Jovial movie critic Arch Campbell, 78, may have retired from television 10 years ago, but he’s still trying to entertain us. His new book, The Accidental Critic: A Television News Memoir, chronicles his life and career and includes plenty of anecdotes filled with his trademark humor.
The beloved local news personality worked at WRC-TV (now NBC4) for 32 years. He was part of the longtime on-air team that included anchors Jim Vance and Doreen Gentzler, meteorologist Bob Ryan, and sportscaster George Michael. George Michael died in 2009, and Jim Vance died in 2017.
‘Real Friendship’
Campbell looks back fondly on all those years and says he wrote his book in part because, “I wanted to remember the friendship — the real friendship I had with Jim Vance and George Michael, Bob Ryan, and Doreen. George and Jim are gone now. … Doreen and Bob and I still get together and tell a lot of the same stories.”
In fact, Gentzler recently joined Campbell to host his book signing at DC’s Politics and Prose. “Bob Ryan showed up, and [retired DC newscaster] Gordon Peterson was in the audience. And a lot of people that Doreen and I worked with, and a lot of people from other stations,” he says.
‘Two Hometowns’
Campbell grew up and began his career in Texas. In the book, he explains that while working in a Dallas newsroom in 1973, the station’s news director one day announced: “I want a movie reviewer! Who wants to do it?” Campbell raised his hand— and thus began his career as an entertainment reporter.
He started a new job in Washington, DC, the following year. The rest, as they say, is history.
He and his wife, Gina, now live in Chevy Chase. When asked if he considers Texas or Washington as his hometown, he says, “As I get older, I’m realizing that I have an emotional attachment to Texas. I just consider that I have two hometowns, San Antonio and Washington. I’ve lived in Washington now 50 years.”
‘A Time of Transition’
Campbell has seen his fair share of changes over those 50 years, and he’s grateful his career happened when it did. “When I look back, I realize that I came into TV news at a time of transition — when we were transitioning to this kind of anchor team. … And that style of news changed with the internet and with the iPhone.”
He notes that people are now talking less about movies they’ve seen in a theater, “but now they’re talking about what they saw on streaming.” He laments the demise of one theater in particular: “One of the things that makes me saddest is that the Uptown Theater is closed. And I went to so many premieres at the Uptown Theater and interviewed so many celebrities right outside.”
Campbell says his favorite celebrity encounter was with comedian-actor Patton Oswalt, who lived in Sterling as a teen and attended Broad Run High School. “About 20 years ago, he started making fun of me in his [stand-up] act,” Campbell says. “And I had the chance to interview him, and I wrote down all the things he had said. And he said that he left Sterling because his parents would cite my movie reviews, and that my citation wouldn’t allow him to watch all the cool movies. … We started talking about that, we started laughing and had a really good time. Since then, he invited me two or three times to come out and meet him at the Alamo Drafthouse in Sterling and introduce him and interview him. And I would say we are friends.”
‘Give People a Laugh’
Campbell continues to stay current on all things entertainment with The Arch Campbell Podcast. “I usually have two critics on there,” he says of the format. “It’s the podcast that tries to keep you up with the ever-changing world of entertainment. And I start with the questions: ‘What are you watching? What do you like?’ And every week, it’s something different.”
And he’s still trying to make audiences smile. “I want people to come away with something from there, and then we just joke around, laugh.”
After all, he says of writing his memoir: “I wanted to remember the things that made me happy in all the years I was working. And I wanted to share some of those stories with people. And I think I put something together that’ll give people a laugh. And I think people need a laugh right now more than ever, right?”
Feature image courtesy Arch Campbell
This story originally ran in ourApril Issue. For more stories like this,subscribeto Northern Virginia Magazine.
