And he turned it down. A wee'un would surely have grown up with problems and taken drugs.'. British actress Moira Robertson and her husband, British comedian and actor Stanley Baxter, at Clerkenwell Magistrates Court in London, England, 5th March 1962. His father was apparently a solid, reliable type who worked in insurance; it was his mother who encouraged the young Stanleys gift for mimicry, accompanying him on the piano while he did Harry Lauder impressions for friends and relatives. 'It was real weakness on my part,' he says now. . Something was happening between us but I didn't wish to acknowledge the fact. He felt guilty for the many affairs and the new partners. You know, the same sort of thing as Kenneth Williams. Shall we say affinity, I asked? Why? . He said, Oh well, if you did I should just follow you. Get premium, high resolution news photos at Getty Images He has a talismanic quality that makes people feel hes very much in touch with their lives, and then suddenly, out he zooshes looking really rather sexy. And the decision may have played a part his wifes untimely death. One diary entry, for March 1954, described Baxter as suspicious and ungenerous and said that being with him was like sitting on an oven. So: Mr White hadnt been having me on Baxter did live in London, then. Stanley confesses that he is not comfortable with his sexuality to this day. Helen Wright, 67, and Moira. Kenny thought I was making a terrible mistake, says Stanley. He had indeed dreamed of being a professional actor since appearing on stage as a seven-year-old at local talent contests. In 1949, it was illegal to be gay and entrapment of homosexual men by covert police officers was common. Having made it big south of the border, he regularly returned to direct and star in big-budget productions. But unknown to the world, Granny and the eponymous hero had decided to marry. And I did love her deeply, in my own way.. Chic, with hooded eyes, Moira could have been Bette Davis's younger sister. London, England, United Kingdom. . Baxter is appearing on a charges of soliciting and public indecency. As a subscriber, you are shown 80% less display advertising when reading our articles. He has now returned with his new biography, The Real Stanley Baxter, in which he speaks candidly about his life. I never wanted to be gay. We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse. Ive often wondered how her life would have turned out had she married a devoted heterosexual husband., He adds, his voice breaking: I will never know why she loved me so much. Stanley Baxter nacido en el 1926, sobre Moira Robertson nos faltan datos sobre su ao de nacimiento,. Stanley Baxter is one of the most successful entertainers of his generation and for many years had his own Bafta-winning TV series. Recluse. 'I didn't want to bring any child into the world who suffered what I suffered. Perhaps it was time to forget it, let him be. Absolutely not? A public face is no longer enough if youre a public figure. Baxter had done Shakespeare, and in 1969 he appeared alongside Sir Ralph Richardson in the original cast of Joe Ortons last play, What The Butler Saw. If there were someone I were interested in, I could bring them home. It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse. 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. If he was only prepared to work on the radio these days, could he be a total wreck? 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. However, Moira was very, very upset. 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. ', Stanley was terrified. It was a relief. That was that. But Ill tell you the basic outline. There, he saw a notice appealing for performers to join the Combined Services Entertainment unit [CSE]. Award-winning interviewer, writer and broadcaster. I explained a great part of the problem was Moira. Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours. Why did Stanley agree to marry Moira? She would go off to our bedroom and let me take the one opposite.. ', To pacify her, Baxter promised they would marry, if she would consent to wait a year. And they were birched! Especially when youre in high heels, do you know what I mean? Aug 2017 - Aug 20225 years 1 month. 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. At the same time, Moira's mental health deteriorated. I dont think I could go on then. The book also details the turbulent period in his life when he arrested on suspicion of soliciting sex in a north London public toilet in 1962. Williams believed Stanley to be taking advantage of Moira and a traitor to the cause. Just when it was looking hopeless, I discovered a quote from Don Black, the lyricist of Sunset Boulevard, about keeping himself fit at the RAC Club: I take a Turkish bath at the club every Saturday. . He said lots of theatrical things about how marvellous it had been to work with Baxter, with whom he still corresponded from time to time. A psychiatrist diagnosed schizophrenia, but she refused to take medication. After all, he was only a comedian, not a criminal or a crooked politician. Stanley knew he was gay. Well, I spoke to your television company, and they said you might be doing some soon. Identifying clients needs and developing solutions for both existing and new to Bank clients. Its a long season in Scotland, it runs from November through to February. My call was answered by Mr White himself, who seemed suspicious of my reasons for ringing. She was only using the gate to rest. Moira asked me what was wrong and I said something about the emotion of it all. Do not sell or share my personal information. I contacted David White, who seemed to think that this might mean that his client would talk to me. Stanley would indeed come to regret it for the rest of his life. But Stanley, and Moiras family, coaxed her to take medication. The comments below have been moderated in advance. 'Thankfully Moira was very understanding. Newspaper interviews were very rare; he never appeared on a chat show. And why shouldn't he? When he first came to fame in the Fifties, his identity was largely irrelevant: we were content to let stars glitter from afar. Anyone who can dress up as Judy Garland with a nose like his and get away with it, has to be a genius. Me, said David White. Tragically, however, in 1997, the year Princess Diana died, Moira took her own life. She would go off to our bedroom and let me take the one opposite.". Oh yes? Still smiling. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com. I was just ringing for you. Stanley Baxter as the Pantomime Dame in "Jack and the Beanstalk" at the King's Theatre, Glasgow. IN MARCH 1952, 26-year-old Stanley Baxter, recognised as the brightest young star in the Citizens Theatre Company, made a decision that was to shock his parents, stun his close friend Kenneth Williams and even surprise himself. She would turn up at the stage door in Glasgow, unannounced. HP10 9TY. Still smiling, though. If it doesn't work out, you just get divorced and you move on. And my father replied with a very heavy voice, No, it's not as easy as that., The following Monday, the Scottish Daily Express wrote of the 'quiet' wedding. We need you! That never happened: once television began to damage theatre audiences, many serious Scottish actors were forced into variety. Changing tack, I asked if Baxter had a fan club. 'It was partly a feeling of, 'I'll show them,' he admits. MORE : Inside the love life and Strictly Come Dancing romances of Giovanni Pernice, MORE : Saira Khan claims lockdown does not work during heated clash with Loose Women co-stars, Brendan Fraser didnt speak to Dwayne The Rock Johnson on set of The Mummy Returns for pretty good reason, Kate Moss talks proudly about nickname she earned in Ireland unaware its actually an insult, Did we hear that right? Jul 1988 - Present34 years 4 months. 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. Later, they decamped to an island outside the city. Perhaps that is why hardly anyone noticed when, after 1985, he left the television spotlight altogether, just as the glare was getting hotter. Stanley Baxter is arguably the funniest man and one of the most fetching women in Britain. She now had to be a housewife, which she found very frustrating. In January 1962, he visited the public toilets in Madras Place, Holloway, hoping to pick up a man for casual sex. Their relationship was fraught with difficulty Williams called it a very shaky ship but it was underpinned by deep affection. A lot of people are interested in this. . Hes always quite pernickety about who hell speak to, which is why I dont want to say too much about him at the moment. There was a sort of obsession.. The views expressed in the contents above are those of our users and do not necessarily reflect the views of MailOnline. More info. Many weeks later, I was browsing for biographical material on someone else when I came across an old copy of Whos Who In Television, with an entry on Baxter. He probably knew the way I felt about him. Wait and see, was the answer. In the past, the journalists job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. So I asked if he was aware that there had been a piece in the Sun over the summer, calling for Baxter to come back to television. A Gannett Company. Bringing the very best to his latest film role, Crooks Anonymous, starring alongside Julie Christie and Leslie Philips. Just a decade ago, his annual television spectaculars were as much a part of Christmas as turkey and hangovers: in December 1985, more than 14 million people tuned in to watch the monkey-faced Scotsman mimic the Queen, in a lavish show that included a full-scale orchestra and battalions of dancers. But immediately afterwards she was so sorry.'. The spotlight was his. But the question is also intriguing: how could someone who once inspired such affection slip from the public gaze so completely, in so short a space of time? What none but his closest friends realised was that Baxter was desperately unhappy, his personal life a battlefield. . I was utterly overwhelmed. He returned to the BBC but, after a one-off in 1986 in which he played 37 roles (including Mae West, whom he first impersonated aged six), that contract also ended. Oh, they all varied, said the agent, suddenly sounding irritated. But fame made his clandestine life even more risky. After a meal with Baxter in October 1969, Williams wrote: At one point when I said to S. I sometimes feel I am so useless I just want to die. He revealed he was worried his career would be over because of the incident before his lawyer got the charge dropped. It was partly a feeling of I'll show them, that I could be as heterosexual as the rest of them.. Newsquest Media Group Ltd, Loudwater Mill, Station Road, High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire. Stanley was bringing the values of a different time and place into a world that had changed. Since graduating from the University of Tulsa College of Law in 1992, Robertson has been honored with numerous awards for her work as a Tulsa Family Law attorney. Baxter is appearing on a charges of soliciting and public indecency. No. THE PRICE of fame seems to have shot through the roof; just ask Michael Barrymore or Gazza. Birth sign: Gemini. The star penned: "Anybody would be insane to choose to live such a very difficult life. The star, who is best known for his self-titled comedy shows and his childrens TV series Mr Majeika, stepped away from the spotlight 25 years ago. No. Although we'd spend lots of time in each other's beds, nothing happened. where are we up to? A year later, on March 5, 1952, the train sped west to Moiras parents home in Dumbarton for the ceremony. Getting dark. Bringing businesses together in the emerging, disruptive technology space across; FinTech, Quantum Technologies and Quantitative Trading Technologies through face to face and virtual meetings and events. Help us build the largest biographies collection on the web! I don't think you know what you're talking about and I don't think you realise that the future will be bleak for you and difficult for me., Stanley was adamant. He moved to London eight years later. He says now that he'd known for years that he found men more attractive than women, because at the Saturday morning cinema club he could not take his eyes off the half-naked Johnny Weissmuller as Tarzan, rather than Maureen O'Sullivan's Jane. I couldve hugged him. Other entries in the diary recall Baxter speaking of a desperate clinging to privacy and the rejection of a potentially hostile world. So he must have felt a shiver when the waspish diaries of his late friend Kenneth Williams were published two years ago. Im not entirely sure who I am. He was previously married to Moira Robertson. Baxter is appearing on a charges of. 'She told me she was hearing voices,' Baxter says. Bei kommerzieller Verwendung sowie fr verkaufsfrdernde Zwecke kontaktieren Sie bitte Ihr. I sloped away to look around some of them, then went for some Fishermans Bake and a pint at the local pub, feeling pretty miserable. After switching to ITV with the promise of a colossal budget for The Stanley Baxter Picture Show, he met a 28-year-old German accountant named Marcus. Im not. I wrote to Stanley Baxter at his home, requesting an interview. And your editor. How much had the big television specials cost to make? Private passions are what we care about most, skeletons in the cupboard; but even knowing the colour of the upholstery will do. His performance of Eager Young Husband was the worst he would give in his life. And, yes, the address I had was the correct one. But there was no chance of a reconciliation. Ill let you know through my agent, OK? People who knew you knew the shorthand and the jargon. 'Marcus took me completely by surprise. I shouldn't have done, but I did. (this was eventually broadcast on Radio 2 earlier this week). Stanley Baxter, Actor: Crooks Anonymous. Yes! Anyway, here it is: a piece from a time before the internet or ubiquitous mobiles, when the celebrity age was just beginning but you still had to go to the library to look at the electoral register. Useless. He took her passport, to prevent her from trying to follow him. He took his time. I didn't think that she was ever going to make it very big and I suggested she give it up. 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. They procrastinated for several weeks, then passed me on to Channel 4s press office. By the age of 14 when he became radio star he knew where his destiny lay. Finally, I realised that I would have to let Stanley Baxter rest in peace. Suddenly, she raced to the front window of their second storey flat, opened it and climbed out onto the window ledge, yelling, If I can't have you then I won't settle for anyone else! Pinnwnde sind ideal zum Speichern von Bildern und Videoclips. It was all good, clean, pre-Carry On fun. He had always felt guilty for marrying her. Eccentric. By 1999, he was fearful that an unauthorised biography might be commissioned against his wishes. What would the neighbours think? Those who didnt want to be troubled with it could simply take it at face value. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories. 'She would think the television was talking to her.' Look, do you mind? Moira's behaviour became more alarming. Whatever changes come into society, they have already learnt discretion. They became lovers. She talked of killing herself, but he was shocked when a friend called round to find the front door wide open and Moira in the bath, the water crimson with blood. Managing Director. The pulleys were always full of stuff., Moira was more Dora from David Copperfield than Glaswegian domestic goddess. Once again, the gates around Baxter had been locked. I like to retreat into playing other people. You wont tell me which part of London, will you? I dont deserve it, I know, but if anyone can help me at this dreadful period, it is him, Williams wrote before leaving home. ', Stanley and Moira (left and right) on their honeymoon in London in 1952. Stanley asked the same question of himself but pushed the answer aside. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. 'I could be as heterosexual as the rest of them.'. 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!' Managing a portfolio of SME clients across a range of sectors and complexities. Fine, but not much help to me. He died aged just 26 and Stanley was heartbroken. He never appeared as himself. There was no reply from the intercom buzzer. Stanley Baxter. Registered in England & Wales | 01676637 |. But not a complete no: perhaps, hed said, perhaps yours will be the one. Meanwhile, on January 15, 1951, the engagement became national news, yet this didnt really register with Stanley. Nobody would tell me. Its just prohibitive, you know, because they were such big specials. No mention of his wife, Moira, though. Baxter himself often spoke of wanting to die. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself. We became close, without it ever being more than friendship.'. His agent advised him to engage the celebrity barrister David Jacobs, who had recently won a libel case for Liberace when a newspaper implied the flamboyant entertainer was gay. 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. Robertson nos faltan datos sobre su ao de nacimiento, entries in the,... And they said you might be commissioned against his wishes in his life because they such. You knew the way I felt about him sowie fr verkaufsfrdernde Zwecke kontaktieren Sie Ihr... Of homosexual men by covert police officers was common days, could be. Of himself but pushed the answer aside the most successful entertainers of life! 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