He was sent to India, and then further East to Burma, where he was promoted to corporal and assigned duties as a typist (Class 3). Would it have happened anyway? Anyone trying to hide will be photographed from a distance or forced on to daytime television. Hes never done a chat show in his life. 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. He rang back the next day, but the news was bad. They were married for 46 years. 'I turned down too many parts . He never replied. The pair developed a closeness that meant when they weren't working they enjoyed a movie or dinner together. Experiences in the Far East during his concert party stint confirmed to the Scot where his heart lay. 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. The decriminalisation of gay sex between consenting adults was still five years away. . It is important that we continue to promote these adverts as our local businesses need as much support as possible during these challenging times. 'Marcus took me completely by surprise. 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. 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. No mention of his wife, Moira, though. Wherever he is, I wish him well. But unknown to the world, Granny and the eponymous hero had decided to marry. 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. 'I was in love with Bill,' Stanley says, 'but he certainly wasn't in love with me. Is it possible that we can have a chat with him? From beyond the grave, Williams talked about him more frankly and perhaps imaginatively than any living friend would. And the decision may have played a part his wifes untimely death. "Kenny thought I was making a terrible mistake," says Stanley. If there was one place where he could still feel at home, it was the world of Scottish pantomime. What it did entail was years of loneliness, beginning on their honeymoon night. Millions were scandalised and breathless with laughter. Private passions are what we care about most, skeletons in the cupboard; but even knowing the colour of the upholstery will do. It was absolutely selfish. In 1959, Stanley realised the writing was on the wall for variety theatre in Scotland and moved to London. Then youve got the orchestra, and dancers. British actress Moira Robertson and her husband, British comedian and actor Stanley Baxter, at Clerkenwell Magistrates Court in London, England, 5th. Baxter was a great talker among his close-knit circle of friends, said Mr Young, but was also wary of outsiders. The changing weather had given me a cold, so the stout went straight to my head, and the meal was tasteless. I told her my preference and said, Thats why I am breaking off the relationship. Developed and created Craft kits for children and teens. She was 69 years old. Moira was dead on her bed from an overdose. If I wanted a closer look at him it would have to be on my television on 4 January. Yet he was, and is, missed: in England, as the funniest man on television; in Scotland where they take panto very seriously as the greatest dame of the century: a master of the double entendre and the quick, stunning costume-change. Pull out the pin, and its every man for himself. London, England, United Kingdom. marty odlin, running tide; jay mcgwire wife Menu Toggle. I like to retreat into playing other people. The Real Stanley Baxter by Brian Beacom is published by Luath Press Ltd, 20. In the past, the journalists job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. And he met Moira Robertson, a 22-year-old who had worked her way up from the wardrobe department to the stage. The pulleys were always full of stuff., Moira was more Dora from David Copperfield than Glaswegian domestic goddess. Since he was a toddler, Bessie had taken him to vaudeville shows. Login . This was Angus Lennie, once the chef in Crossroads. Nostrils flaring. ', Beset with doubts, he confessed to Moira that all his previous affairs had been with men. It had been run over in the street. But fame made his clandestine life even more risky. Posted on 24 februari 2023 by. But although the urgency had gone, the curiosity remained. In January, 1962, he was focused hard on his career. A psychiatrist diagnosed schizophrenia, but she refused to take medication. Beaten with sticks.'. Newsquest Media Group Ltd, Loudwater Mill, Station Road, High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire. And he turned it down. And wasnt marriage about compromise? 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. contact the editor here. 'I'm too afraid of what people will think of me,' he said. Smiling at me. What about? The book was 10 years old, but it was worth a try. Say goodbye? The STANDS4 Network. This was the defining moment of Stanleys life. About Us; Staff; Camps; Scuba. Jul 1988 - Present34 years 4 months. I guess I had come to really like Moira. The BBC couldnt help, and neither could London Weekend Television, for whom Baxter had made many of his most successful shows in the Seventies. .Baxter was born in Glasgow in 1928, and raised in the genteel suburb of Kelvinside. There was also a tiny quote from Baxter in the Times of November 1992, about how the role of Principal Boy should only be played by a woman: All those frills. 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. Why? Perhaps that is why hardly anyone noticed when, after 1985, he left the television spotlight altogether, just as the glare was getting hotter. Retirement, at the relatively early age of 63, was total. He died aged just 26 and Stanley was heartbroken. Hes not there anyway. Or just give her the only thing she had ever asked for to be with him. Stanley Baxter specials became vanishingly rare: one at Christmas 1976, the next at Easter 1979. A loved one. His biographer Brian Beacom examines why the brilliant Scots entertainer with a thousand faces refused to show his real one to the world. The tracks had long been covered by this time last year, when Ian Jack, then editor of the Independent on Sunday and (being a Scot) a Stanley Baxter fan, issued his decree. If there were someone I were interested in, I could bring them home. And he reads the Independent. bclc lotto app not working; signs your internship will turn into a job; mary suehr schmitz. In terms of countries? When he called her from the airport, on his return to the UK several weeks later, she didn't answer. And I said Well, it does worry me. Moira wrote him a very sane and balanced letter. Kenneth asked Stanley what future he could expect if he married Moira Robertson. If she did, she never let on. Moira wasnt entirely unhappy with the situation. Instead, he withdrew from the showbiz world. Anyone who can dress up as Judy Garland with a nose like his and get away with it, has to be a genius. May 2021 - Present1 year 9 months. . In 1970, with The Stanley Baxter Show a huge BBC hit, he moved out of their house and took the apartment in Highgate Village that would be his refuge for the rest of his life. He did impersonations of Laurel and Hardy, and Mae West. He was also aware of the need to have a cover. Fine, but not much help to me. Despite his success, he had, in fact, always had a certain invisibility. . 'I admired how fashionable she looked. And the new rules dont apply just to celebrities on the A-List: newsreaders and weather girls must also be prepared to have the minutiae of their lives subjected to close scrutiny, or at the very least have Loyd Grossman look through their keyholes. Data returned from the Piano 'meterActive/meterExpired' callback event. . No, you might publish it. There were things he might like to say, but it wouldnt be in keeping to do so. No. Im not being naughty, but no. And why shouldn't he? 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! And he met Moira Robertson, a 22-year-old who had worked her way up from the wardrobe department to the stage. He later recalled trying to use his scripts to hide hands encrusted with coal dust, an early indication of the self- consciousness that was to become as ingrained as the coal.Invalided out of the mines with an ear problem, Baxter joined the left- wing Unity Theatre in Glasgow. I turned to walk away. View more posts, Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window), Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window), Click to share on LinkedIn (Opens in new window), Click to email a link to a friend (Opens in new window), It was 20 years ago todayish. His agent was still stonewalling, and his old television company had forgotten him. Alpha Events. Absolutely not? When hes like this, one could die for him. And we never really discovered who he was, other than a brilliant character actor and impersonator; as the rules of celebrity changed, he simply refused to play by them. Baxter was 46, and thought their two-day fling would be no more than a brief encounter. Fair enough. He had moved past me to the door, and said good-bye as he shut it. 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. But what the Daily Express didnt know was that when Stanley arrived home, with the sound of Saturday evening theatre applause still ringing in his ears, he broke down in tears. 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. 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. We would like to show you a description here but the site won't allow us. My mother didnt think any woman was good enough for me [Bessie Baxters principal purpose in life was to grow a showbiz star] but there was more to her criticism of Moira. As he grew up, she was intensely jealous and would shoo away any girls who admired him: 'She started telling me about these two boys who once took a wee girl into a haunted house up the road and did terrible things to her. I thought, I really hate this. It truly means nothing if our council is having to make decisions which . but hes never done one. The more I got to know of her I realised she was a lovely person, a woman of enormous heart.. Stanley Baxter. 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. How? Faye has joined us as receptionist and front of house expert on a maternity . And your editor. How much had the big television specials cost to make? 'She would think the television was talking to her.' Television doesnt work like that: budgets and budgets. Newspaper interviews were very rare; he never appeared on a chat show. But it was a whole new experience. Not him, then. The dark, often highly dramatic script of their life together began when he joined the Citz in 1948, shortly after being demobbed. THE LEAVES on the pavement were being sucked upwards by the cold wind, or turned to mush by rain. After the war in Europe was over, in June 1945, a 19-year-old Baxter was told to report to the Seaforth Highlanders regiment. A life without stress you cannae whack it! Having made it big south of the border, he regularly returned to direct and star in big-budget productions. Moira died of an overdose, aged 69. Im not giving any interviews at the moment. An edge in his voice. Kenneth Williams was among the first to be told and he couldnt believe his ears. covid vaccine causing ovarian cyst. Certainly not Kenneth Williams: 'I remember sitting with him in an Italian restaurant, and telling him that I was very low. Yet, I had all sorts of excuses for developing a relationship. 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. paul coronation street nose rheagen smith mother hope wilson greg kerfoot whistler house mary crandall hales the hive server ip and port how to know if a sagittarius man is interested wotlk hit rating calculator semillas de lichi propiedades lamesa, texas obituaries what was the explosion at the end of tomorrow man pescience cake pop protein recipes can you drive to blue lagoon cyprus mission . Baxter would tell the whole truth, on condition that it remained a secret. Meanwhile, if you think about it, if you changed out of your pyjamas if you wear any into your clothes, then got to the theatre and for the rest of the afternoon you had 32 dress changes to make, then you go out for a cup of tea and change again, then you do 32 in the evening. She was in love with him and Baxter believed he was falling in love with her. . For a nation still mourning the loss of Eric Morecambe, Baxter another survivor of the gentler, pre-television days of variety theatre seemed ready to succeed to the title of Britains Favourite Comedian. His father was a branch manager of Commercial Union while his mother would have liked to have been an actress, When the family agreed that acting was respectable his mother took him round halls where he gave renderings of Harry Lauder and . The spotlight was his. Then, in early autumn, I heard that Channel 4 was working on a compilation of the best of Baxters television shows, to be screened this Christmas. A PAIR of drug dealing Glasgow grans who were caught with over 24,000 worth of cocaine have been jailed. Yes, as a 14-year-old hed had a frolic with the maid (despite living in a West End tenement Bessie Baxter insisted upon live-in help) but this was an entirely new adventure. Yes, there would be a show. 21:19 EST 30 Oct 2020 Can I call you tomorrow, then, to see if youve changed your mind? Could they get me an interview? He had always felt guilty for marrying her. Baxter was a most brilliant cowboy Coward, a smouldering Dietrich. The charges were dropped, on condition that Baxter promised not to sue the police for wrongful arrest. dexter cattle for sale in missouri, vista murrieta freshman football schedule, allison dubois joe klupar, moj sop login, maria de jesus medical condition simian, paige niemann pictures, ctv news regina personalities, curiosities and oddities shop, maine bob marley comedian family, motorcycle accident yesterday near new york, ny, columbia grading curve, moira robertson baxter, medicine hat [] Fred Baxter, knowing his son was unconvincing in the role of Happy Groom, attempted a last-minute derailment. He first asked me to write his biography more than 20 years ago, but was emphatic that he did not want it to appear while he was alive. His act was so daring that he was probably the first TV comedian to impersonate the Queen. And by the time the then-teenager landed a place in the entertainment corps during his National Service years, Stanley was convinced that acting was his destiny. almost as often as a chambermaid turns down bed sheets.'. No. 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. Moira Robertson (1951 - 1997) (her death) Trivia (6) After spending three years at Glasgow Citizens Theatre, Stanley Baxter moved to London in 1959, where he took part in TV revues for BBC and ITV. Mildly discouraged, I tried another approach: Melvyn Bragg, who had been head of arts at LWT when Baxter was at his peak. 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. Stanley was bringing the values of a different time and place into a world that had changed. Well see what happens. The Real Stanley Baxter, by Brian Beacom. Can you tell me where they are? I didn't think that she was ever going to make it very big and I suggested she give it up. WHEN DOES curiosity become intrusion? Instead of gaining the confidence to join them, he shied away, repelled by the high camp 'all chiffon hankies and make-up and flouncing about. Hed be a bit suspicious if a tabloid or something like that was trying to turn him over. Which is not good, when youre in your sixties, is it? I still don't. He took an immediate shine to Baxter. Especially when youre in high heels, do you know what I mean? 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. Free UK delivery on orders over 15. They became lovers. She called him her Sonny Boy and, as his precocious talent emerged, had him perform at every family gathering. Other cuttings described him as practically a recluse. '. Helen Wright, 67, and Moira Robertson, 65, were also snared with 51,000 in cash at a house in Baillieston. I hope you enjoy it, let me know what you think. We hope you've really thought about how important it is., And I said nonchalantly, Oh, not nowadays. . When he returned, he decided to seek medical treatment for his sexual urges. Bringing the very best to his latest film role, Crooks Anonymous, starring alongside Julie Christie and Leslie Philips. 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. He is an absolute control freak, said the critic Mary Brennan. With his telephone number and address in my notebook, I could have rung Stanley Baxter or paid him a visit months ago, instead of waiting for an answer to my letter. . I dont think I could go on then. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. Find him.. 28th February 2023 0. As a subscriber, you are shown 80% less display advertising when reading our articles. Stanley Baxter is one of the most successful entertainers of his generation and for many years had his own Bafta-winning TV series. 3mo. Grandmother Helen Wright, 67, carried out the crime to help pay off her son's drug debt, having recruited friend Moira Robertson, 65 - using the latter's home in Ballieston, Glasgow, as a . He had recorded a radio version of Compton Mackenzies book, Whisky Galore! He says: Did she carry some hope that I would get off the plane, rush round and save her again? His divas and dames were so good they were beyond description. What none but his closest friends realised was that Baxter was desperately unhappy, his personal life a battlefield. 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. Although we'd spend lots of time in each other's beds, nothing happened. No, for the reason I just gave. Im going to cut you short. You know, the same sort of thing as Kenneth Williams. Shall we say affinity, I asked? I don't wish that to stop. Related: la vache la vache chanson parole, contra costa property tax bill lookup, simon the zealot symbol, richard ramirez last interview, hunter spider headset v4 setup, dunlop american elite problems, trane sacc nomenclature, john heilman website, atta boy urban dictionary, missouri tort victims' compensation fund attorney fees, where do sacramento kings players live, alchemy table . It was more than weakness. In a television era rich with comic talent, from Morecambe and Wise to Tommy Cooper, Dick Emery to Mike Yarwood, everyone agreed Stanley Baxter was king. We need you! Also known as. It was the future Carry On star Kenneth Williams, also barely out of his teens but playing an old man in a CSE production. Moira asked me what was wrong and I said something about the emotion of it all. There was, it seemed, no prospect of an interview. . Too short-sighted for active Army service, he was afraid of being assigned to the merchant navy and the Atlantic convoys, but instead he was ordered to report to the coal pits, as a 'Bevin Boy' one of the conscripted mine workers. Can you just tell me, finally, what city he lives in? 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. "Stanley Baxter and his wife Moira were secretly married in the drawing room of the bride's house in Dumbarton. He had to get on with his life. It looked right. Meanwhile, Moira had landed part-time work with a milliner but it didnt seem to hold her interest. 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. Sometimes that provides the extra spurt of energy or imagination needed to unearth a story. but not to publish it. A native of Fountain Inn, son of the late James Chesley and For Bill this was just sexual experimentation, and he would later reject a sexual relationship with Stanley, preferring women. 'He just liked the look of me, I guess,' Baxter says, 'which wasn't always the way with Kenny and people. But it worried me: was it right to doorstep a man who had worked so hard all his life to keep the private roped off from the public? Er, or something like it. Facebook gives people the power. One diary entry, for March 1954, described Baxter as suspicious and ungenerous and said that being with him was like sitting on an oven. Oh, they all varied, said the agent, suddenly sounding irritated. I kept getting those sheeps eyes every time she passed me in the theatre and she appeared to be heartbroken. 'It was real weakness on my part,' he says now. Stanley Baxter delighted over 20 million viewers at a time with his television specials. 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. In fact, Mum showed her disapproval of Moira right from the start., Stanley agrees. Unknown to Stanley, Moira had ditched her medication and the demons raged again. Look, his shows cost a fortune partly because it takes them so long to change and do make-up and so on. It is that he has carefully, precisely and often cruelly embodied the particular woman herself. Recluse. So, no pantos either then? He is an intelligent guy, and he likes to know who hes talking to. Overwhelmed by the knowledge that he was making a mistake that would ruin both their lives, Baxter sat on the wedding bed and sobbed. I began to be scared someone else would do better than me on stage, and my mother would clatter me.'. I called his office, who promised to ring back with a comment, but didnt. And if I don't have a career, what do I have?' I dont deserve it, I know, but if anyone can help me at this dreadful period, it is him, Williams wrote before leaving home. And although she was a good cook, she wasn't very good at washing. Yes, said Young. You. Grandmother Wright carried out the crime in order to help pay off her son's drug debt. She then went to their new Glasgow flat to cook spaghetti for his supper.". I dont know if you got it? There's no doubt about that. He lived in dread of being exposed in the press as a gay man. It was in CSE that Baxter met openly gay men for the first time. And Stanley noticed her little eccentricities, her remoteness, her rejection of life's boring rituals of cleaning, cooking, washing laundry, had become more pronounced. Add new skills with these courses Word: Mail Merge in Depth Cert Prep: Word Associate - Microsoft Office Specialist for Office 2019 . But a fellow member of the club in Pall Mall, which costs up to 500 a year, confirmed that Baxter was frequently there. My dad said This is a very big step you're taking, Stanley. The front door was open. He joined the Citizen's Theatre Company in the Gorbals, an idealistic group performing Ibsen and Shaw to working-class audiences. Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours. Join Facebook to connect with Moira Robertson and others you may know. Friday afternoon. After all, she was with the man she adored. Thinking about that took me back to my first major feature for the IOS, commissioned as an act of reckless faith by the editor Ian Jack and Richard Askwith, who ran the Review magazine and remains one of the finest copy editors I have ever come across. 'I liked her,' Baxter says. At the same time, Moira's mental health deteriorated. And she never knew of the window ledge incident. 2. 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. WHERE do you start, with only a name to go on? Read the full biography of Moira Robertson, including facts, birthday, life story, profession, family and more. 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. for virtual children's programming. Freedom Living in an RV allows you to change location whenever you wish. We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments. It was all very selfish of me and a bit macho. And they were birched! By ' Friends suddenly shunned him, fearful of guilt by association. (Later in my quest, I rang the clubs charming PR woman. Moira tried to take her own life on two occasions. I felt vulnerable. Supported creation and implementation of TD Summer Reading and StoryWalk program. 'I could be as heterosexual as the rest of them.'. Me, said David White. Ill be calmer tomorrow. Stanley's wife of over 45 years Moira Robertson died in 1997 . Stanley weighed up what this all meant. But over the years, Moiras mental health issues worsened. The Robertson family also founded Highland Distillers in 1887 and, ultimately, in 1999 . 'It was like a 3,000 volt electric current going through me. When he stopped doing TV spectaculars, we were told that everybody had an eye on the clock because the clock meant money. But more than that, he feared his fiercely ambitious mother. How would I know what he looked like? A dreadful fantasy played in his head, that he would suffer a heart attack backstage during panto season and be found dead on the floor of the dressing room. Early on she used to say, That woman's following you around like a wee dug! And she was right. His associates would not return my calls. Carrying a plastic shopping bag. And I did love her deeply, in my own way.. This builders daughter and art school graduate was a clever and attractive, if rather ethereal, young woman. She danced too in the gardens in Highgate Village, naked. Calls went unreturned, faxes unanswered. His family remained in Glasgow during the Blitz at first, a teenage Stanley and his mother sheltering under a dining table during the bombing. Well, it was worth a go. Moira; Spouses . OK. Any camper attached to a vehicle registered in Washington must be licensed in Washington; the RV Disposal Fee applies.