Keith Baxter (actor)

Keith Stanley Baxter-Wright (29 April 1933 – 24 September 2023) was a Welsh theatre, film and television actor and director.

Early years and RADA
Keith Stanley Baxter-Wright was born in Newport, Monmouthshire, on 29 April 1933. He was the son of Stanley Baxter-Wright, a Merchant Navy sea captain, and Emily Baxter (née Howell). They lived for a time in Romilly Road, Barry, Glamorgan. He was educated at Newport High School and Barry Grammar School. His early introduction to the stage was from his interest in making model theatres and stage scenery. He studied at London's Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts, during which period he shared a flat with a classmate, Alan Bates. He made his film debut in the 1957 remake of The Barretts of Wimpole Street and appeared uncredited as a detective in the British horror classic Peeping Tom (1960).

Films
In 1960, Orson Welles selected Baxter to portray Prince Hal in his stage production Chimes at Midnight, which combined portions of the Shakespearean plays Henry IV, Part I, Henry IV, Part II, Henry V, Richard II, and The Merry Wives of Windsor and brought the comic figure of Falstaff to the forefront of a primarily tragic tale. Baxter repeated his performance in the 1965 film version. Additional film credits include Ash Wednesday (1973; with Elizabeth Taylor), Golden Rendezvous (1977), and Killing Time (1998).

Broadway
In 1961, Baxter made his Broadway debut as King Henry VIII in A Man for All Seasons. Other New York City stage credits included The Affair (1962), Avanti! (1968), Sleuth (1970), Romantic Comedy (1980) and The Woman in Black (2001).

Other selected theatrical appearances

 * Macbeth, Birmingham Repertory Theatre, Birmingham, England, 1972
 * Vershinin, Three Sisters, Greenwich Theatre, London, 1973
 * Benedick, Much Ado about Nothing, Royal Lyceum Theatre, Edinburgh, Scotland, 1973
 * Antony, Antony and Cleopatra, Stratford Festival Theatre, Stratford, Ontario, 1976
 * Witwoud, The Way of the World, Stratford Festival Theatre, 1976
 * Vershinin, Three Sisters, Stratford Festival Theatre, 1976
 * King, The Red Devil Battery Sign, Round House Theatre, then Phoenix Theatre, both London, 1977
 * Lord Illingworth, A Woman of No Importance, Chichester Festival Theatre, 1978
 * Antony, Antony and Cleopatra, Young Vic Theatre, London, 1982
 * Elyot, Private Lives, Aldwych Theatre, London, 1990
 * Cassius, Julius Caesar, Hartford Stage Company, 1990-1991
 * The Resistible Rise of Arturo Ui, Chichester and The Duchess Theatre, 2013

Directing

 * The Red Devil Battery Sign, Roundhouse and Phoenix Theatre, 1977
 * Time and the Conways, 1988–89
 * Rope, Chichester Festival Theatre then Wyndham's Theatre, 1994
 * Dangerous Corner, Chichester Festival Theatre, 1994, and Whitehall Theatre, 1995
 * Gaslight
 * After October, 1996–97
 * Silhouette

Baxter regularly directed shows at Shakespeare Theatre Company in Washington D.C., including:
 * The Country Wife (2000)
 * The Rivals (2003)
 * Lady Windermere's Fan (2003)
 * The Imaginary Invalid (2008)
 * The Rivals (2009)
 * Mrs. Warren's Profession (2010)
 * An Ideal Husband (2011)
 * The Importance of Being Earnest

Cleopatra
Baxter was signed for the role of Octavian "Augustus" Caesar opposite Elizabeth Taylor's Cleopatra in the 1963 film of Cleopatra. Taylor's bout of pneumonia, soon after filming began, temporarily shut down filming. By the time she recovered, Baxter had other commitments and Roddy McDowall assumed the role. Baxter co-starred with Taylor in the film Ash Wednesday (1973). He also later played Mark Antony opposite Maggie Smith's Cleopatra in Antony and Cleopatra at the Stratford Festival in Canada in 1976.

Television work
Baxter's television work included appearances in Gideon's Way, The Avengers, Hawaii Five-O, Thriller (1976) and the 1998 mini-series Merlin.

Other work
Baxter was the author of My Sentiments Exactly, memoirs. He has written several plays including 56 Duncan Terrace, Cavell and Barnaby and the Old Boys.

In 1971, he recorded an LP of several of the short stories of Saki for Caedmon Records under the title Reginald on House-Parties, and Other Stories.

Baxter was an associate member of the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art.

Personal life and death
During the 1960s, Baxter had a brief affair with the dancer Rudolf Nureyev. In 1979, he met Brian Holden and formed a lasting relationship; they married in 2016, and moved from London to West Sussex.

Keith Baxter died from a heart attack while swimming on holiday in Corsica, on 24 September 2023. He was 90, and was survived by his husband.

Theatre awards

 * 1962 Theatre World Award for A Man for All Seasons
 * 1971 Drama Desk Award for Sleuth