Keith Baxter(1933-2023)
- Actor
- Writer
A classically-trained actor, director and playwright, Keith Baxter (born Keith Stanley Baxter-Wright) was a commanding theatrical presence. The son of a captain in the Merchant Navy, he was schooled in his Welsh home town of Newport, Monmouthshire, became interested in theatre arts and then studied at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, graduating in 1953. Initially on stage with repertory companies in Oxford and Worthing, he made his professional acting bow three years later in a small part in Noël Coward 's play South Sea Bubble at the Lyric Theatre in London. Orson Welles then famously cast him as Hal, Prince of Wales, in his celebrated play Chimes at Midnight which opened at the Grand Opera House in Belfast to good reviews on February 13, 1960. Baxter recreated this role five years later for the filmed version opposite Welles, John Gielgud and French star Jeanne Moreau.
In 1962, Baxter won a Theatre World Award for his debut Broadway performance as King Henry VIII in A Man for All Seasons. His subsequent classic roles included both Octavius and Marc Antony in different productions of Antony and Cleopatra. In 1971, he was awarded a Drama Desk Award for his tour-de-force turn as Milo Tindle in Anthony Shaffer's brilliant play Sleuth opposite Anthony Quayle as crime novelist Andrew Wyke. Off-Broadway, Baxter essayed seven different parts for the gothic thriller The Woman in Black. He also began directing for the stage by the mid-70s and was latterly associated with the Shakespeare Theatre Company in Washington D.C.. His works as an author have included the 1987 play 'Barnaby and the Old Boys' and a memoir published in 1999, titled 'My Sentiments Exactly', recalling collaborations and friendships with luminaries like Coward, Gielgud, Tennessee Williams, Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton.
Baxter's screen career has been somewhat desultory, apparently subordinated to his theatrical work. His first credited appearance on the celluloid medium was as Charles Barrett in The Barretts of Wimpole Street (1957) (which also starred Gielgud). He was then primarily active on television in anthology drama (ITV Play of the Week (1955)) and - infrequently -- as guest star in series ranging from The Avengers (1961) to Hawaii Five-O (1968). Baxter's final screen role was a small part as Sir Hector in the miniseries Merlin (1998) which starred Sam Neill in the title role and Gielgud as King Constant.
In 1962, Baxter won a Theatre World Award for his debut Broadway performance as King Henry VIII in A Man for All Seasons. His subsequent classic roles included both Octavius and Marc Antony in different productions of Antony and Cleopatra. In 1971, he was awarded a Drama Desk Award for his tour-de-force turn as Milo Tindle in Anthony Shaffer's brilliant play Sleuth opposite Anthony Quayle as crime novelist Andrew Wyke. Off-Broadway, Baxter essayed seven different parts for the gothic thriller The Woman in Black. He also began directing for the stage by the mid-70s and was latterly associated with the Shakespeare Theatre Company in Washington D.C.. His works as an author have included the 1987 play 'Barnaby and the Old Boys' and a memoir published in 1999, titled 'My Sentiments Exactly', recalling collaborations and friendships with luminaries like Coward, Gielgud, Tennessee Williams, Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton.
Baxter's screen career has been somewhat desultory, apparently subordinated to his theatrical work. His first credited appearance on the celluloid medium was as Charles Barrett in The Barretts of Wimpole Street (1957) (which also starred Gielgud). He was then primarily active on television in anthology drama (ITV Play of the Week (1955)) and - infrequently -- as guest star in series ranging from The Avengers (1961) to Hawaii Five-O (1968). Baxter's final screen role was a small part as Sir Hector in the miniseries Merlin (1998) which starred Sam Neill in the title role and Gielgud as King Constant.
