Stanley Baxter
Encyclopedia
Stanley Baxter is a Scottish comic
actor and impressionist
, best known for his British television shows. He worked in radio, theatre, television and film.
, Scotland. He was educated at Hillhead High School
, Glasgow and schooled for the stage by his mother. He began his career as a child actor in the Scottish edition of the BBC's Children's Hour
. He developed his performing skills further during his National Service
with the Combined Services Entertainment
unit, working alongside the likes of comedy actor Kenneth Williams
, film director John Schlesinger
and dramatist Peter Nichols
, who used the experience as the basis for his play Privates on Parade.
's then controversial farce What The Butler Saw
at the Queen's Theatre in the West End
with Sir Ralph Richardson
, Coral Browne
and Hayward Morse
. His exacting and demanding nature gave Scotland some of its most glittering pantomimes and Baxter nurtured the stage careers of Alyson McInnes and John Ramage. Baxter remained a great favourite on the Scottish pantomime circuit up until his retirement in 1992, starring with popular Scottish stars, Jimmy Logan
and Una McLean
.
.
Working with director Neil Cargill, he returned to radio by taking the role of Noël Coward
in the BBC World Service
Play of the Week, Marvellous Party, written by Jon Wynne-Tyson
, it also starred Dorothy Tutin
as Coward's lifelong friend, Esme Wynne-Tyson (Jon's mother). Also with Cargill, he read Whisky Galore and Jimmy Swan - The Joy Traveller for BBC Radio, providing the voices of all the characters.
After a lengthy spell in self-imposed retirement, he appeared in 2004 in a series of four half-hour radio sitcoms for BBC Radio 4
, entitled Stanley Baxter and Friends; the success of this has led to further series entitled The Stanley Baxter Playhouse in 2006, 2008, 2009 and 2010, and Two Pipe Problems with Richard Briers
in 2008, 2009 and 2010.
In 2009 Eddie Izzard
presented The Stanley Baxter Story on BBC Radio 2
.
(1955), Very Important Person
(1961), The Fast Lady
(1962), Crooks Anonymous
(1962) and Father Came Too!
(1963), the last three alongside James Robertson Justice
, together with the animation Arabian Knight (1995).
. The Stanley Baxter Show ran between 1963 and 1971 on BBC One
, and his Stanley Baxter Picture Show from 1972 to 1975 on ITV
.
of the city and developed it to comic effect. This sketch was included in one of his BBC Scotland series in the 1960s and was based on the corporation's first venture into language programmes Parliamo Italiano ('Let's speak Italian'). A memorable scene sees him at the local market, asking the trader "Izat a marra on yer barra, Clara?", which he then translates as "Is that a marrow on your barrow, Clara?". Another introduced the Glaswegian word "sanoffy", as in "Sanoffy cold day" ("It's an awfully cold day").
and later appeared in the lead role in Mr Majeika
, developed from the books by Humphrey Carpenter
, a children's show about a magic teacher, expelled from Walpurgis (the wizard land) for failing his professional examinations. He later stated that he had wished to retire after his spectacular hour-long shows had been axed and that the move to children's television was a "purely financial" arrangement. Having retired in 1990, Baxter returned for a one-off Christmas
2008 special for ITV
, containing a mix of archived and new material, with celebrity comedians commenting on how Baxter influenced their lives.
specials were released on a two-disc DVD set in 2005 as The Stanley Baxter Collection with a further two-disc DVD set being released in 2006 under the title The Stanley Baxter Series & Picture Show featuring both of his series of half-hour shows for ITV. In 2008 a five-disc DVD box set was released titled The Stanley Baxter Television Set. The set includes both half-hour ITV series that Baxter made for ITV and six of his ITV specials. It also includes two of the feature films he made with James Robertson Justice The Fast Lady and Father Came Too!.
Comedy
Comedy , as a popular meaning, is any humorous discourse or work generally intended to amuse by creating laughter, especially in television, film, and stand-up comedy. This must be carefully distinguished from its academic definition, namely the comic theatre, whose Western origins are found in...
actor and impressionist
Impressionist (entertainment)
An impressionist or a mimic is a performer whose act consists of imitating the voice and mannerisms of others. The word usually refers to a professional comedian/entertainer who specializes in such performances and has developed a wide repertoire of impressions, including adding to them, often to...
, best known for his British television shows. He worked in radio, theatre, television and film.
Early life
The son of an insurance manager, Baxter was born in GlasgowGlasgow
Glasgow is the largest city in Scotland and third most populous in the United Kingdom. The city is situated on the River Clyde in the country's west central lowlands...
, Scotland. He was educated at Hillhead High School
Hillhead High School
Hillhead High School is a day school located in Glasgow, Scotland, on Oakfield Avenue, neighbouring the University of Glasgow. It is one of the largest schools in Glasgow.Until 1976 it was a selective school...
, Glasgow and schooled for the stage by his mother. He began his career as a child actor in the Scottish edition of the BBC's Children's Hour
Children's Hour
Children's Hour—at first: "The Children's Hour", from a verse by Longfellow—was the name of the BBC's principal recreational service for children during the period when radio dominated broadcasting....
. He developed his performing skills further during his National Service
National service
National service is a common name for mandatory government service programmes . The term became common British usage during and for some years following the Second World War. Many young people spent one or more years in such programmes...
with the Combined Services Entertainment
Combined Services Entertainment
The Combined Services Entertainment is the live entertainment arm of the Services Sound and Vision Corporation , a registered British charity. It is the official provider of live entertainment to the British Armed Forces. CSE routinely sends tours of entertainment to Afghanistan, Cyprus, Oman, the...
unit, working alongside the likes of comedy actor Kenneth Williams
Kenneth Williams
Kenneth Charles Williams was an English comic actor and comedian. He was one of the main ensemble in 26 of the Carry On films, and appeared in numerous British television shows, and radio comedies with Tony Hancock and Kenneth Horne.-Life and career:Kenneth Charles Williams was born on 22 February...
, film director John Schlesinger
John Schlesinger
John Richard Schlesinger, CBE was an English film and stage director and actor.-Early life:Schlesinger was born in London into a middle-class Jewish family, the son of Winifred Henrietta and Bernard Edward Schlesinger, a physician...
and dramatist Peter Nichols
Peter Nichols
Peter Nichols FRSL is an English writer of stage plays, film and television.Born in Bristol, England, he was educated at Bristol Grammar School, and served his compulsory National Service as a clerk in Calcutta and later in the Combined Services Entertainments Unit in Singapore where he...
, who used the experience as the basis for his play Privates on Parade.
Theatre
After the war Baxter returned to Glasgow taking to the stage for three years at Glasgow’s Citizens Theatre before moving to London to work in television in 1959. In 1969 he performed in the original production of Joe OrtonJoe Orton
John Kingsley Orton was an English playwright.In a short but prolific career lasting from 1964 until his death, he shocked, outraged and amused audiences with his scandalous black comedies...
's then controversial farce What The Butler Saw
What the Butler Saw (play)
What the Butler Saw is a farce written by English playwright Joe Orton. It premièred at the Queen's Theatre in London on 5 March 1969. It was Orton's final play and the second to be performed after his death, following Funeral Games the year before....
at the Queen's Theatre in the West End
West End theatre
West End theatre is a popular term for mainstream professional theatre staged in the large theatres of London's 'Theatreland', the West End. Along with New York's Broadway theatre, West End theatre is usually considered to represent the highest level of commercial theatre in the English speaking...
with Sir Ralph Richardson
Ralph Richardson
Sir Ralph David Richardson was an English actor, one of a group of theatrical knights of the mid-20th century who, though more closely associated with the stage, also appeared in several classic films....
, Coral Browne
Coral Browne
Coral Browne was an Australian-American stage and screen actress.-Career:Coral Edith Brown was the only daughter of a restaurant-owner. She and her two brothers were raised in Footscray, a suburb of Melbourne, where she studied at the National Gallery Art School...
and Hayward Morse
Hayward Morse
Hayward Morse is a British stage and voice actor. His career began on CBC television and with numerous stage performances in Canada and the United States. He made his USA television debut in 1959 with Ingrid Bergman in the critically acclaimed film The Turn of the Screw...
. His exacting and demanding nature gave Scotland some of its most glittering pantomimes and Baxter nurtured the stage careers of Alyson McInnes and John Ramage. Baxter remained a great favourite on the Scottish pantomime circuit up until his retirement in 1992, starring with popular Scottish stars, Jimmy Logan
Jimmy Logan
Jimmy Logan OBE, FRSAMD , born as James Allan Short, Dennistoun, Glasgow, was a Scottish performer, producer, impresario and director.-Family:...
and Una McLean
Una McLean
Una McLean MBE is a Scottish actress and comedienne, best known for appearing in pantomimes. She was married to Scottish stage and film actor Russell Hunter from 1991 until his death in 2004....
.
Radio
During the 1960s, Stanley did his own show for BBC Radio ScotlandBBC Radio Scotland
BBC Radio Scotland is BBC Scotland's national English-language radio network. It broadcasts a wide variety of programming, including news, sport, light entertainment, music, the arts, comedy, drama, history and lifestyle...
.
Working with director Neil Cargill, he returned to radio by taking the role of Noël Coward
Noël Coward
Sir Noël Peirce Coward was an English playwright, composer, director, actor and singer, known for his wit, flamboyance, and what Time magazine called "a sense of personal style, a combination of cheek and chic, pose and poise".Born in Teddington, a suburb of London, Coward attended a dance academy...
in the BBC World Service
BBC World Service
The BBC World Service is the world's largest international broadcaster, broadcasting in 27 languages to many parts of the world via analogue and digital shortwave, internet streaming and podcasting, satellite, FM and MW relays...
Play of the Week, Marvellous Party, written by Jon Wynne-Tyson
Jon Wynne-Tyson
Jon Wynne-Tyson is a British author, publisher, activist and pacifist who founded Centaur Press in 1954. He ran Centaur Press from his home in Sussex and is a distinguished independent publisher. Centaur Press was a full-time independent publishing company until it was sold in 1998...
, it also starred Dorothy Tutin
Dorothy Tutin
Dame Dorothy Tutin DBE was an English actor of stage, film, and television.An obituary in The Daily Telegraph described her as "one of the most enchanting, accomplished and intelligent leading ladies on the post-war British stage...
as Coward's lifelong friend, Esme Wynne-Tyson (Jon's mother). Also with Cargill, he read Whisky Galore and Jimmy Swan - The Joy Traveller for BBC Radio, providing the voices of all the characters.
After a lengthy spell in self-imposed retirement, he appeared in 2004 in a series of four half-hour radio sitcoms for BBC Radio 4
BBC Radio 4
BBC Radio 4 is a British domestic radio station, operated and owned by the BBC, that broadcasts a wide variety of spoken-word programmes, including news, drama, comedy, science and history. It replaced the BBC Home Service in 1967. The station controller is currently Gwyneth Williams, and the...
, entitled Stanley Baxter and Friends; the success of this has led to further series entitled The Stanley Baxter Playhouse in 2006, 2008, 2009 and 2010, and Two Pipe Problems with Richard Briers
Richard Briers
Richard David Briers, CBE is an English actor whose career has encompassed theatre, television, film and radio.He first came to prominence as George Starling in Marriage Lines in the 1960s, but it was in the following decade when he played Tom Good in the BBC sitcom The Good Life that he became a...
in 2008, 2009 and 2010.
In 2009 Eddie Izzard
Eddie Izzard
Edward John "Eddie" Izzard is a British stand-up comedian and actor. His comedy style takes the form of rambling, whimsical monologue and self-referential pantomime...
presented The Stanley Baxter Story on BBC Radio 2
BBC Radio 2
BBC Radio 2 is one of the BBC's national radio stations and the most popular station in the United Kingdom. Much of its daytime playlist-based programming is best described as Adult Contemporary or AOR, although the station is also noted for its specialist broadcasting of other musical genres...
.
Film
Baxter has appeared in a number of films, including GeordieGeordie (film)
Geordie is a 1955 British film based on David Walker's novel of the same title, with Bill Travers in the title role as a Scotsman who becomes an athlete at the Olympic Games...
(1955), Very Important Person
Very Important Person (film)
Very Important Person is a 1961 British comedy film, directed by Ken Annakin, and written by Henry Blyth and Jack Davies. In the United States, the film was re-titled A Coming Out Party....
(1961), The Fast Lady
The Fast Lady
The Fast Lady is a 1962 British comedy film, directed by Ken Annakin. The screenplay was written by Henry Blyth and Jack Davies, based on a story by Keble Howard.It marked the film debut of Julie Christie.-Plot:...
(1962), Crooks Anonymous
Crooks Anonymous
Crooks Anonymous is a British comedy film from 1962. Directed by Ken Annakin, it starred Leslie Phillips and Stanley Baxter and was notable for one of the earliest appearances of Julie Christie.-Plot:...
(1962) and Father Came Too!
Father Came Too!
Father Came Too! is a 1963 British comedy film directed by Peter Graham Scott. It is a sequel to The Fast Lady.-Plot:Dexter and Juliet Munro are a married couple who move to a run-down cottage in hopes of escaping from Juliet's overbearing father. However, the couple are soon confronted by their...
(1963), the last three alongside James Robertson Justice
James Robertson Justice
James Robertson Justice was a popular British character actor in British films of the 1940s, 1950s and 1960s.-Biography:...
, together with the animation Arabian Knight (1995).
Television
Baxter's self-titled series were enjoyed by enormous audiences and the later shows were memorable for the high quality of their production. He was known for his impressions of famous people, particularly the QueenElizabeth II of the United Kingdom
Elizabeth II is the constitutional monarch of 16 sovereign states known as the Commonwealth realms: the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Jamaica, Barbados, the Bahamas, Grenada, Papua New Guinea, the Solomon Islands, Tuvalu, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Belize,...
. The Stanley Baxter Show ran between 1963 and 1971 on BBC One
BBC One
BBC One is the flagship television channel of the British Broadcasting Corporation in the United Kingdom. It was launched on 2 November 1936 as the BBC Television Service, and was the world's first regular television service with a high level of image resolution...
, and his Stanley Baxter Picture Show from 1972 to 1975 on ITV
ITV
ITV is the major commercial public service TV network in the United Kingdom. Launched in 1955 under the auspices of the Independent Television Authority to provide competition to the BBC, it is also the oldest commercial network in the UK...
.
TV series
- The Stanley Baxter show (BBC - 22 x 30-minutes, 1963–1971)
- Baxter On... (BBC, 1964)
- Time For Baxter (BBC Scotland, 1972)
- The Stanley Baxter Picture Show (LWT - four x 30-minutes, 1972)
- The Stanley Baxter Series (LWT - six x 30-minutes, 1981)
One hour TV specials
- The Stanley Baxter Big Picture Show (LWT - 21/12/73)
- The Stanley Baxter Moving Picture Show (LWT - 07/09/74)
- The Stanley Baxter Show Part III (LWT - 19/09/75)
- Stanley Baxter’s Christmas Box (LWT - 26/12/76)
- Stanley Baxter on Television (LWT - 01/04/79)
- The Stanley Baxter Hour (LWT - 24/12/82)
- Stanley Baxter's Christmas Hamper (BBC, 1985)
- Stanley Baxter's Television Annual (BBC, 1986)
List of film & TV appearances
- Shop Window (BBC, 1952)
- GeordieGeordieGeordie is a regional nickname for a person from the Tyneside region of the north east of England, or the name of the English-language dialect spoken by its inhabitants...
(Film, 1955) - This is Scotland (STV, 1957)
- On The Bright Side (BBC, 1959)
- Very Important PersonVery Important Person (film)Very Important Person is a 1961 British comedy film, directed by Ken Annakin, and written by Henry Blyth and Jack Davies. In the United States, the film was re-titled A Coming Out Party....
(Rank, 1961) - Comedy PlayhouseComedy PlayhouseComedy Playhouse was a long-running British anthology series of one-off unrelated sitcoms that aired for 120 episodes from 1961 to 1975. Many episodes later graduated to their own series, including Steptoe and Son, Till Death Us Do Part, All Gas and Gaiters, The Liver Birds, Are You Being Served?...
: "Lunch In The Park" (BBC, 1961) - The Fast LadyThe Fast LadyThe Fast Lady is a 1962 British comedy film, directed by Ken Annakin. The screenplay was written by Henry Blyth and Jack Davies, based on a story by Keble Howard.It marked the film debut of Julie Christie.-Plot:...
(Rank, 1962) - Crooks AnonymousCrooks AnonymousCrooks Anonymous is a British comedy film from 1962. Directed by Ken Annakin, it starred Leslie Phillips and Stanley Baxter and was notable for one of the earliest appearances of Julie Christie.-Plot:...
(Film, 1962) - Father Came Too!Father Came Too!Father Came Too! is a 1963 British comedy film directed by Peter Graham Scott. It is a sequel to The Fast Lady.-Plot:Dexter and Juliet Munro are a married couple who move to a run-down cottage in hopes of escaping from Juliet's overbearing father. However, the couple are soon confronted by their...
(Rank, 1963) - EspionageEspionageEspionage or spying involves an individual obtaining information that is considered secret or confidential without the permission of the holder of the information. Espionage is inherently clandestine, lest the legitimate holder of the information change plans or take other countermeasures once it...
(BBC, 1963 Guest Appearance) - Joey BoyJoey Boy (film)Joey Boy is a 1965 British comedy war film directed by Frank Launder and starring Harry H. Corbett, Stanley Baxter, Bill Fraser, Percy Herbert, Lance Percival, Reg Varney and Thorley Walters.-Synopsis:...
(Film, 1965) - Wednesday Play: "The Confidence Course" (BBC, 1965)
- Christmas Night with the StarsChristmas Night with the StarsChristmas Night with the Stars was a variety television show broadcast each Christmas night by the BBC from 1958 to 1972 and also in 1994. The show featured the top stars of the BBC as they appeared in short versions of their programmes, typically five to ten minutes long. The show was voted 24th...
(BBC, 1970, Guest Appearance) - The GoodiesThe GoodiesThe Goodies are a trio of British comedians who created, wrote, and starred in a surreal British television comedy series called The Goodies during the 1970s and early 1980s combining sketches and situation comedy.-Honours:All three Goodies now have OBEs...
(BBC, 1971 Guest Appearance) - Mr MajeikaMr MajeikaMr Majeika is the title of a series of children's books, written by Humphrey Carpenter, and also a children's television series starring Stanley Baxter. The stories have also been broadcast on radio...
(Television South, 1988–1990, Title Role) - Rab C. NesbittRab C. NesbittRab C. Nesbitt is a Scottish sitcom which began in 1988. Produced by BBC Scotland, it stars Gregor Fisher as an alcoholic Glaswegian who believed unemployment was the life for him...
(BBC, 1991, Guest Appearance) - Arabian Knight (Animation, 1995, Voice Only)
- Stanley Baxter Is Back (C4, 1995)
- Stanley Baxter In Reel Terms (C4, 1996)
- Meeow (Animation, 2000, Voice Only)
- The Unforgettable...Kenneth Williams (Carlton, 2001, Interviewee)
- The Sketch Show Story (BBC, 2001, Interviewee)
- Return Of The Goodies (BBC, 2005, Interviewee)
- The Story Of Light Entertainment (BBC, 2006, Interviewee)
- Comedy Map of BritainComedy Map of BritainComedy Map of Britain is a BBC documentary series which visits the places that have inspired many of Britain's leading comedians. It first aired on BBC Two in 2007 and 2008....
(BBC, 2007, Interviewee) - Happy Birthday BAFTA (2007, Guest)
- The Comedy Christmas (2007, Interviewee)
- Scottish TelevisionScottish TelevisionScottish Television is Scotland's largest ITV franchisee, and has held the ITV franchise for Central Scotland since 31 August 1957. It is the second oldest ITV franchisee still active...
Hogmanay shows (1980's - 1990s)
Parliamo Glasgow
Perhaps his best-known series of sketches is Parliamo Glasgow. Conceived as being written by a fictitious scholar visiting Glasgow, the sketch took the patoisPatois
Patois is any language that is considered nonstandard, although the term is not formally defined in linguistics. It can refer to pidgins, creoles, dialects, and other forms of native or local speech, but not commonly to jargon or slang, which are vocabulary-based forms of cant...
of the city and developed it to comic effect. This sketch was included in one of his BBC Scotland series in the 1960s and was based on the corporation's first venture into language programmes Parliamo Italiano ('Let's speak Italian'). A memorable scene sees him at the local market, asking the trader "Izat a marra on yer barra, Clara?", which he then translates as "Is that a marrow on your barrow, Clara?". Another introduced the Glaswegian word "sanoffy", as in "Sanoffy cold day" ("It's an awfully cold day").
Other television roles
He guest-starred in one of the episodes of The GoodiesThe Goodies (TV series)
The Goodies is a British television comedy series of the 1970s and early 1980s. The series, which combines surreal sketches and situation comedy, was broadcast by BBC 2 from 1970 until 1980 — and was then broadcast by the ITV company LWT for a year, between 1981 to 1982.The show was...
and later appeared in the lead role in Mr Majeika
Mr Majeika
Mr Majeika is the title of a series of children's books, written by Humphrey Carpenter, and also a children's television series starring Stanley Baxter. The stories have also been broadcast on radio...
, developed from the books by Humphrey Carpenter
Humphrey Carpenter
Humphrey William Bouverie Carpenter was an English biographer, writer, and radio broadcaster.-Biography:...
, a children's show about a magic teacher, expelled from Walpurgis (the wizard land) for failing his professional examinations. He later stated that he had wished to retire after his spectacular hour-long shows had been axed and that the move to children's television was a "purely financial" arrangement. Having retired in 1990, Baxter returned for a one-off Christmas
Christmas
Christmas or Christmas Day is an annual holiday generally celebrated on December 25 by billions of people around the world. It is a Christian feast that commemorates the birth of Jesus Christ, liturgically closing the Advent season and initiating the season of Christmastide, which lasts twelve days...
2008 special for ITV
ITV
ITV is the major commercial public service TV network in the United Kingdom. Launched in 1955 under the auspices of the Independent Television Authority to provide competition to the BBC, it is also the oldest commercial network in the UK...
, containing a mix of archived and new material, with celebrity comedians commenting on how Baxter influenced their lives.
Books
He has written a number of books based on the language of Glasgow, as developed in his Parliamo Glasgow sketch as above, and on humour of the city.Awards
- BAFTA for Light Entertainment Performance (1959)
- BAFTA for Light Entertainment Performance (1981) for the Stanley Baxter Series
- Lifetime Achievement Award (British Comedy Awards) (1997)
- BAFTA for Light Entertainment Performance (1972) for the Stanley Baxter Picture Show
- Oldie Camper of the Year - For continuing to endear and delight his audiences with original comic material by The OldieThe OldieThe Oldie is a monthly magazine launched in 1992 by Richard Ingrams, who for 23 years was the editor of Private Eye. It carries general interest articles, humour and cartoons, and has an eclectic list of contributors, including James Le Fanu, John Sweeney, Thomas Stuttaford, Virginia Ironside,...
Magazine (2008)
DVD releases
All six of Baxter's hour-long ITVITV
ITV is the major commercial public service TV network in the United Kingdom. Launched in 1955 under the auspices of the Independent Television Authority to provide competition to the BBC, it is also the oldest commercial network in the UK...
specials were released on a two-disc DVD set in 2005 as The Stanley Baxter Collection with a further two-disc DVD set being released in 2006 under the title The Stanley Baxter Series & Picture Show featuring both of his series of half-hour shows for ITV. In 2008 a five-disc DVD box set was released titled The Stanley Baxter Television Set. The set includes both half-hour ITV series that Baxter made for ITV and six of his ITV specials. It also includes two of the feature films he made with James Robertson Justice The Fast Lady and Father Came Too!.
External links
- http://www.teletronic.co.uk/stanleybaxter.htm
- Stanley Baxter at the Internet Movie Database
- Stanley Baxter biography and credits at BFI Screenonline
- Parliamo Glasgow audio clip from BBC Radio Scotland
- Stanley Baxter radio appearances