For decades he was one of the biggest stars on television. And no wonder. A gifted mimic, comedian and actor, Stanley Baxter, who has died at the age of 99, commanded audiences of 20 million with his shows for both ITV and the BBC during the 1970s and 80s.
In the end, TV executives pulled the plug on them – in a changing world they simply became too expensive to produce.
But those standalone extravaganzas, which saw Stanley spoof everything from Dallas and Upstairs, Downstairs to the Queen’s Christmas message, stand as a reminder of a different age when the nation sat down together to be entertained.
Yesterday, as tributes poured in for the Glasgow-born star, who died on Thursday at a London care home for entertainment figures, his friend and biographer Brian Beacom described him as “one of the most entertaining people I’ve ever met”.
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“He was funny, he was mischievous, he was always incredibly clever and able to come up with comedy in a way that few people could even consider. But just as importantly, he was a terrific friend. He had an incredible warmth and consideration for other people and it’s no surprise that he was an entertainer from the 1930s onwards and he never upset a single soul.”
Scotland’s First Minister John Swinney called him ‘a giant of Scottish entertainment.’ “He brought incredible joy to generations,” he added. Meanwhile Scottish radio and TV broadcaster Robin Galloway said his death was a loss of ‘a true original’ and a ‘comic visionary’ while BAFTA said it was ‘saddened’ to hear of his death.
Stanley Baxter was born on May 24, 1926. He inherited a love of the theatre and performing from his mum, Bessie, who encouraged his talent for mimicry. At just six and dressed in a sailor suit, he would bring the house down with impersonations of Laurel and Hardy, and Mae West.
He made his professional debut at the age of 14 on the Scottish edition of the BBCs Children’s Hour, but world events intervened and during World War Two he was conscripted to work in the Lanarkshire coal mines as a ‘Bevan Boy’.
By 1945 he had his call up papers for National Service and joined the Combined Services Entertainment Unit, honing his skills by entertaining the troops. It was there he met Carry On Star Kenneth Williams – who became a lifelong friend. By the late 1940s he was back in Glasgow, enjoying success in variety theatre, in particular as a panto dame and on radio.
He made his TV debut in the BBC’s variety show Shop Window in 1952, but his major screen break came with the satirical On The Bright Side in 1959. It was here he performed his famous ‘Parliamo Glasgow’ sketch – a spoof language programme where, as a supposed scholar, he endeavours to teach the world how to speak like a Glaswegian.
With his star on the rise, films offers also came in, including Very Important Person (1961), in which he played a fiercely nationalistic Scot, as well as Geordie (1955), The Fast Lady (1962) and And Father Came Too! (1963). In 1963 his hard work was finally rewarded – and his reputation as an entertainer cemented – with the arrival on our screens of The Stanley Baxter Show. It ran for eight years and catapulted him to stardom.
But while his professional life was taking off, his private life was in turmoil. Having known as a teenager he was gay, Stanley Baxter struggled with his sexuality for most of his life and battled to repress his feelings. He married his wife Moira, a fellow actor, in 1951. They lived apart from the 1970s onwards.
Meanwhile, his career went from strength to strength. A number of TV spectaculars followed, including Stanley Baxter’s Christmas Box. One of his – and his audiences’ – favourite conceits was to recreate scenes from well known big budget Hollywood movies for comic effect, with Stanley playing multiple roles.
He was also bold enough to mimic the Pope and even the Queen – a move which left the nation breathless with both shock and laughter. His shows were hugely popular, won him awards and attracted audiences of millions, thrilled by his comedic skill and attention to detail – he would frequently spend an entire year working on the programmes. The cost in time, sets and staffing was enormous, though, and led to his contracts being terminated early both by the BBC and by London Weekend Television.
Undaunted by the setbacks, he branched out and away from sketch shows and impressions, to perform in Joe Orton’s controversial farce, What The Butler Saw, in the West End alongside Sir Ralph Richardson. He guest-starred in one of the episodes of The Goodies and later appeared in the lead role of Mr Majeika, a children’s show about a magic teacher expelled from Walpurgis, the wizard land, for failing his wizarding exams.
After his retirement, he appeared in 2004 in a series of three half-hour radio sitcoms for BBC Radio 4, entitled Stanley Baxter And Friends. He also lent his voice to the animated children’s film Arabian Knight and the TV series Meeow. Later Channel 4 also screened two specials combining old highlights with new material and from 2006 he went on to record a number of plays, The Stanley Baxter Playhouse, for Radio 4.
He received several awards during his career, including a lifetime achievement award at the British Comedy Awards and two TV tribute programmes. Bafta Scotland also presented Baxter with their Outstanding Contribution to Film and Television Award in December 2020. A well read and private man, Stanley Baxter remained married to Moira until her death in 1997, despite them both knowing he was gay. They never divorced and had lunch together daily.
In 2020 he released a co-written biography, The Real Stanley Baxter, in which revealed he was gay and had told his wife before they married. In the book he recalls: “I never wanted to be gay. I still don’t.” Stanley Baxter leaves a younger sister, Alice Warwick, along with her son Tony and daughter Zoe. His long-term partner Louis died in 2017. At his own request, his funeral will be a small private ceremony in the company of family and close friends, and there will be no memorial service or memorial plaques.
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Source: Mirror
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