Keith Baxter

Keith Stanley Baxter-Wright (29 April 1933 – 24 September 2023) was a Welsh theatre, film and television actor and director.

Keith Stanley Baxter-Wright was born in Newport, Monmouthshire, on 29 April 1933. He was the son of Stanley Baxter-Wright, a Merchant Navy sea captain, and Emily Baxter (née Howell). They lived for a time in Romilly Road, Barry, Glamorgan. He was educated at Newport High School and Barry Grammar School. His early introduction to the stage was from his interest in making model theatres and stage scenery. He studied at London's Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts, during which period he shared a flat with a classmate, Alan Bates. He made his film debut in the 1957 remake of The Barretts of Wimpole Street and appeared uncredited as a detective in the British horror classic Peeping Tom (1960).

In 1960, Orson Welles selected Baxter to portray Prince Hal in his stage production Chimes at Midnight, which combined portions of the Shakespearean plays Henry IV, Part I, Henry IV, Part II, Henry V, Richard II, and The Merry Wives of Windsor and brought the comic figure of Falstaff to the forefront of a primarily tragic tale. Baxter repeated his performance in the 1965 film version. Additional film credits include Ash Wednesday (1973; with Elizabeth Taylor), Golden Rendezvous (1977), and Killing Time (1998).

In 1961, Baxter made his Broadway debut as King Henry VIII in A Man for All Seasons. Other New York City stage credits included The Affair (1962), Avanti! (1968), Sleuth (1970), Romantic Comedy (1980) and The Woman in Black (2001).

Baxter regularly directed shows at Shakespeare Theatre Company in Washington D.C., including:

Baxter was signed for the role of Octavian "Augustus" Caesar opposite Elizabeth Taylor's Cleopatra in the 1963 film of Cleopatra. Taylor's bout of pneumonia, soon after filming began, temporarily shut down filming. By the time she recovered, Baxter had other commitments and Roddy McDowall assumed the role. Baxter co-starred with Taylor in the film Ash Wednesday (1973). He also later played Mark Antony opposite Maggie Smith's Cleopatra in Antony and Cleopatra at the Stratford Festival in Canada in 1976.

Baxter's television work included appearances in Gideon's Way, The Avengers, Hawaii Five-O, Thriller (1976) and the 1998 mini-series Merlin.

Baxter was the author of My Sentiments Exactly, memoirs. He has written several plays including 56 Duncan Terrace, Cavell and Barnaby and the Old Boys.

In 1971, he recorded an LP of several of the short stories of Saki for Caedmon Records under the title Reginald on House-Parties, and Other Stories.

Baxter was an associate member of the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art.

During the 1960s, Baxter had a brief affair with the dancer Rudolf Nureyev.[10] In 1979, he met Brian Holden and formed a lasting relationship; they married in 2016, and moved from London to West Sussex.

Keith Baxter died from a heart attack while swimming on holiday in Corsica, on 24 September 2023. He was 90, and was survived by his husband.

Details

Vorname:Keith
Geburtsdatum:29.04.1933 (♉ Stier)
Geburtsort:Newport
Sterbedatum:24.09.2023
Nationalität:Vereinigtes Königreich
Sprachen:Englisch;
Geschlecht:♂männlich
Berufe:Schauspieler, Fernsehschauspieler,

Merkmalsdaten

GND:N/A
LCCN:N/A
NDL:N/A
VIAF:63683860
BnF:N/A
ISNI:N/A
LCNAF:no2002091884
Filmportal:N/A
IMDB:N/A
Datenstand: 29.03.2024 10:31:43Uhr