His performance of Eager Young Husband was the worst he would give in his life. Overwhelmed by the knowledge that he was making a mistake that would ruin both their lives, Baxter sat on the wedding bed and sobbed. Can I call you tomorrow, then, to see if youve changed your mind? (this was eventually broadcast on Radio 2 earlier this week). Baxter was a most brilliant cowboy Coward, a smouldering Dietrich. 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. He joined the Citizen's Theatre Company in the Gorbals, an idealistic group performing Ibsen and Shaw to working-class audiences. This builders daughter and art school graduate was a clever and attractive, if rather ethereal, young woman. 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. You can make a complaint by using the report this post link . Gay men up and down the UK lived in constant fear of having their careers and lives wrecked. THE PRICE of fame seems to have shot through the roof; just ask Michael Barrymore or Gazza. Ive often wondered how her life would have turned out had she married a devoted heterosexual husband., He adds, his voice breaking: I will never know why she loved me so much. She now had to be a housewife, which she found very frustrating. She was desperate for a baby, something Baxter refused to contemplate. 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. Her co-accused Helen Wright, 67, was also caught with drugs while police raided the . And, meanwhile, my deadline had passed, and there were other things to do. His father was apparently a solid, reliable type who worked in insurance; it was his mother who encouraged the young Stanleys gift for mimicry, accompanying him on the piano while he did Harry Lauder impressions for friends and relatives. ', Stanley was terrified. 'If you can sing, dance, play a musical instrument or whatever,' the announcement read, 'please apply'. Its such hard, hard work. Comic actor Stanley Baxter dressed as a Roman soldier during a comedy sketch, circa 1980. STANLEY Baxter has come out as gay, revealing for the first time that his marriage was a faade. Freedom Living in an RV allows you to change location whenever you wish. Moira Robertson Doctor at CHUV Lausanne. Free UK delivery on orders over 15. She looked up at me, shrugged and said Oh, I don't care about that at all. Yes, there would be a show. Eccentric. But Stanley couldnt contain his sexual frustrations. Exasperated, his ITV television bosses told him they could no longer afford his extravaganzas. ', Beset with doubts, he confessed to Moira that all his previous affairs had been with men. There had been no mystery about the retirement, said Lennie, who talked about the physical demands of changing costumes so often. How would I know what he looked like? . Say sorry? Any camper attached to a vehicle registered in Washington must be licensed in Washington; the RV Disposal Fee applies. Anybody who survived the Fifties is very adept at covering their trail, she said. In the front room of Moira Robertsons parents home in Dumbarton, Stanley slowly, cautiously, uttered the words I do. He failed to convince. The charges were dropped, on condition that Baxter promised not to sue the police for wrongful arrest. He left for a theatre tour of Australia in a Brian Rix farce, leaving his wife behind. Pull out the pin, and its every man for himself. The origins of the company stretch back to the mid-nineteenth century, when William Robertson founded the Robertson & Baxter company in Glasgow. Fine, but not much help to me. 11:52 EST 31 Oct 2020. A PAIR of drug dealing Glasgow grans who were caught with over 24,000 worth of cocaine have been jailed. Like his previous TV specials, it was a delirious collection of sketches and set-pieces featuring Baxter in character (his meticulously observed parodies of women like Shirley Bassey and Marlene Dietrich were a trademark), complete with spectacular sets and breathtaking changes of costume and make-up. Supported creation and implementation of TD Summer Reading and StoryWalk program. There was an S Baxter in that area, with an address. I don't wish that to stop. And he met Moira Robertson, a 22-year-old who had worked her way up from the wardrobe department to the stage. In fact, Mum showed her disapproval of Moira right from the start., Stanley agrees. I thought, I really hate this. Robert Louis "Bobby" Robertson, 90, passed away January 21, 2023, at his home following a valiant battle with Dementia/Alzheimer's Disease. I was just ringing for you. ', This year, he changed his mind. Baxter resolved to repress his sexuality when he returned to Glasgow two years later to live, as he put it, 'as a straight actor'. Its a long season in Scotland, it runs from November through to February. Me, said David White. . by | Jan 25, 2023 | when do pecan trees lose their leaves | congestion worse after sinus rinse | Jan 25, 2023 | when do pecan trees lose their leaves | congestion worse after sinus rinse In London, Stanley found immediate success with TV satire On The Bright Side. It was becoming obvious that the real Stanley Baxter was as studiously hidden as his Lycra supports. She has special interest in the conservative treatment of spine and joint conditions. . We hope you've really thought about how important it is., And I said nonchalantly, Oh, not nowadays. FOR MANY of the details I subsequently learnt about Stanley Baxters life, I was grateful to Andy Young, a Scottish freelance writer who gained the comedians confidence about 100 years ago and is one of the few people to have interviewed him at any length. These adverts enable local businesses to get in front of their target audience the local community. Im going to cut you short. I have been writing for the Independent on Sunday for more than 20 years, but the edition that appears on Sunday will be the last. And there he was, coming up the steps to the door. If I wanted a closer look at him it would have to be on my television on 4 January. Stanley knew he was gay. The owners of the park you live in may say it is an RV park. 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. So: a legend. His last was Mother Goose, at the Kings Theatre, Glasgow, in 1991. ABBREVIATIONS; ANAGRAMS; . They all wanted him: Aspel, Parkinson. After all, the pair had spent endless hours discussing sexuality, preferences and honesty. 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. Oh, they all varied, said the agent, suddenly sounding irritated. Its Christmas, he said. It had been run over in the street. Kenny thought I was making a terrible mistake, says Stanley. Chic, with hooded eyes, Moira could have been Bette Davis's younger sister. Award-winning interviewer, writer and broadcaster. Anxious, he took a taxi to the house. But immediately afterwards she was so sorry.'. I thought she would be still be heartbroken. The STANDS4 Network. But she did mention several times there was something wrong with Moira, that her emotional balance wasn't quite right. He did impersonations of Laurel and Hardy, and Mae West. He told Kenneth Williams as much. And as the years progressed, the medicated Moira and Stanley became close again. The book was 10 years old, but it was worth a try. I didn't think that she was ever going to make it very big and I suggested she give it up. Choosing to eliminate the obvious first, I checked the phone book. But it was because I knew I'd made the biggest mistake of my life.. Stanley Baxter delighted over 20 million viewers at a time with his television specials. contact IPSO here, 2001-2023. He plays in Scotland to capacity every time, but thats not the point. 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. He rang back the next day, but the news was bad. When he returned, he decided to seek medical treatment for his sexual urges. He went on to star in a children's series called Mr Majeika, about a schoolteacher who is actually a wizard. Developed and created Craft kits for children and teens. Treating spinal conditions affecting teenagers and adults led Moira into the field of Scoliosis where she helps . I believed that no-one in our family should be anything but a star.. If you have a complaint about the editorial content which relates to He had also appeared alongside Baxter in many Scottish pantomimes, including the comedians last, and was prepared to talk, up to a point. 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? If there was one place where he could still feel at home, it was the world of Scottish pantomime. We became close, without it ever being more than friendship.'. heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment. As one critic wrote: The joke is not that Stanley Baxter is dressed up as a woman. Waiting around outside the entrance to the flats where he lived was making me feel like a burglar casing the joint. "Kenny thought I was making a terrible mistake," says Stanley. And although she was a good cook, she wasn't very good at washing. 2. 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. But he didnt tackle the issue. Absolutely not? Login . They moved to London and Moira gave up the theatre, to be a housewife. He loved the applause 'a hundred people shouting 'Bravo' and I'm beating the adults to the prizes'. Brian Beacom For The Daily Mail, 'I don't find you funny either - but yet the whole world laughs at you': Sacha Baron Cohen responds to Trump's 'unfunny creep' jibe, Keeping them laughing until the end: Bobby Ball was still filming until weeks before his death aged 76 after positive Covid test, as co-star Lee Mack pays tribute to his 'hero' and devastated Tommy Cannon says: 'Rock on, my good friend'. She then went to their new Glasgow flat to cook spaghetti for his supper.". She wandered, like Ophelia through Hamlet, but she would have moved to the ends of the earth for me.. Afterwards, I gasped, 'Have you done this before?' But Stanley, and Moiras family, coaxed her to take medication. When he first came to fame in the Fifties, his identity was largely irrelevant: we were content to let stars glitter from afar. What Williams didnt know, however, was the pressure Stanley had been under. When he called her from the airport, on his return to the UK several weeks later, she didn't answer. Newsquest Media Group Ltd, Loudwater Mill, Station Road, High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire. She punched me and my glasses flew off. Even though Moira was dead from an overdose by this time, he was sickened at the thought that his sexuality might become common knowledge. He has a talismanic quality that makes people feel hes very much in touch with their lives, and then suddenly, out he zooshes looking really rather sexy. Add a New Bio. Stanley was freaked out at my turning up at his house. I felt I had to be very careful not to allow anyone a glimpse of my predilection.. Stanley was up for the challenge. But it was a whole new experience. Er, or something like it. Then youve got the orchestra, and dancers. What would the neighbours think? The Real Stanley Baxter, by Brian Beacom. Murdaugh is heckled as he leaves court, Mom who lost both sons to fentanyl blasts laughing Biden, Moment teenager crashes into back of lorry after 100mph police race, Missing hiker buried under snow forces arm out to wave to helicopter, Family of a 10-month-old baby filmed vaping open up, Hershey's Canada releases HER for SHE bars featuring a trans activist, Ukrainian soldier takes out five tanks with Javelin missiles. So he just thought: No, its all too much for me. But it would be wrong to imagine he has found peace. By Kathryn Ingate. Could he look really old, like the man in the corner with cigarette ash all down his dark suit? Everythings being raked around in here ready for Christmas. 'I couldn't put up with very long periods of not being with men,' he says frankly. May 2021 - Present1 year 9 months. He lived in dread of being exposed in the press as a gay man. This was going nowhere. Stanley Baxter is one of the most successful entertainers of his generation and for many years had his own Bafta-winning TV series. Well see what happens. I couldve hugged him. Other entries in the diary recall Baxter speaking of a desperate clinging to privacy and the rejection of a potentially hostile world. He could sing, dance, deliver broad panto comedy and perform pinsharp impressions of any star, male or female. Used Buffer and WordPress to advertise programming. Meanwhile, on January 15, 1951, the engagement became national news, yet this didnt really register with Stanley. It wasnt like theatres of today, which are heavily populated with gay people. 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. And Stanley noticed her little eccentricities, her remoteness, her rejection of life's boring rituals of cleaning, cooking, washing laundry, had become more pronounced.