold), (1981), Beverly Hills Cop (1984), Total Recall (1990) and Toy Soldiers (1991), and video game characters like the terrorist in Flash Traffic: City of Angels (1994) and 'Wolf' in Maximum Surge (1996).[7] Musician and record co-producer Ralph Terrana has been quoted: "He [Campbell] was a very talented writer. He also could be a little unusual. We called him Crazy Mike."
| Year | Title | Role | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1979 | When a Stranger Calls | Bill | ||
| 1979 | 10 | Party Guest #7 | ||
| 1980 | Wholly Moses! | Sodom Sentry | ||
| 1981 | Prehistoric Man | |||
| 1981 | The Woman Inside | Nolan | ||
| 1984 | Beverly Hills Cop | Casey | ||
| 1987 | Fatal Beauty | "Buzz" | ||
| 1989 | Pink Cadillac | Ken Lee | ||
| 1989 | One Man Out | Burkhardt | ||
| 1990 | Total Recall | Agent Helm | ||
| 1990 | False Identity | Luther | ||
| 1991 | Toy Soldiers | Jack Thorpe | ||
| 1992 | Leather Jackets | Costello | ||
| 1992 | The Swordsman | Stratos | ||
| 1995 | Evolver | Squad Leader | ||
| 1995 | Johann Wells |