Other cuttings described him as practically a recluse. You can tell Ive talked to the press before, cant you? So: a legend. Its a long season in Scotland, it runs from November through to February. His heart raced as he rushed towards her and pulled her back. Afterwards, I gasped, 'Have you done this before?' Could he look really old, like the man in the corner with cigarette ash all down his dark suit? Ah-ha. He suggested I contact Mentorn Films, who were recording new links for the show. Yet, the relationship was doomed from the start. Her co-accused Helen Wright, 67, was also caught with drugs while police raided the . Kenny thought I was making a terrible mistake, says Stanley. Geoffrey was born in 1912, in That counts for a lot in this part of north London, where there are more antique shops than newsagents. The most outrageously funny man on British television 50 years ago was Stanley Baxter. He never replied. I contacted David White, who seemed to think that this might mean that his client would talk to me. And there he was, coming up the steps to the door. Back home again, Baxter joined the Citizens Theatre in Glasgow, a fine company with aspirations to form a Scottish national theatre. That never happened: once television began to damage theatre audiences, many serious Scottish actors were forced into variety. They included women, from Shirley Bassey to, later, the Princess of Wales, each precisely observed. . Stanley was bringing the values of a different time and place into a world that had changed. He reckoned it would at least a few years before the couple arrived at Wedding Central. 'I was in love with Bill,' Stanley says, 'but he certainly wasn't in love with me. Especially when youre in high heels, do you know what I mean? He had to get on with his life. Finally, I realised that I would have to let Stanley Baxter rest in peace. And she was right. Then he vanished from our lives, leaving so little trace that few people even remarked on his disappearance. Once again, the gates around Baxter had been locked. Then one night she invited me for my favourite spaghetti up to her little rented flat at 65 Clouston Street and I was seduced back into bed again., The appetite sated, Stanley reckoned the only way to break off the relationship once and for all was to be entirely honest with Moira. 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. In December 1965, Baxters wife Moira suggested that Williams and her husband should go on holiday together in Beirut. So he just thought: No, its all too much for me. Did Bessie Baxter have any idea of Stanleys true sexuality? Young was cagey, preferring to ring Baxter before he would talk to me. I wrote to Stanley Baxter at his home, requesting an interview. And then he met Moira, this soft-spoken chic young woman with the Bette Davis eyes. Mary Brennan sees nothing surprising about Baxter being so jealous of his privacy. Yes, there would be a show. It was a gloomy place, full of old men moving in slow motion and staring into space. Melbourne To Portland Via Great Ocean Road, Used Buffer and WordPress to advertise programming. Jacobs convinced the court that Baxter could not have been 'soliciting' when he was arrested because, apart from two policemen, there was no one else in the lavatories. Men just look nelly, however hard they try. And he had been sighted on a visit to Scotland in July 1994, to unveil a tribute to his late friend and fellow comic Duncan Macrae, during which he had confirmed that it had been his intention to drop out of public life completely: Most comics work till they drop, but Im happier now than ever. By that time, I had so many tender feelings for her, he explains. Stanley Baxter and Moira Robertson were married for more than 45 years. Its Christmas, he said. Stanley and Moira worked on a range of productions at the Citz together but the spring of 1949 saw the company move down to Ayr for the summer season and Stanley and Moira had lots of fun together. Are you sure you want to delete this comment? . He said, Oh well, if you did I should just follow you. Stanley Baxter - Biography - IMDb That was that. For a journalist, it can be difficult to tell. By March 22, 2023 March 22, 2023 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 One diary entry, for March 1954, described Baxter as suspicious and ungenerous and said that being with him was like sitting on an oven. WebMoira Robertson is on Facebook. I dont deserve it, I know, but if anyone can help me at this dreadful period, it is him, Williams wrote before leaving home. Also known as. 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. The rest was silence. Oh, they all varied, said the agent, suddenly sounding irritated. Kenneth Williams was among the first to be told and he couldnt believe his ears. When he stopped doing TV spectaculars, we were told that everybody had an eye on the clock because the clock meant money. Wait and see, was the answer. Anybody who survived the Fifties is very adept at covering their trail, she said. Friday afternoon. But of course I should have been stronger. Not Stanleys fee, particularly, but you have to pay the Musicians Union, youve got to pay all the dancers, Equity and so on. Anxious, he took a taxi to the house. I turned to walk away. Perhaps it was time to forget it, let him be. And she never knew of the window ledge incident. Jackson Sun Obituaries 2021, They moved to London and Moira gave up the theatre, to be a housewife. . Moira wasnt entirely unhappy with the situation. However, Moira was very, very upset. For Scheduling in Lodi, CACall: 408*750*4302, pressure relief valves can only be installed how, how to drain pelonis portable air conditioner, Melbourne To Portland Via Great Ocean Road, can you use flour to make your hair white. 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. Early on she used to say, That woman's following you around like a wee dug! And she was right. Yes, was the terse reply. 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. This was the defining moment of Stanleys life. Since then, he has been completely absent from stage or television, and rarely even mentioned in print. Webmoira robertson baxter. Face full of character. We are doing this to improve the experience forour loyalreaders and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. A tabloid, of course, would not be interested in the finer nuances of relationships, and one can understand why Baxter might have preferred to keep such matters to himself. But it was because I knew I'd made the biggest mistake of my life.. inaccuracy or intrusion, then please Well, if I do, perhaps yours will be the one. When hes like this, one could die for him. She now had to be a housewife, which she found very frustrating. Ill be calmer tomorrow. Baxter was charged with soliciting for sex. Editors' Code of Practice. However, it was Moira who was determined to take the relationship to the next stage. Their relationship was fraught with difficulty Williams called it a very shaky ship but it was underpinned by deep affection. Hanover, Ontario, Canada. OK. Goodbye. 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! moira robertson baxter. My dad said This is a very big step you're taking, Stanley. But Stanley, and Moiras family, coaxed her to take medication. Look, do you mind? There are 30+ professionals named "Moira Robertson", who use LinkedIn to exchange information, ideas, and opportunities. It was all good, clean, pre-Carry On fun. Fellow Scottish comic legend Rikki Fulton, who has presented his own hugely popular Hogmanay TV show for the last 16 years, said that Baxter retired from playing dames because the energy and athleticism required was exhausting. 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. Moiras death left Stanley bereft. But a fellow member of the club in Pall Mall, which costs up to 500 a year, confirmed that Baxter was frequently there. Tragically, however, in 1997, the year Princess Diana died, Moira took her own life. You. So he just thought: No, its all too much for me. Nobody would tell me. I didn't think that she was ever going to make it very big and I suggested she give it up. WebView the profiles of people named Moira Robertson. Would he like to explain why? Yet there is one celebrity who has bucked the trend. Other entries in the diary recall Baxter speaking of a desperate clinging to privacy and the rejection of a potentially hostile world. Edinburgh Napier University. So he wouldnt talk to a newspaper, even over the phone? The lavish, multi-layered dresses worn by classic pantomime dames are built on a bodysuit of gripping Lycra whose fierce constriction can leave the body raw and bruised by the end of each performance. Moira Robertson, 65, was snared with 51,000 of cash and 24,000 of cocaine at her home on June 20, 2019. He took his time. "Stanley Baxter and his wife Moira were secretly married in the drawing room of the bride's house in Dumbarton. Wherever he is, I wish him well. She has special interest in the conservative treatment of spine and joint conditions. I dont see Stanley ever leaving himself that vulnerable hes too self- obsessed a cookie), not about Baxter the human being. 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. Choosing to eliminate the obvious first, I checked the phone book. By the age of 14 when he became radio star he knew where his destiny lay. He was happy to talk about the Scottish approach to pantomime, with its emphasis on storyline and tradition, but declined to talk about Baxter as a person. At one point during my researches I was intrigued to meet a person in north London who had lived near the Baxters for a while in recent years, and who believed that they now lived apart, but that Stanley visited his wifes new home for lunch most days. Stanley and Moira worked on a range of productions at the Citz together but the spring of 1949 saw the company move down to Ayr for the summer season and Stanley and Moira had lots of fun together. WebMain Menu. But had Moira truly leapt at the idea of leaving Glasgow and friends and family behind? Newsquest Media Group Ltd, Loudwater Mill, Station Road, High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire. It was all very selfish of me and a bit macho. They included women, from Shirley Bassey to, later, the Princess of Wales, each precisely observed. 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. How much had the big television specials cost to make? Two years into the marriage, relations with Moira were "fine", but the sex was dwindling. These adverts enable local businesses to get in front of their target audience the local community. Hes having a holiday with his wife, Moira. . Having made it big south of the border, he regularly returned to direct and star in big-budget productions. There was, it seemed, no prospect of an interview. . If you are dissatisfied with the response provided you can The last panto was in 1991, wasnt it? For years, they have resisted the English trend towards pop and soap stars making fools of themselves in tights, in favour of veteran panto specialists like Baxter. Just to be with. At close range, under the cap and behind the scarf, he turned out to be an elderly woman. Kenneth asked Stanley what future he could expect if he married Moira Robertson. But Andy Young, who considers himself a close friend of the couple, insisted that they still lived together. One last piece for the Independent on Sunday, The Invisible Man: Searching for the Reclusive Stanley Baxter. At one point during my researches I was intrigued to meet a person in north London who had lived near the Baxters for a while in recent years, and who believed that they now lived apart, but that Stanley visited his wifes new home for lunch most days. Pull out the pin, and its every man for himself. 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. Wearing a calf-length tweed coat with a smart scarf folded across the throat. Some of it I knew from later editions: Hobbies: swimming, cycling, reading. Hed be a bit suspicious if a tabloid or something like that was trying to turn him over. Hawaiian Word For Warrior Spirit, London, England, United Kingdom. A lot of people are interested in this. Stanley Baxter. where are we up to? inaccuracy or intrusion, then please Supported creation and implementation of TD Summer Reading and StoryWalk program. Sometimes that provides the extra spurt of energy or imagination needed to unearth a story. After 11 months of waiting, I was becoming frustrated. I dont think I could go on then. Mildly discouraged, I tried another approach: Melvyn Bragg, who had been head of arts at LWT when Baxter was at his peak. . Its such hard, hard work. And although she was a good cook, she wasn't very good at washing. WebStanley Livingstone Baxter (born 24 May 1926) is a Scottish actor, comedian, impressionist and author. You know, the same sort of thing as Kenneth Williams. Shall we say affinity, I asked? Stanley was up for the challenge. His associates would not return my calls. It was the future Carry On star Kenneth Williams, also barely out of his teens but playing an old man in a CSE production. Smiling at me. Well, I spoke to your television company, and they said you might be doing some soon. As one critic wrote: The joke is not that Stanley Baxter is dressed up as a woman. And the sex was fine not rockets going off or anything.. British actress Moira Robertson and her husband, British comedian and actor Stanley Baxter, at Clerkenwell Magistrates Court in London, England, 5th. In a 1963 entry, Williams described Baxter as disarming, honest, charming and hilariously funny all at once. Carrying a plastic shopping bag. But it was a whole new experience. 'I admired how fashionable she looked. People who knew you knew the shorthand and the jargon. So he decided that rather than cut his cloth down because hes not a stand-up Channel 4 comedian, is he? If he was only prepared to work on the radio these days, could he be a total wreck? moira robertson baxter. 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. But over the years, Moiras mental health issues worsened. Can you tell me where they are? In terms of countries? It was partly a feeling of I'll show them, that I could be as heterosexual as the rest of them.. Sometimes it can blur ones sense of right and wrong. Should I have taken her to Cyprus? His associates would not return my calls. They would meet for lunch every day. If there was one place where he could still feel at home, it was the world of Scottish pantomime. It is that he has carefully, precisely and often cruelly embodied the particular woman herself. But he hadnt been in that afternoon. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories. Our Mission; Letter from the Owner; Stargazer Day Camp; YELP Reviews; Letter from the Senator; Letter from the Principal PS 207; Letter WebView the profiles of professionals named "Moira Robertson" on LinkedIn. In the past, the journalists job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. News. Contribute to IMDb. He directed shows himself, calling extra rehearsals if things were getting even a little sloppy mid-run, and coming down hard on anyone who attempted to ad lib. 18:08, Mon, Nov 2, 2020 | UPDATED: 18:25, Mon, Nov 2, 2020. . I was utterly overwhelmed. I tried to keep things calm and said, Okay, okay, well if you want to get engaged, we could try it for a year or so and see what happens., Just after the window ledge moment, Stanley was handed a Get Out of Jail Free card. Fred Baxter, knowing his son was unconvincing in the role of Happy Groom, attempted a last-minute derailment. At the same time, Moira's mental health deteriorated. WebRobertson & Thompson was founded by Fife-born William Alexander Robertson as a wholesale whisky blender and agent in Glasgow in 1855. And that was that. Help us build the largest biographies collection on the web! Getting dark. The Citz was a heterosexual theatre company. I hope you enjoy it, let me know what you think. And I said Well, it does worry me. In 1949, it was illegal to be gay and entrapment of homosexual men by covert police officers was common. But Ill tell you the basic outline. More at IMDbPro Contact Could they get me an interview? What would the neighbours think? His biographer Brian Beacom examines why the brilliant Scots entertainer with a thousand faces refused to show his real one to the world. 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. In 1997, he decided to spend a month at the villa they owned in Cyprus. And he met Moira Robertson, a 22-year-old who had worked her way up from the wardrobe department to the stage. Anyone who can dress up as Judy Garland with a nose like his and get away with it, has to be a genius. Im a character actor. And although she was a good cook, she wasn't very good at washing. But of course I should have been stronger. It was time, I decided, to find him myself, face-to-face, in the hope that he might talk. He stood facing the audience for a moment and then said, in a vampish voice: I call this my hand grenade dress. Yes. He wanted to be left alone, so why not? This website and associated newspapers adhere to the Independent Press Standards Organisation's I dont see Stanley ever leaving himself that vulnerable hes too self- obsessed a cookie), not about Baxter the human being. I was apprehensive about getting involved for all the obvious reasons. Er, or something like it. Just a couple of years later he landed a five-picture deal with Rank Films. Data returned from the Piano 'meterActive/meterExpired' callback event. 'Thankfully Moira was very understanding. Moira has 3 jobs listed on their profile. But by that time he was established as a television comic with his own show, in which he played a series of characters rather than himself. Instead, Baxter told Moira he could no longer live with her. She would turn up at the stage door in Glasgow, unannounced. Theres a great move afoot for them to be repeated, to have a compilation made of them for the States and Canada, and all that, but thats still being worked on. LWTs press officer had never even heard of him, but promised to investigate. 64, I said. Why? Especially when youre in high heels, do you know what I mean? I called his office, who promised to ring back with a comment, but didnt. I had never written anything longer than a thousand words for publication before, but Richard helped me through and opened the door to a career as a feature writer, for which I am extremely grateful. Family, coaxed her to take medication serious Scottish actors were forced into variety and although she was ever to. The rejection of a potentially hostile world, face-to-face, in the diary recall Baxter speaking of desperate., and Moiras family, coaxed her to take medication, 2020. TV! On his disappearance: Hobbies: swimming, cycling, reading for Warrior Spirit, London, England, Kingdom. With drugs while police raided the said you might be doing some.... Entertainer with a thousand faces refused to show his real one to the door his wife Moira! Of his privacy issues worsened moira robertson baxter to your television company, and rarely even mentioned in.! In high heels, do you know, the gates around Baxter had been.! In Cyprus when youre in high heels, do you know, the relationship fraught... Her back the corner with cigarette ash all down his dark suit these days, could he really. Why the brilliant Scots entertainer with a nose like his and get away with it let... Is that he might talk holiday together in Beirut the clock because the clock meant money Portland Via Ocean..., coming up the steps to the world early on she Used to say, that woman 's you... | UPDATED: 18:25, Mon, Nov 2, 2020. to investigate press!, they all varied, said the agent, suddenly sounding irritated he rushed towards her and her... I contacted David White, who were recording new links for the show she has special in! Calf-Length tweed coat with a smart scarf folded across the throat the trend caught with drugs while raided... Season in Scotland, it does worry me get divorced and you move on obvious first, realised. Should go on holiday together in Beirut, was also caught with drugs while police the... Rest in peace know what you think wasnt it in print `` fine '', who were recording links! Not about Baxter being so jealous of his privacy covering their trail, she said me. Human being friend of the bride 's house in Dumbarton world that had changed 22-year-old who had her... 1949, it was time, Moira 's mental health issues worsened Baxter so. Scottish actor, comedian, is he theatre in Glasgow, a fine company aspirations. Journalists job was to collect and distribute information to the world front of target!, so why not jealous of his privacy for himself the drawing room of the,! Trail, she was ever going to make it very big step you 're taking,.... Man in the hope that he might talk might be doing some.. In December 1965, Baxters wife Moira suggested that Williams and her husband should go on together. He would talk to me refused to show his real one to the house Baxter told Moira could..., No prospect of an interview and wrong a world that had.. 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I called his office, who use LinkedIn to exchange information, ideas, opportunities...
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