Keith Baxter (actor)


Keith Stanley Baxter-Wright was a Welsh theatre, film and television actor and director.

Early years and RADA

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. 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.

Films

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, Golden Rendezvous, and Killing Time.

Broadway

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

Other selected theatrical appearances

Macbeth, Birmingham Repertory Theatre, Birmingham, England, 1972

Directing

The Red Devil Battery Sign, Roundhouse and Phoenix Theatre, 1977Time and the Conways, 1988–89Rope, Chichester Festival Theatre then Wyndham's Theatre, 1994Dangerous Corner, Chichester Festival Theatre, 1994, and Whitehall Theatre, 1995Gaslight After October, 1996–97Silhouette
Baxter regularly directed shows at Shakespeare Theatre Company in Washington D.C., including:

''Cleopatra''

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. He also later played Mark Antony opposite Maggie Smith's Cleopatra in Antony and Cleopatra at the Stratford Festival in Canada in 1976.

Television work

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

Other work

Baxter was the author of a memoir, My Sentiments Exactly and of several plays, including 56 Duncan Terrace, Cavell and Barnaby and the Old Boys.
In 1971 he recorded an LP of several short stories by 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.

Personal life and death

During the 1960s Baxter had a brief affair with the dancer Rudolf Nureyev. 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.

Theatre awards