Michael Champion

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), History of the World: Part I (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."^[6]

Filmography

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1979	When a Stranger Calls	Bill
1979	10	Party Guest #7
1980	Wholly Moses!	Sodom Sentry
1981	History of the World: Part I	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	Aurora: Operation Intercept	Johann Wells

References

1. "Obituaries: Pedry, Seger, Espinosa, Champion, Reed". June 24, 2021.
2. "'Lucky to have him here': Casper actor Michael Champion remembered". July 2021.
3. "Sport Records 104-A (1967 Detroit MI) label & song – side A: 'Love Burns Like A Fire Inside' (A. Williams, R. Monette, M. Campbell), The Abstract Reality". YouTube. Retrieved July 12, 2011. (Note: side B: ib. instrumental version)
4. "The Soul Discography (Volume 1 A–F)" (PDF). Eyeball Productions, West Vancouver, BC Canada. p. 2. Archived from the original (PDF) on November 19, 2011. Retrieved July 12, 2011.
5. "Scorpion (album, band)". BadCat Records, Reston, VA, U.S. Retrieved July 2, 2011.
6. Stoney and Meatloaf The Almost Complete Meat Loaf & Jim Steinman Lyric Archive (Retrieved July 2, 2011)
7. For the alias of Michael Campbell: Michael Champion The Internet Movie Database (Retrieved July 2, 2011)
       Michael Champion Filmography Fandango (Retrieved July 2, 2011)
       Note: This Fandango source also shows Michael Champion (corresponding to the above IMDb source) as composer of the music score for the documentary The Union: The Business Behind Getting High (2007), which score may have been by another Michael Champion: IMDb Michael Champion II.

External links

• Michael Champion at IMDb