'And suddenly Kenny cut in, 'Yes! In 1944, his call-up papers arrived. In the past, the journalists job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. 'If you can sing, dance, play a musical instrument or whatever,' the announcement read, 'please apply'. Afterwards, I gasped, 'Have you done this before?' They were married for 46 years. There was an S Baxter in that area, with an address. Mobile home is a common catch all phrase in the US, and can apply to many different types of . Im not a personality, he once said. I thought, I really hate this. Not him, then. Im going to cut you short. Any camper attached to a vehicle registered in Washington must be licensed in Washington; the RV Disposal Fee applies. Find him.. Later that week, Marcus visited her they got on well and found her nursing a dying pigeon by the fire. I was just ringing for you. THE LEAVES on the pavement were being sucked upwards by the cold wind, or turned to mush by rain. Kenneth Williams certainly thought so. A loved one. From beyond the grave, Williams talked about him more frankly and perhaps imaginatively than any living friend would. You know, the same sort of thing as Kenneth Williams. Shall we say affinity, I asked? Certainly not Kenneth Williams: 'I remember sitting with him in an Italian restaurant, and telling him that I was very low. It was more than weakness. Choosing to eliminate the obvious first, I checked the phone book. But fame made his clandestine life even more risky. I shouldn't have done, but I did. Isabel Oakeshott receives 'menacing' message from Matt Hancock, Insane moment river of rocks falls onto Malibu Canyon in CA, Ken Bruce finishes his 30-year tenure as host of BBC Radio 2, Pavement where disabled woman gestured at cyclist before fatal crash, Pro-Ukrainian drone lands on Russian spy planes exposing location, 'Buster is next!' Just to talk to a faithful hand that takes all the chaff and grain together, keeps whats worth keeping, and with a breath of kindness, blows the rest away. There were few people he could tell of his worries. This was the defining moment of Stanleys life. I know it all sounds terribly old-fashioned but men had those expectations in those days., Now, Stanley admits another reason why he felt Moira should remain at home. Well, you, really. It was a relief. He was left with a terror of being held up to public shame. But a fellow member of the club in Pall Mall, which costs up to 500 a year, confirmed that Baxter was frequently there. Kenny thought I was making a terrible mistake, says Stanley. Once stardom had been achieved, he limited his television appearances and won an unusual amount of power over how they were made. Stanley maintains incredible control, but he can also come on like the wee woman on the stairhead talking about the price of mince, said Mary Brennan, who reviews around 20 panto performances a year. It was a gloomy place, full of old men moving in slow motion and staring into space. Williams believed Stanley to be taking advantage of Moira and a traitor to the cause. 'It was partly a feeling of, 'I'll show them,' he admits. Birth sign: Gemini. Kenneth asked Stanley what future he could expect if he married Moira Robertson. But just weeks later he realised he had boarded a runaway train. Alec Guinness and John Gielgud had both been charged with Importuning. When Baxter retired in 1872 . And so, Robertson & Baxter was formed. STANLEY BAXTER has come out as gay at the age of 94 in a brave statement in his new biography, The Real Stanley Baxter, as the veteran actor admitted he brought men home with his "understanding" wife's blessing. But it would be wrong to imagine he has found peace. He never appeared as himself. Now that personal publicists are de rigueur for everyone from ministers mistresses to rugby players wives, we may even catch ourselves feeling faintly disapproving at the thought that he might want to do without the oxygen of publicity. Comic actor Stanley Baxter dressed as a Roman soldier during a comedy sketch, circa 1980. She then went to their new Glasgow flat to cook spaghetti for his supper.". He had his chance to make a clean break, to move on alone. Those who didnt want to be troubled with it could simply take it at face value. The Real Stanley Baxter. It was becoming obvious that the real Stanley Baxter was as studiously hidden as his Lycra supports. And what does the master of disguise look like now? The Robertson family also founded Highland Distillers in 1887 and, ultimately, in 1999 . But although the urgency had gone, the curiosity remained. The showbiz world is rife with tales of heartbreak, loneliness, wasted talent and regrets. The charges were dropped, on condition that Baxter promised not to sue the police for wrongful arrest. I have been writing for the Independent on Sunday for more than 20 years, but the edition that appears on Sunday will be the last. Perhaps it was time to forget it, let him be. Yes, was the terse reply. He was married for 46 years, but beneath his cheerful exterior lies a man tortured by the fact he is gay. You wont tell me which part of London, will you? Robertson & Thompson was founded by Fife-born William Alexander Robertson as a wholesale whisky blender and agent in Glasgow in 1855. When his friend Kenneth Williams's diaries were published posthumously in the early Nineties, he fought a legal battle to ensure nothing about his sex life was printed. And after nearly a year of thinking about this man, after all the work I had done to find him, I had absolutely no idea what to say. I dont see Stanley ever leaving himself that vulnerable hes too self- obsessed a cookie), not about Baxter the human being. Moira Robertson & Stanley Baxter, 1962 British actress Moira Robertson (year of birth unknown-1997) and her husband, British comedian and actor Stanley Baxter, at Clerkenwell Magistrates Court in London, England, 5th March 1962. Other members included Kenneth Williams, with whom Baxter formed a close friendship that was troubled but life-long.It was quite a strong thing, said Young. I like to retreat into playing other people. I kept getting those sheeps eyes every time she passed me in the theatre and she appeared to be heartbroken. And since that time he hasnt been able to surrender the thought had he not married the fragile, vulnerable woman she may have lived more of a happy life. But he hadnt been in that afternoon. A visit to the local library to see the electoral register confirmed that S stood for Stanley. By
Everythings being raked around in here ready for Christmas. Stanley reckoned his wife's place was in the home. OK. Can you just tell me, finally, what city he lives in? Yes. He couldnt say when Baxter was expected next, but took my number to pass on. May 2021 - Present1 year 9 months. Baxter began his career as a child actor on BBC Scotland and later became known for his British television comedy shows The Stanley Baxter Show, The Stanley Baxter Picture Show, The Stanley Baxter Series and Mr Majeika.. Baxter has also written a number of books based on Glasgow. To order a copy for 17.60 go to mailshop.co.uk/books or call 020 3308 9193. Stanley Baxter is one of my all-time favourites, he said. Mildly discouraged, I tried another approach: Melvyn Bragg, who had been head of arts at LWT when Baxter was at his peak. Baxter appeared alongside Jimmy Logan and Rikki Fulton in extravagantly-produced shows with Ziegfeld-scale sets and dancing girls, but also made his first BBC television appearance in 1951. We are lucky at The Herald. But Andy Young, who considers himself a close friend of the couple, insisted that they still lived together. Stanley walked through the doors of the Gorbals theatre and into theatre heaven, loving this avant-garde world populated by the likes of Sybil Thorndyke and Duncan Macrae. If you are dissatisfied with the response provided you can Or just give her the only thing she had ever asked for to be with him. He soon gave up any pretence of being faithful, or heterosexual. FOR MANY of the details I subsequently learnt about Stanley Baxters life, I was grateful to Andy Young, a Scottish freelance writer who gained the comedians confidence about 100 years ago and is one of the few people to have interviewed him at any length. The front door was open. That would seem to indicate that there might be a return at some point, even just a one-off? Thats a difficult question. But even today he finds it difficult to discuss the case, referring to it as 'le scandale'. There was some communication, through Andy Young, who had been authorised to tell me that Baxter was refusing all work except voice-overs and radio. . He was the lead in one play before going off to serve with the Royal Army Service Corps in the Far East, where he was recruited for the Combined Services Entertainment unit, a drag- and-greasepaint outfit straight out of It Aint Half Hot Mum. 293 followers. It was the future Carry On star Kenneth Williams, also barely out of his teens but playing an old man in a CSE production. No other intimate had ever talked about him in public. Anyone who can dress up as Judy Garland with a nose like his and get away with it, has to be a genius. Smiling at me. This would be NO life for you, married to someone who is essentially and primarily homosexual!, Moira's reaction was surprising, even to those who knew how liberal she was. To pre-empt that, he agreed to let me tell his story . Not Stanleys fee, particularly, but you have to pay the Musicians Union, youve got to pay all the dancers, Equity and so on. He loved the applause 'a hundred people shouting 'Bravo' and I'm beating the adults to the prizes'. After all, she was with the man she adored. At close range, under the cap and behind the scarf, he turned out to be an elderly woman. Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours. Calls went unreturned, faxes unanswered. Since he was a toddler, Bessie had taken him to vaudeville shows. Helen Wright, 67, and Moira Robertson, 65, were also snared with 51,000 in cash at a . I think it was probably fashionable at the time to get married even if there were undercurrents of other things that people didnt realise about, said Mr Young. She had thought about becoming an actress herself and was very supportive of her childrens aspirations for the stage: Baxter put aside thoughts of teaching to go into the theatre, while his sister went off to work as an actress in Australia, under the name of Alice Dale.Baxter had already begun broadcasting on the wireless at the age of 14, and continued doing so even after he was called up at 17 to help the war effort by going down the mines. Hes never done a chat show in his life. Stanley Baxter was a star of the Glasgow stage aged six, in 1932. When he stopped doing TV spectaculars, we were told that everybody had an eye on the clock because the clock meant money. Actor Stanley Baxter has come out at the age of 94 revealing his late wife Moira gave her blessing for him to bring men home. Stanley Baxter. There was a sort of obsession.. 64, I said. He moved to London eight years later. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself. Comments have been closed on this article. Baxter staged full-scale MGM musicals and played every role. Ill tell you, he said, managing to communicate weariness down the line. Stanley was up for the challenge. Bill had girlfriends, but he spent almost all his spare time at the Baxter house, sitting in Stanley's bedroom and talking till the small hours about art and philosophy, 'until we fell asleep, exhausted'. And he met Moira Robertson, a 22-year-old who had worked her way up from the wardrobe department to the stage. What could he do? His performance of Eager Young Husband was the worst he would give in his life. He is an intelligent guy, and he likes to know who hes talking to. Another professional acquaintance was prepared to talk anonymously, but only about his retirement (Nureyev kept going until he was censured and taken apart at the seams for coming on stage when he was obviously dying. As his mother Bessie, a blacksmith's daughter, accompanied him on the piano, the boy belted out saucy music hall numbers with titles such as I'm One Of The Lads Of Valencia: 'You can't beat a Spaniard for kissing, Oh ladies, just think what you're missing!' by | Jan 25, 2023 | when do pecan trees lose their leaves | congestion worse after sinus rinse | Jan 25, 2023 | when do pecan trees lose their leaves | congestion worse after sinus rinse But in joining the Citz and aiming for the stars (however small his initial parts were as an Assistant Stage Manager) the young actor realised his sexuality could prove to be his downfall. Supported creation and implementation of TD Summer Reading and StoryWalk program. As spring approached, Stanley saw even more of the woman with the hooded eyes, even taking her along to his parents home at 5 Wilton Mansions in Glasgow's Kelvinside. Stanley managed to survive the threat to his career just and Moira, as expected stood by her man. Doesnt he do interviews at all? It had been run over in the street.