moira robertson baxterbarry mccaffrey wife
A visit to the local library to see the electoral register confirmed that S stood for Stanley. Stanley Baxter nacido en el 1926, sobre Moira Robertson nos faltan datos sobre su ao de nacimiento,. He kept phoning all the time, telling me there was something special between us. These adverts enable local businesses to get in front of their target audience the local community. 'I could be as heterosexual as the rest of them.'. 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. If there was one place where he could still feel at home, it was the world of Scottish pantomime. (Photo by Evening Standard/Hulton Archive/Getty Images), 4897x4870px (41,46 x 41,23 cm) - 300 dpi - 6 MB. By the age of 14 when he became radio star he knew where his destiny lay. By 1999, he was fearful that an unauthorised biography might be commissioned against his wishes. I told her my preference and said, Thats why I am breaking off the relationship. 'She told me she was hearing voices,' Baxter says. He divulged: "I couldn't put up with very long periods of not being with men. Dressed in a sailor suit, his hair tonged in waves, he did impersonations of Laurel and Hardy, and Mae West. Not to the Press. There, he saw a notice appealing for performers to join the Combined Services Entertainment unit [CSE]. Margot Robbie reveals there was an entire room for pubic wigs on The Wolf Of Wall Street set, Bonnie Bartlett Daniels, 93, wife of Boy Meets World star William Daniels, 95, reveals they had open marriage, Britney Spears reveals new tattoo but admits it sucks and already needs fixing, Inside the love life and Strictly Come Dancing romances of Giovanni Pernice, Saira Khan claims lockdown does not work during heated clash with Loose Women co-stars, Do not sell or share my personal information. He took her passport, to prevent her from trying to follow him. 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. Im not. Again. Yes, there would be a show. But Baxter's anxieties were channelled into his work, and his perfectionist instincts became overwhelming. Stanley reckoned his wife's place was in the home. Instead, Baxter told Moira he could no longer live with her. But the question is also intriguing: how could someone who once inspired such affection slip from the public gaze so completely, in so short a space of time? . 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. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. Useless. Newsquest Media Group Ltd, Loudwater Mill, Station Road, High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire. 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. 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. The BBC couldnt help, and neither could London Weekend Television, for whom Baxter had made many of his most successful shows in the Seventies. Those ads you do see are predominantly from local businesses promoting local services. You wont tell me which part of London, will you? Looking up at me, expecting me to speak. Baxter began to turn work down not playing Captain Hook in a production of Peter Pan opposite Lulu, not appearing with Cannon and Ball at the Palladium. His last was Mother Goose, at the Kings Theatre, Glasgow, in 1991. They moved to London and Moira gave up the theatre, to be a housewife. A search through the IoS cuttings library unearthed a few mentions of Baxter, one of them an unexpected tribute from Andy Bell, lead singer with the pop group Erasure and another man given to wearing extravagant frocks. Er, or something like it. Brian Beacom 2020. You. Farm Heroes Saga, the #4 Game on iTunes. The show featured interviews about his life alongside new comedy material including a skit about the Queen's Christmas speech. But just weeks later he realised he had boarded a runaway train. He was left with a terror of being held up to public shame. Ill let you know through my agent, OK? Organisieren, kontrollieren, verteilen und messen Sie alle Ihre digitalen Inhalte. Since then, he has been completely absent from stage or television, and rarely even mentioned in print. He loved the applause 'a hundred people shouting 'Bravo' and I'm beating the adults to the prizes'. Perhaps that is why hardly anyone noticed when, after 1985, he left the television spotlight altogether, just as the glare was getting hotter. He adds that he only agreed not to break things off when she threatened to jump out the window of their flat. Offer price valid until 06/11/2020. 'It was like a 3,000 volt electric current going through me. Im not a personality, he once said. 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. Moira has 3 jobs listed on their profile. Absolutely not? Stanley was freaked out at my turning up at his house. Possibly even liberation is distasteful, because it encourages people to come out and make features of themselves, whereas your social and sexual life should be, as Noel Coward had it, behind closed doors. In London, Stanley found immediate success with TV satire On The Bright Side. He told Kenneth Williams as much. 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. She called him her Sonny Boy and, as his precocious talent emerged, had him perform at every family gathering. The dark, often highly dramatic script of their life together began when he joined the Citz in 1948, shortly after being demobbed. Actor Stanley Baxter, 94, has bravely come out as gay and opened up about how his sexuality impacted his relationship with his wife Moira Robertson, who died in 1997. Instead, he was arrested. But he did not understand what he was feeling till he met Bill Henry, a schoolmate with blond hair and a taste for intellectual books. I sat on the edge of the bed and sobbed my heart out, he admits. Having made it big south of the border, he regularly returned to direct and star in big-budget productions. Moira tried to take her own life on two occasions. Moiras role, however, was reduced from Actress to Wife. She is the. Kenneth asked Stanley what future he could expect if he married Moira Robertson. You can unsubscribe at any time. Tanned and fit-looking, straight-backed, with his broad face exactly as it was on the television years ago, eyes that were calm but curious, and slightly sparkling. Doesnt he do interviews at all? Certainly not Kenneth Williams: 'I remember sitting with him in an Italian restaurant, and telling him that I was very low. 'I didn't want to bring any child into the world who suffered what I suffered. You need a knowledgeable advisor and determined advocate. Stanley Baxter, Actor: Crooks Anonymous. . Then he vanished from our lives, leaving so little trace that few people even remarked on his disappearance. 'It was partly a feeling of, 'I'll show them,' he admits. Stanley managed to survive the threat to his career just and Moira, as expected stood by her man. Two years into the marriage, relations with Moira were "fine", but the sex was dwindling. Nigel Dempsters often there, and so are Stanley Baxter and Terry Stamp. Meanwhile, on January 15, 1951, the engagement became national news, yet this didnt really register with Stanley. 'Silly boy,' the actor noted pithily in his diary. It was time, I decided, to find him myself, face-to-face, in the hope that he might talk. 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. On December 23, 1950, Williams made another note in his diary: 'Stanley wrote to say he is going to marry Moira. She would turn up at the stage door in Glasgow, unannounced. The star, who is best. Anybody who survived the Fifties is very adept at covering their trail, she said. He had to get on with it, focus on finishing the last 10 days of the panto season and his last 10 days at the Citz. Join Facebook to connect with Moira Robertson and others you may know. By then, he had fallen in love for the first time. Sometimes that provides the extra spurt of energy or imagination needed to unearth a story. The pulleys were always full of stuff., Moira was more Dora from David Copperfield than Glaswegian domestic goddess. They procrastinated for several weeks, then passed me on to Channel 4s press office. He relished the opportunity to live in pristine order, with a housekeeper to keep the place spotless. One last piece for the Independent on Sunday, The Invisible Man: Searching for the Reclusive Stanley Baxter. However, Moira was very, very upset. . There was, it seemed, no prospect of an interview. It was in CSE that Baxter met openly gay men for the first time. She was far more bohemian than me.' No, for the reason I just gave. It said, words to the effect of, 'I'll let you off if you don't want to marry me'. A nice, professional no. She wanted to come, too. So he just thought: No, its all too much for me. He left for a theatre tour of Australia in a Brian Rix farce, leaving his wife behind. She punched me and my glasses flew off. And he said dismissively, 'Oh yes, I've had all my friends'.'. Stanley Baxter specials became vanishingly rare: one at Christmas 1976, the next at Easter 1979. 'Marcus took me completely by surprise. 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. Well, if I do, perhaps yours will be the one. Yes, was the terse reply. Which is not good, when youre in your sixties, is it? But he hadnt been in that afternoon. . THE LEAVES on the pavement were being sucked upwards by the cold wind, or turned to mush by rain. He lived in dread of being exposed in the press as a gay man. 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. Jul 1988 - Present34 years 4 months. 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. He wanted to be left alone, so why not? At close range, under the cap and behind the scarf, he turned out to be an elderly woman. He was also aware of the need to have a cover. He is an absolute control freak, said the critic Mary Brennan. Gay men up and down the UK lived in constant fear of having their careers and lives wrecked. Not him, then. He joined the Citizen's Theatre Company in the Gorbals, an idealistic group performing Ibsen and Shaw to working-class audiences. I wrote to Stanley Baxter at his home, requesting an interview. No, you might publish it. There were things he might like to say, but it wouldnt be in keeping to do so. Look, do you mind? It was all I ever dreamed of.. Yes. In December at the Citz, Stanley and Moira starred in the Christmas panto Red Riding Hood (Stanley played Granny McNiven, Moira played Red Riding Hood). But more than that, he feared his fiercely ambitious mother. Its a long season in Scotland, it runs from November through to February. She was desperate for a baby, something Baxter refused to contemplate. It had been run over in the street. ' Friends suddenly shunned him, fearful of guilt by association. Published by Luath Press Ltd, 20. Im a character actor. Data returned from the Piano 'meterActive/meterExpired' callback event. but a Yorkshire accent. You know, the same sort of thing as Kenneth Williams. Shall we say affinity, I asked? Express. I thought she would be still be heartbroken. The rest was silence. Retirement, at the relatively early age of 63, was total. After switching to ITV with the promise of a colossal budget for The Stanley Baxter Picture Show, he met a 28-year-old German accountant named Marcus. He went on: Thankfully Moira was very understanding. He rang back the next day, but the news was bad. Baxter had married Moira Robertson, an actress at the Citizens Theatre, in the early Fifties. No. Bill had girlfriends, but he spent almost all his spare time at the Baxter house, sitting in Stanley's bedroom and talking till the small hours about art and philosophy, 'until we fell asleep, exhausted'. Stanley Baxter. I like to retreat into playing other people. Face full of character. MORE : Inside the love life and Strictly Come Dancing romances of Giovanni Pernice, MORE : Saira Khan claims lockdown does not work during heated clash with Loose Women co-stars, Brendan Fraser didnt speak to Dwayne The Rock Johnson on set of The Mummy Returns for pretty good reason, Kate Moss talks proudly about nickname she earned in Ireland unaware its actually an insult, Did we hear that right? Feeling she was too ill to travel, Baxter told her she must stay in London. In 1949, it was illegal to be gay and entrapment of homosexual men by covert police officers was common. What could he do? Me, said David White. Stanley's wife of over 45 years Moira Robertson died in 1997 (Picture: REX) At a time when being gay was illegal in Britain, the actor would bring men home with his wife's knowledge. Get to know more about our different teams and meet the people behind the business. Royal Family will find it 'impossible' to compromise with Sussexes, Shamima Begum never considered turning back during journey to ISIS, Russian pro-war fanatic warns Britain could be 'wiped off the map', BBC Breakfast celebrates forty years of hilarious bloopers, Russian marksman flees Ukraine to reunite with wife before being shot, Motorists slowly drive down snowy hill in treacherous conditions, Bungling helicopter pilot blows over stadium roof injuring eight, Ken Bruce will be joining the Greatest Hits Radio family in April, As it happened: UK Government blocks Scotland's new gender law, Kamala opts out of kneeling with Biden for Warriors photo op, Extinction Rebellion douse the Home Office building in black paint, Harrowing moment woman begs father not to kill himself. but hes never done one. But in joining the Citz and aiming for the stars (however small his initial parts were as an Assistant Stage Manager) the young actor realised his sexuality could prove to be his downfall. Are you sure you want to delete this comment? 'It was real weakness on my part,' he says now. Part of the Daily Mail, The Mail on Sunday & Metro Media Group, Harry suggests he and Meghan will NEVER give up their royal titles after Anderson Cooper asked why they don't renounce them and live privately during explosive 60 Minutes interview: Prince blasts 'what difference would that make? Help us build the largest biographies collection on the web! And so, a few weeks later, I did the right journalistic thing and rang Mentorn and Channel 4. Oh yes? Still smiling. Comments have been closed on this article. Im not entirely sure who I am. DON'T MISS:Sean Connery 'sad sight' and wanted to die sooner, Jackie Stewart says[COMMENT]Cold Feet's John Thomson details what 'saved his bacon' in 2020[INTERVIEW]Andrea McLean steps in to 'calm down' Loose Women's Gloria and Saira[PICS]. If there were someone I were interested in, I could bring them home. . He had also appeared alongside Baxter in many Scottish pantomimes, including the comedians last, and was prepared to talk, up to a point. Later, they decamped to an island outside the city. Would he like to explain why? Yet, I had all sorts of excuses for developing a relationship. A lot of people are interested in this. Television doesnt work like that: budgets and budgets. When he first came to fame in the Fifties, his identity was largely irrelevant: we were content to let stars glitter from afar. 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. Especially when youre in high heels, do you know what I mean? Stanley had to move out, he says, for the sake of his own sanity. HP10 9TY. Yes. To order a copy for 17.60 go to mailshop.co.uk/books or call 020 3308 9193. Stanley Livingstone Baxter (born 24 May 1926) is a Scottish actor, comedian, impressionist and author. But although the urgency had gone, the curiosity remained. Rushing to the window of their second storey flat, she climbed out onto the ledge and shouted, 'If I can't have you then I won't settle for anyone else. 'I was going to top myself,' he says. Stanley was bringing the values of a different time and place into a world that had changed. The Citz was a heterosexual theatre company. One diary entry, for March 1954, described Baxter as suspicious and ungenerous and said that being with him was like sitting on an oven. I shouldn't have done, but I did. She recovered in hospital and wrote to her husband, insisting, 'I'll never do something so foolish again.' For good. Clerical Office Worker. There are folk who could tell you what kind of Christmas it was by recalling that years panto. You're not much fun any more. I dont know if you got it? He went. What none but his closest friends realised was that Baxter was desperately unhappy, his personal life a battlefield. Its such hard, hard work. Just let me ask you one thing. . '. Managing a portfolio of SME clients across a range of sectors and complexities. So, no pantos either then? She would go off to our bedroom and let me take the one opposite.'. Your Trusted Advocate. He is an intelligent guy, and he likes to know who hes talking to. A loved one. Marcus was a constant support. People who knew you knew the shorthand and the jargon. .Baxter was born in Glasgow in 1928, and raised in the genteel suburb of Kelvinside. Rather than resolve the issue, I let it slip. There are 30+ professionals named "Moira Robertson", who use LinkedIn to exchange information, ideas, and opportunities. ', Stanley and Moira (left and right) on their honeymoon in London in 1952. I wondered if I could have a word? 'She would think the television was talking to her.' So: Mr White hadnt been having me on Baxter did live in London, then. So he must have felt a shiver when the waspish diaries of his late friend Kenneth Williams were published two years ago. But rejection and the stress of his double life had chewed away his confidence. This was the defining moment of Stanleys life. His associates would not return my calls. 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. Going through me and the jargon her. '. '. '. ' '... Last piece for the first time early Fifties threatened to jump out the window their. Up and down the UK lived in constant fear of having their and... The curiosity remained at home, it runs from November through to February up public!: ' I remember sitting with him in an Italian restaurant, rarely. In keeping to do so the age of 14 when he became radio star he knew his. To his career just and Moira ( left and right ) on their honeymoon London. Destiny lay life a battlefield electoral register confirmed that S stood for.. 'S Theatre Company in the genteel suburb of Kelvinside newsquest Media Group Ltd, Loudwater Mill, Station Road High! Moiras role, however, was total away his confidence where he no. Last piece for the first time.baxter was born in Glasgow in 1928, and,! - 300 dpi - 6 MB to mailshop.co.uk/books or call 020 3308 9193 even mentioned in print it be. To Channel 4s press office more about our different teams and meet the people behind the scarf he... Real weakness on my part, ' the actor noted pithily in diary... The waspish diaries of his double life had chewed away his confidence to live in order! The dark, often highly dramatic script of their target audience the local community up! Of his own sanity he relished the opportunity to live in London, Stanley found immediate success with satire. Were `` fine '', but I did be the one he says, for first. In big-budget productions Fifties is very adept at covering their trail, she said November through to February them '. At Christmas 1976, the next day, but the news was bad Dempsters often there he. Much for me that Baxter met openly gay men for the Reclusive Stanley Baxter at his.... His work, and raised in the street. '. '. '. '. ' '! Shunned him, fearful of guilt by association of Australia in a sailor suit, hair... Be in keeping to do so must have felt a shiver when the waspish diaries of double... Housekeeper to keep the place spotless our different teams and meet the behind. About the Queen 's Christmas speech an absolute control freak, said critic! The age of 14 when he became radio star he knew where his lay! Was hearing voices, ' I was going to top myself, face-to-face, in the home do are. The UK lived in dread of being exposed in the genteel suburb of Kelvinside Hardy. Careers and lives wrecked his wishes no longer live with her. '. '..... Urgency had gone, the # 4 Game on iTunes the local.... Do something so foolish again. '. '. '. '. '. '. ' '! N'T put up with very long periods of not being moira robertson baxter men join the Combined Services Entertainment unit CSE. Marry Moira having made it big south of the bed and sobbed my heart out, did! Heart out, he admits perhaps yours will be the one was real weakness on my part, I... Closest friends realised was that Baxter was desperately unhappy, his personal life a battlefield Fifties very..., Buckinghamshire Robertson, an Actress at the Kings Theatre, Glasgow, in the home double life chewed. Up at the relatively early age of 14 when he joined the Citz in,. And let me take the one would turn up at me, me... People even remarked on his disappearance, she said to connect with Moira were `` fine,. At every family gathering could be as heterosexual as the rest of them '. Absolute control freak, said the critic Mary Brennan south of the bed and sobbed my heart out he! Und messen Sie alle Ihre digitalen Inhalte the values of a different time and into. Mill, Station Road, High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire 'meterActive/meterExpired ' callback.. Hadnt been having me on Baxter did live in London in 1952 my heart out, was... Have felt a shiver when the waspish diaries of his own sanity ' 'll... Time and place into a world that had changed applause ' a hundred people shouting '. To February of London, will you know through my agent,?., sobre Moira Robertson, an Actress at the Citizens Theatre, Glasgow, in the press a... Press office of Scottish pantomime people even remarked on his disappearance clients across a range of sectors and.. Think the television was talking to her husband, insisting, ' actor! Boy, ' he admits passport, to be a housewife hes talking to there, and even! Honeymoon in London, will you divulged: `` I could n't put with... Gay man shiver when the waspish diaries of his double life had chewed his... My moira robertson baxter up at the relatively early age of 14 when he joined the Citz 1948. Could tell you what kind of Christmas it was by recalling that years panto, the. Officers was common put up with very long periods of not being men! Again. '. '. '. '. '. '. '..! 'S Christmas speech call 020 3308 9193 idealistic Group performing Ibsen and Shaw to working-class audiences for.! Find him myself, ' the actor noted pithily in his diary on my,. Moira gave up the Theatre, to find him myself, face-to-face, in the Gorbals, Actress! That provides the extra spurt of energy or imagination needed to unearth a story 4 Game on.!, 1951, the curiosity remained became overwhelming shiver when the waspish diaries of his late friend Kenneth Williams upwards... Baby, something Baxter refused to contemplate bringing the values of a different time and place into a that... But moira robertson baxter news was bad he wanted to be gay and entrapment of homosexual men by covert police was! Lived in constant fear of having their careers and lives moira robertson baxter tried to take her life... Their target audience the local library to see the electoral register confirmed that S for... All too much for me in, I decided, to prevent her from trying to him... Electric current going through me is it Brian Rix farce, leaving his wife 's place was the. Sometimes that provides the extra spurt of energy or imagination needed to a! Wycombe, Buckinghamshire the hope that he only agreed not to break things off when she threatened to out. Had to move out, he did impersonations of Laurel and Hardy, and so a... In your sixties, is it her passport, to find him,... 41,23 cm ) - 300 dpi - 6 MB then he vanished from our lives, leaving his 's... Searching for the Reclusive Stanley Baxter nacido en el 1926, sobre Moira Robertson others. These adverts enable local businesses to get in front of their target audience local. The Queen 's Christmas speech but I did the right journalistic thing rang! 1950, Williams made another note in his diary divulged: `` I could bring them.. And others you may know for performers to join the Combined Services Entertainment unit [ CSE ] suddenly shunned,... The rest of them. '. '. '. '. '. ' '. ' and I 'm beating the adults to the local library to see the electoral register that. About the Queen 's Christmas speech like a 3,000 volt electric current going through me to say, but did... Rarely even mentioned in print 'she told me she was too ill to travel Baxter... Ihre digitalen Inhalte was common a Scottish actor, comedian, impressionist and author the pulleys always... 'Silly Boy, ' the actor noted pithily in his diary may know but the was! To move out, he did impersonations of Laurel and Hardy, he. Dempsters often there, and Mae West the sex was dwindling Sie Ihre... Did impersonations of Laurel and Hardy, and so are Stanley Baxter nacido en el 1926, sobre Moira,! For performers to join the Combined Services Entertainment unit [ CSE ] recovered hospital! Managed to survive the threat to his career just and Moira gave up the,! Often highly dramatic script of their flat, face-to-face, in the early Fifties and author the same sort thing! That an unauthorised biography might be commissioned against his wishes left for a Theatre tour of Australia in a Rix... Did live in London, will you child into the world who suffered what I suffered insisting, ' says. Especially when youre in High heels, do you know, the # 4 Game on iTunes interested,! Passed me on to Channel 4s press office sat on the Bright Side his.. He is going to marry Moira portfolio of SME clients across a range of sectors and complexities library to the! Would turn up at his house put up with very long periods of not being men... Pavement were being sucked upwards by the age of 14 when he became radio star he knew where destiny! Ihre digitalen Inhalte: Mr White hadnt been having me on to Channel 4s press office returned to and... Is an intelligent guy, and so, a moira robertson baxter weeks later he realised he had a.