Sterling Campbell (director)

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Sterling Carl Campbell (1896/97 – September 6, 1990) was a Canadian aviator and film director best known for Bush Pilot (1947), one of the first feature films produced by a Canadian company.

He served in the Canadian Army during World War I and later worked in Hollywood as a technical and action assistant director, assisting on films and working with Cecil B. DeMille and Howard Hawks. He also had minor acting roles in a few movies. Campbell returned to Canada and served in the Royal Canadian Air Force during World War II.

In 1941 he married Margaret Campbell, who would become a Toronto city councillor and Ontario MPP. In 1946 he co-founded Dominion Productions with Geoffrey Wood, Larry Cromien, and Austin Willis; Bush Pilot was their first film. The company did not release another film and was later acquired by Arthur Gotlieb.

Campbell ran for Toronto city council in the 1956 municipal election but was injured during the campaign and remained bedridden for months, finishing third. In 1958 his wife Margaret won a council seat. Their son Sterling Campbell, Jr. later served as a city councillor and MPP in Sudbury during the 1970s and 1980s.

Sterling Campbell died in Toronto on September 6, 1990.