But Baxter's anxieties were channelled into his work, and his perfectionist instincts became overwhelming. Ive been in audiences where women in their sixties would sit there and say, with absolute envy: Ooh, look at them legs. Her favourite memory is of one entrance in full rig, with craggy face underneath what looked like a mound of candyfloss. 64, I said. And he met Moira Robertson, a 22-year-old who had worked her way up from the wardrobe department to the stage. The honeymoon night predictably was a disaster. Newspaper interviews were very rare; he never appeared on a chat show. Whether your divorce is contested or uncontested, Tulsa Divorce Attorney Moura Robertson has the . "And she was very good about letting them go to bed with me. but a Yorkshire accent. Yes, as a 14-year-old hed had a frolic with the maid (despite living in a West End tenement Bessie Baxter insisted upon live-in help) but this was an entirely new adventure. And so, a few weeks later, I did the right journalistic thing and rang Mentorn and Channel 4. Not to the Press. Moura A.J. Stanley Livingstone Baxter (born 24 May 1926) is a Scottish actor, comedian, impressionist and author. He adds that he only agreed not to break things off when she threatened to jump out the window of their flat. This website and associated newspapers adhere to the Independent Press Standards Organisation's When he called her from the airport, on his return to the UK several weeks later, she didn't answer. Alec Guinness and John Gielgud had both been charged with Importuning. There was also a tiny quote from Baxter in the Times of November 1992, about how the role of Principal Boy should only be played by a woman: All those frills. One of Scotland's greatest comedians has come out as gay but admitted: "I never wanted to be, I still don't." Stanley Baxter, 94, said that he and his wife, Moira Robertson, knew that he was. He adds, his voice dark: 'The truth is, I don't really want to be me.'. 'I. Overwhelmed by the knowledge that he was making a mistake that would ruin both their lives, Baxter sat on the wedding bed and sobbed. I wrote you a letter. There was nothing like his dames, who entered in outfits sumptuous enough for Danny LaRue, but who could drop into rough Glaswegian patois at a moments notice. This was going nowhere. This builders daughter and art school graduate was a clever and attractive, if rather ethereal, young woman. Having made it big south of the border, he regularly returned to direct and star in big-budget productions. 2023 Getty Images. A visit to the local library to see the electoral register confirmed that S stood for Stanley. 'I could be as heterosexual as the rest of them.'. His wife Moira, from whom he was separated, was tormented by mental illness and had attempted suicide by cutting her wrists in the bath. The Citz was a heterosexual theatre company. I didn't think that she was ever going to make it very big and I suggested she give it up. He met Moira daily for lunch. Bei kommerzieller Verwendung sowie fr verkaufsfrdernde Zwecke kontaktieren Sie bitte Ihr. By the age of 14 when he became radio star he knew where his destiny lay. WHEN DOES curiosity become intrusion? Its such hard, hard work. In terms of countries? He never appeared as himself. 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After the couple tied the knot, Stanley said they had a pact which permitted him to bring men to the house they shared. Yes. If youve got a celebrity story, video or pictures get in touch with theMetro.co.ukentertainment team by emailing uscelebtips@metro.co.uk, calling 020 3615 2145 or by visiting our Submit Stuff page wed love to hear from you. 'He just liked the look of me, I guess,' Baxter says, 'which wasn't always the way with Kenny and people. Everythings being raked around in here ready for Christmas. Experiences in the Far East during his concert party stint confirmed to the Scot where his heart lay. Fred Baxter, knowing his son was unconvincing in the role of Happy Groom, attempted a last-minute derailment. 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 reckoned it would at least a few years before the couple arrived at Wedding Central. 'I'm not. Just to talk to a faithful hand that takes all the chaff and grain together, keeps whats worth keeping, and with a breath of kindness, blows the rest away. She now had to be a housewife, which she found very frustrating. But a fellow member of the club in Pall Mall, which costs up to 500 a year, confirmed that Baxter was frequently there. No. My mother didnt think any woman was good enough for me [Bessie Baxters principal purpose in life was to grow a showbiz star] but there was more to her criticism of Moira. Unknown to Stanley, Moira had ditched her medication and the demons raged again. The BBC couldnt help, and neither could London Weekend Television, for whom Baxter had made many of his most successful shows in the Seventies. He was also aware of the need to have a cover. British actress Moira Robertson and her husband, British comedian and actor Stanley Baxter, at Clerkenwell Magistrates Court in London, England, 5th March 1962. Stanley came out of retirement in 2008 to record a retrospective special about his life for ITV. In London, Stanley found immediate success with TV satire On The Bright Side. She visited the LWT studios while her husband's show was recording, and danced in the lobby when she was not allowed onto the stage. We use your sign-up to provide content in ways you've consented to and to improve our understanding of you. At a time when being gay was illegal in Britain, the actor would bring men home with his wifes knowledge. . I still dont.". May 2021 - Present1 year 9 months. And then my impulse to pick up the trail again received further encouragement, when, out of the blue, one of the many former associates of Baxter with whom I had placed calls finally decided to ring me back. Moira wasnt entirely unhappy with the situation. 'I didn't want to bring any child into the world who suffered what I suffered. Baxter is appearing on a charges of soliciting and public indecency. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories. Stanley managed to survive the threat to his career just and Moira, as expected stood by her man. Yes, there would be a show. We need you! 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. Mildly discouraged, I tried another approach: Melvyn Bragg, who had been head of arts at LWT when Baxter was at his peak. Baxter was charged with soliciting for sex. Even though Moira was dead from an overdose by this time, he was sickened at the thought that his sexuality might become common knowledge. It looked right. He says now that he'd known for years that he found men more attractive than women, because at the Saturday morning cinema club he could not take his eyes off the half-naked Johnny Weissmuller as Tarzan, rather than Maureen O'Sullivan's Jane. Millions were scandalised and breathless with laughter. Baxter resolved to repress his sexuality when he returned to Glasgow two years later to live, as he put it, 'as a straight actor'. 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. And what does the master of disguise look like now? As a subscriber, you are shown 80% less display advertising when reading our articles. However the charges were dropped when the police officers who arrested him admitting he was on his own at the time. Stanley was bringing the values of a different time and place into a world that had changed. Farm Heroes Saga, the #4 Game on iTunes. But even today he finds it difficult to discuss the case, referring to it as 'le scandale'. I had felt the relationship simply had to stop, so I broke it off. Anyone who can dress up as Judy Garland with a nose like his and get away with it, has to be a genius. Of all those stories, it is hard to imagine anything more sad than this one. . I sat on the edge of the bed and sobbed my heart out, he admits. Yet, I had all sorts of excuses for developing a relationship. And he turned it down. As spring approached, Stanley saw even more of the woman with the hooded eyes, even taking her along to his parents home at 5 Wilton Mansions in Glasgow's Kelvinside. There are 30+ professionals named "Moira Robertson", who use LinkedIn to exchange information, ideas, and opportunities. Stanley walked through the doors of the Gorbals theatre and into theatre heaven, loving this avant-garde world populated by the likes of Sybil Thorndyke and Duncan Macrae. Anybody who has acquired that kind of carapace is not going to come on like John Inman, rushing out of a closet, shouting, Im free! They have prided themselves on conducting their life with dignity.. 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). 'It was then she physically attacked me. He revealed he was worried his career would be over because of the incident before his lawyer got the charge dropped. Moira's behaviour became more alarming. His sketch shows were months in the making and the talk of the nation spectacular, controversial, unlike anything ever seen. If there was one place where he could still feel at home, it was the world of Scottish pantomime. A porter at the club confirmed that the comedian did swim in the pool most days. And the decision may have played a part his wifes untimely death. He had recorded a radio version of Compton Mackenzies book, Whisky Galore! In the past, the journalists job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. 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. I contacted David White, who seemed to think that this might mean that his client would talk to me. She was only using the gate to rest. Would it have happened anyway? The dark, often highly dramatic script of their life together began when he joined the Citz in 1948, shortly after being demobbed. And they were birched! But immediately afterwards she was so sorry.'. I believed that no-one in our family should be anything but a star.. The decriminalisation of gay sex between consenting adults was still five years away. Stanley weighed up what this all meant. Moira has 3 jobs listed on their profile. Fixated,' he says. 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. .Baxter was born in Glasgow in 1928, and raised in the genteel suburb of Kelvinside. 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His agent advised him to engage the celebrity barrister David Jacobs, who had recently won a libel case for Liberace when a newspaper implied the flamboyant entertainer was gay. We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse. I felt I had to be very careful not to allow anyone a glimpse of my predilection.. I was apprehensive about getting involved for all the obvious reasons. How could it happen? Stanley went on to claim Moira became very emotional and threatened to jump out of a window following his revelation, so he opted to continue the relationship and get married. There were few people he could tell of his worries. If it doesn't work out, you just get divorced and you move on. And my father replied with a very heavy voice, No, it's not as easy as that., The following Monday, the Scottish Daily Express wrote of the 'quiet' wedding. Anxious, he took a taxi to the house. In 1970, with The Stanley Baxter Show a huge BBC hit, he moved out of their house and took the apartment in Highgate Village that would be his refuge for the rest of his life. I still don't. A year later, on March 5, 1952, the train sped west to Moiras parents home in Dumbarton for the ceremony. Moira Robertson & Stanley Baxter, 1962 British actress Moira Robertson (year of birth unknown-1997) and her husband, British comedian and actor Stanley Baxter, at Clerkenwell Magistrates Court in London, England, 5th March 1962. I don't wish that to stop. He joined the Citizen's Theatre Company in the Gorbals, an idealistic group performing Ibsen and Shaw to working-class audiences. If you are dissatisfied with the response provided you can Anyway, here it is: a piece from a time before the internet or ubiquitous mobiles, when the celebrity age was just beginning but you still had to go to the library to look at the electoral register. Finally, I realised that I would have to let Stanley Baxter rest in peace. But not a complete no: perhaps, hed said, perhaps yours will be the one. Should I have taken her to Cyprus? Useless. He was previously married to Moira Robertson. Moiras death left Stanley bereft. In January, 1962, he was focused hard on his career. He later recalled trying to use his scripts to hide hands encrusted with coal dust, an early indication of the self- consciousness that was to become as ingrained as the coal.Invalided out of the mines with an ear problem, Baxter joined the left- wing Unity Theatre in Glasgow. And he said dismissively, 'Oh yes, I've had all my friends'.'. Later, they decamped to an island outside the city. In that moment, I thought the world had changed. For decades he has hated to venture out: 'I didn't want to be seen as someone who was once Stanley Baxter,' he says. With his telephone number and address in my notebook, I could have rung Stanley Baxter or paid him a visit months ago, instead of waiting for an answer to my letter. 'It was like a 3,000 volt electric current going through me. '. She may have worshipped Stanley but she never got herself worked up if her husbands white shirts were dry in the morning or not. She called him her Sonny Boy and, as his precocious talent emerged, had him perform at every family gathering. 'It was partly a feeling of, 'I'll show them,' he admits. OK. So that was the answer: a recluse in the phone book. Argyll and Bute Council. Divorce can be one of the most difficult times in your life. The star was honest with her about being gay and told her: This would be NO life for you, married to someone who is essentially and primarily homosexual.. He is completely woven into the Scottish psyche, says Mary Brennan, a critic for the Herald. Its just prohibitive, you know, because they were such big specials. Moiras role, however, was reduced from Actress to Wife. She once flew to Belfast to be "reunited with the spirit of [theatre director] Tyronne Guthrie." Perhaps it was time to forget it, let him be. Vergrern Sie die Reichweite Ihrer Marke authentisch und teilen Sie Markeninhalte mit Kreativen im Internet. Express. 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. 'Anybody else would have gotten rid of me but she was devoted. However he changed his mind when she became very, very upset and appeared to be heartbroken. Is it possible that we can have a chat with him? And there he was, coming up the steps to the door. Well, it was worth a go. This site is part of Newsquest's audited local newspaper network. (Later in my quest, I rang the clubs charming PR woman. heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment. 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. I don't want to be involved in this kind of world'. After all, she was with the man she adored. I told her my preference and said, Thats why I am breaking off the relationship. This would be no life for you, married to someone who is essentially and primarily a homosexual.'. Add a New Bio Also known as Moira Spouses Stanley Baxter (1951 - 1997) Died 1997 Edit Submitted on July 23, 2013 Citation Use the citation below to add to a bibliography: Style: MLA Chicago APA "Moira Robertson." The Real Stanley Baxter, by Brian Beacom. He had always felt guilty for marrying her. Ill be calmer tomorrow. Stanley Baxter (pictured) was married for 46 years, but he reveals in his new autobiography beneath his cheerful exterior lies a man tortured by the fact he is gay. Eccentric. Sometimes that provides the extra spurt of energy or imagination needed to unearth a story. There, he saw a notice appealing for performers to join the Combined Services Entertainment unit [CSE]. And your editor. How much had the big television specials cost to make? She recovered in hospital and wrote to her husband, insisting, 'I'll never do something so foolish again.' One diary entry, for March 1954, described Baxter as suspicious and ungenerous and said that being with him was like sitting on an oven. Jul 1988 - Present34 years 4 months. He wanted to be left alone, so why not? And Stanley noticed her little eccentricities, her remoteness, her rejection of life's boring rituals of cleaning, cooking, washing laundry, had become more pronounced. She punched me and my glasses flew off. 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