Anne Baxter
Encyclopedia
Anne Baxter was an American actress known for her performances in films such as The Magnificent Ambersons
(1942), The Razor's Edge
(1946), All About Eve
(1950) and The Ten Commandments
(1956).
to Kenneth Stuart Baxter and Catherine Wright; her maternal grandfather was the architect
Frank Lloyd Wright
. Baxter's father was a prominent executive with the Seagrams Distillery Co. and she was raised in New York City
in a well-to-do home, and attended the prestigious Brearley School
. At age 10, Baxter attended a Broadway
play starring Helen Hayes
, and was so impressed that she declared to her family that she wanted to become an actress. By the age of 13, she had appeared on Broadway. During this period, Baxter learned her acting craft as a student of the famed teacher Maria Ouspenskaya
.
At 16 Baxter screen-tested for the role of Mrs. DeWinter in Rebecca, losing to Joan Fontaine
because director Alfred Hitchcock
considered her too young for the role, but she soon secured a seven-year contract with 20th Century Fox
. Her first movie role was in 20 Mule Team in 1940. She was chosen by director Orson Welles
to appear in The Magnificent Ambersons
(1942). Baxter co-starred with Tyrone Power
and Gene Tierney
in 1946's The Razor's Edge
, for which she won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress
. Baxter later recounted that The Razor's Edge contained her only great performance which was a hospital scene where the character, Sophie, "loses her husband, child and everything else". She said she relived the death of her brother, who had died at age three.
In 1950, Baxter was chosen to co-star in All About Eve
, largely because of a resemblance to Claudette Colbert
, who was originally set to co-star in the film. The original idea was to have Baxter's character gradually come to mirror Colbert's over the course of the film. Baxter received a nomination for Best Actress
for the title role of Eve Harrington. She said she modeled the role on a bitchy understudy she had for her debut performance in the Broadway play Seen But Not Heard at the age of thirteen and who had threatened to "finish her off". Through the 1950s she continued to act on stage. According to a program from the production, Baxter appeared on Broadway in 1953 opposite Tyrone Power
in Charles Laughton
's John Brown's Body
, a play based upon the narrative poem by Stephen Vincent Benét
(though the Internet Broadway Database
states that Power's co-star was Judith Anderson
). In 1953 Baxter contracted a two picture deal for Warner Brothers. Her first was opposite Montgomery Clift
in Alfred Hitchcock
's I Confess
; the second was the whodunit
The Blue Gardenia as a woman accused of murder.
Baxter is also remembered for her role as the Egypt
ian Queen Nefretiri
opposite Charlton Heston
's portrayal of Moses
in Cecil B. DeMille
's award winning The Ten Commandments
(1956).
Baxter appeared regularly on television in the 1960s. She did a stint as one of the What's My Line?
"Mystery Guests" on the popular Sunday night CBS-TV quiz program. She also starred as guest villain "Zelda the Great" in two episodes of the superhero show Batman
. She appeared as another villain, "Olga, Queen of the Cossacks," opposite Vincent Price
's "Egghead" in three episodes of the show's third season. She also played an old flame of Raymond Burr
on his crime series Ironside
.
Baxter returned to Broadway during the 1970s in Applause
, the musical version of All About Eve
, but this time in the "Margo Channing" role played by Bette Davis
in the film. (She was replacing Lauren Bacall
, who won a Tony Award
in the role.)
In the 1970s, Baxter was a frequent guest and stand-in host on The Mike Douglas Show
, since Baxter and host Mike Douglas were friends. She portrayed a murderous film star on an episode of Columbo, called "Requiem for a Fallen Star". In 1983, Baxter starred in the television series Hotel
, replacing Bette Davis after Davis became ill.
Baxter has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame
at 6741 Hollywood Blvd.
. They had a daughter, Katrina, born 1951, and divorced in 1953, which she later blamed on herself.
In 1960, Baxter married her second husband, Randolph Galt. Galt was the American owner of a neighboring cattle station near Sydney
, Australia
where she was filming Summer of the Seventeenth Doll. She left Hollywood with Katrina to live with him on a remote 37000 acres (149.7 km²) cattle station he bought 180 miles (289.7 km) north of Sydney called Giro . During this time, they had two daughters, Melissa (b. 1962) and Maginel (b. 1964). After the birth of Maginel, back in California
, Galt suddenly announced they were moving to an 11000 acres (44.5 km²) ranch south of Grants, New Mexico
. They then moved to Hawaii
before settling back in Brentwood, Los Angeles, California
. Melissa Galt became an interior designer, and Maginel became a Roman Catholic nun.
Baxter married again, in 1977 to David Klee, a prominent stockbroker. It was a brief marriage; Klee died unexpectedly from illness. The newlywed couple had purchased a sprawling property in Easton, Connecticut
which they extensively remodeled, however, Klee did not live to see the renovations completed. Aspects of the house were redesigned to be architecturally reminiscent of Frank Lloyd Wright's 'Prairie School
Architecture. The living-room fireplace was remodeled to resemble the famous stone structure in the living room of her grandfather's masterpiece, Fallingwater
. Vaulted ceilings were lowered to embrace Wright's essential design protocol against soaring ceilings. Baxter never remarried. Although she maintained a residence in West Hollywood, Baxter considered her Connecticut home to be her primary residence. Baxter was an active benefactor of The Connecticut Early Music Society.
Baxter was a long time friend of celebrated costume designer Edith Head
, whom she first met on the set of The Ten Commandments. Head appeared with Baxter in a cameo role in Requiem For A Falling Star, a 1973 Columbo episode. Upon Head's death in 1981, Melissa Galt, who was also a goddaughter
of Head, was bequeathed Head's jewelry collection.
aneurysm
on December 4, 1985, while hailing a taxi on Madison Avenue in New York City
. She died 8 days later at Lenox Hill hospital on December 12, aged 62.
Baxter is buried on the estate of Frank Lloyd Wright at Lloyd Jones Cemetery in Spring Green, Wisconsin
. She was survived by her three daughters.
The Magnificent Ambersons
The Magnificent Ambersons is a 1918 novel by Booth Tarkington which won the 1919 Pulitzer Prize for novel. It was the second novel in his Growth trilogy, which included The Turmoil and The Midlander . In 1925 the novel was first adapted for film under the title Pampered Youth...
(1942), The Razor's Edge
The Razor's Edge (1946 film)
The Razor's Edge is the first film version of W. Somerset Maugham's 1944 novel. It was released in 1946 and stars Tyrone Power, Gene Tierney, John Payne, Anne Baxter, Clifton Webb, Herbert Marshall, supporting cast Lucile Watson, Frank Latimore and Elsa Lanchester. Marshall plays Somerset Maugham....
(1946), All About Eve
All About Eve
All About Eve is a 1950 American drama film written and directed by Joseph L. Mankiewicz, based on the 1946 short story "The Wisdom of Eve", by Mary Orr.The film stars Bette Davis as Margo Channing, a highly regarded but aging Broadway star...
(1950) and The Ten Commandments
The Ten Commandments (1956 film)
The Ten Commandments is a 1956 American epic film that dramatized the biblical story of the Exodus, in which the Hebrew-born Moses, an adopted Egyptian prince, becomes the deliverer of the Hebrew slaves. The film, released by Paramount Pictures in VistaVision on October 5, 1956, was directed by...
(1956).
Early life
Baxter was born in Michigan City, IndianaMichigan City, Indiana
Michigan City's origins date to 1830, when the land for the city was first purchased by Isaac C. Elston. Elston Middle School, formerly Elston High School, located at 317 Detroit St., is named after the founder....
to Kenneth Stuart Baxter and Catherine Wright; her maternal grandfather was the architect
Architecture
Architecture is both the process and product of planning, designing and construction. Architectural works, in the material form of buildings, are often perceived as cultural and political symbols and as works of art...
Frank Lloyd Wright
Frank Lloyd Wright
Frank Lloyd Wright was an American architect, interior designer, writer and educator, who designed more than 1,000 structures and completed 500 works. Wright believed in designing structures which were in harmony with humanity and its environment, a philosophy he called organic architecture...
. Baxter's father was a prominent executive with the Seagrams Distillery Co. and she was raised in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
in a well-to-do home, and attended the prestigious Brearley School
Brearley School
The Brearley School is an all-girls private school in New York City, New York, United States. It is located on the Upper East Side of the Manhattan borough of New York City. The school is divided into the Lower School , Middle School and Upper School...
. At age 10, Baxter attended a Broadway
Broadway theatre
Broadway theatre, commonly called simply Broadway, refers to theatrical performances presented in one of the 40 professional theatres with 500 or more seats located in the Theatre District centered along Broadway, and in Lincoln Center, in Manhattan in New York City...
play starring Helen Hayes
Helen Hayes
Helen Hayes Brown was an American actress whose career spanned almost 70 years. She eventually garnered the nickname "First Lady of the American Theatre" and was one of twelve people who have won an Emmy, a Grammy, an Oscar and a Tony Award...
, and was so impressed that she declared to her family that she wanted to become an actress. By the age of 13, she had appeared on Broadway. During this period, Baxter learned her acting craft as a student of the famed teacher Maria Ouspenskaya
Maria Ouspenskaya
Maria Alekseyevna Ouspenskaya was a Russian actress and acting teacher. She achieved success as a stage actress as a young woman in Russia, and as an elderly woman in Hollywood films.-Life and career:...
.
Career
Joan Fontaine
Joan de Beauvoir de Havilland , known professionally as Joan Fontaine, is a British American actress. She and her elder sister Olivia de Havilland are two of the last surviving leading ladies from Hollywood of the 1930s....
because director Alfred Hitchcock
Alfred Hitchcock
Sir Alfred Joseph Hitchcock, KBE was a British film director and producer. He pioneered many techniques in the suspense and psychological thriller genres. After a successful career in British cinema in both silent films and early talkies, Hitchcock moved to Hollywood...
considered her too young for the role, but she soon secured a seven-year contract with 20th Century Fox
20th Century Fox
Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation — also known as 20th Century Fox, or simply 20th or Fox — is one of the six major American film studios...
. Her first movie role was in 20 Mule Team in 1940. She was chosen by director Orson Welles
Orson Welles
George Orson Welles , best known as Orson Welles, was an American film director, actor, theatre director, screenwriter, and producer, who worked extensively in film, theatre, television and radio...
to appear in The Magnificent Ambersons
The Magnificent Ambersons (film)
The Magnificent Ambersons is a 1942 American drama film written and directed by Orson Welles. His second feature film, it is based on the 1918 novel of the same name by Booth Tarkington and stars Joseph Cotten, Dolores Costello, Anne Baxter, Tim Holt, Agnes Moorehead and Ray Collins...
(1942). Baxter co-starred with Tyrone Power
Tyrone Power
Tyrone Edmund Power, Jr. , usually credited as Tyrone Power and known sometimes as Ty Power, was an American film and stage actor who appeared in dozens of films from the 1930s to the 1950s, often in swashbuckler roles or romantic leads such as in The Mark of Zorro, Blood and Sand, The Black Swan,...
and Gene Tierney
Gene Tierney
Gene Eliza Tierney was an American film and stage actress. Acclaimed as one of the great beauties of her day, she is best remembered for her performance in the title role of Laura and her Academy Award-nominated performance for Best Actress in Leave Her to Heaven .Other notable roles include...
in 1946's The Razor's Edge
The Razor's Edge (1946 film)
The Razor's Edge is the first film version of W. Somerset Maugham's 1944 novel. It was released in 1946 and stars Tyrone Power, Gene Tierney, John Payne, Anne Baxter, Clifton Webb, Herbert Marshall, supporting cast Lucile Watson, Frank Latimore and Elsa Lanchester. Marshall plays Somerset Maugham....
, for which she won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress
Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress
Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role is one of the Academy Awards of Merit presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to recognize an actress who has delivered an outstanding performance while working within the film industry. Since its inception, however, the...
. Baxter later recounted that The Razor's Edge contained her only great performance which was a hospital scene where the character, Sophie, "loses her husband, child and everything else". She said she relived the death of her brother, who had died at age three.
In 1950, Baxter was chosen to co-star in All About Eve
All About Eve
All About Eve is a 1950 American drama film written and directed by Joseph L. Mankiewicz, based on the 1946 short story "The Wisdom of Eve", by Mary Orr.The film stars Bette Davis as Margo Channing, a highly regarded but aging Broadway star...
, largely because of a resemblance to Claudette Colbert
Claudette Colbert
Claudette Colbert was a French-born American-based actress of stage and film.Born in Paris, France and raised in New York City, Colbert began her career in Broadway productions during the 1920s, progressing to film with the advent of talking pictures...
, who was originally set to co-star in the film. The original idea was to have Baxter's character gradually come to mirror Colbert's over the course of the film. Baxter received a nomination for Best Actress
Academy Award for Best Actress
Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role is one of the Academy Awards of merit presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to recognize an actress who has delivered an outstanding performance while working within the film industry...
for the title role of Eve Harrington. She said she modeled the role on a bitchy understudy she had for her debut performance in the Broadway play Seen But Not Heard at the age of thirteen and who had threatened to "finish her off". Through the 1950s she continued to act on stage. According to a program from the production, Baxter appeared on Broadway in 1953 opposite Tyrone Power
Tyrone Power
Tyrone Edmund Power, Jr. , usually credited as Tyrone Power and known sometimes as Ty Power, was an American film and stage actor who appeared in dozens of films from the 1930s to the 1950s, often in swashbuckler roles or romantic leads such as in The Mark of Zorro, Blood and Sand, The Black Swan,...
in Charles Laughton
Charles Laughton
Charles Laughton was an English-American stage and film actor, screenwriter, producer and director.-Early life and career:...
's John Brown's Body
John Brown's Body (poem)
John Brown's Body is an epic American poem written by Stephen Vincent Benet. Its title references the radical abolitionist John Brown, who raided Harpers Ferry in West Virginia in the fall of 1859. He was captured and hanged later that year, and his name and rebellion inspired the civil war song...
, a play based upon the narrative poem by Stephen Vincent Benét
Stephen Vincent Benét
Stephen Vincent Benét was an American author, poet, short story writer, and novelist. Benét is best known for his book-length narrative poem of the American Civil War, John Brown's Body , for which he won a Pulitzer Prize in 1929, and for two short stories, "The Devil and Daniel Webster" and "By...
(though the Internet Broadway Database
Internet Broadway Database
The Internet Broadway Database is an online database of Broadway theatre productions and their personnel. It is operated by the Research Department of The Broadway League, a trade association for the North American commercial theatre community....
states that Power's co-star was Judith Anderson
Judith Anderson
Dame Judith Anderson, AC, DBE was an Australian-born American-based actress of stage, film and television. She won two Emmy Awards and a Tony Award and was also nominated for a Grammy Award and an Academy Award.-Early life:...
). In 1953 Baxter contracted a two picture deal for Warner Brothers. Her first was opposite Montgomery Clift
Montgomery Clift
Edward Montgomery Clift was an American film and stage actor. The New York Times’ obituary noted his portrayal of "moody, sensitive young men"....
in Alfred Hitchcock
Alfred Hitchcock
Sir Alfred Joseph Hitchcock, KBE was a British film director and producer. He pioneered many techniques in the suspense and psychological thriller genres. After a successful career in British cinema in both silent films and early talkies, Hitchcock moved to Hollywood...
's I Confess
I Confess (film)
I Confess is a drama film directed by Alfred Hitchcock, and starring Montgomery Clift as Fr. Michael William Logan, a Catholic priest, Anne Baxter as Ruth Grandfort, and Karl Malden as Inspector Larrue. This was the only film Hitchcock made with these three actors...
; the second was the whodunit
Whodunit
A whodunit or whodunnit is a complex, plot-driven variety of the detective story in which the puzzle is the main feature of interest. The reader or viewer is provided with clues from which the identity of the perpetrator of the crime may be deduced before the solution is revealed in the final...
The Blue Gardenia as a woman accused of murder.
Egypt
Egypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, Arabic: , is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Southwest Asia. Egypt is thus a transcontinental country, and a major power in Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East and the Muslim world...
ian Queen Nefretiri
Nefertari
Nefertari also known as Nefertari Merytmut was one of the Great Royal Wives of Ramesses the Great. Nefertari means 'Beautiful Companion' and Meritmut means 'Beloved of [the Goddess] Mut'. She is one of the best known Egyptian queens, next to Cleopatra, Nefertiti and Hatshepsut...
opposite Charlton Heston
Charlton Heston
Charlton Heston was an American actor of film, theatre and television. Heston is known for heroic roles in films such as The Ten Commandments, Ben-Hur for which he won the Academy Award for Best Actor, El Cid, and Planet of the Apes...
's portrayal of Moses
Moses
Moses was, according to the Hebrew Bible and Qur'an, a religious leader, lawgiver and prophet, to whom the authorship of the Torah is traditionally attributed...
in Cecil B. DeMille
Cecil B. DeMille
Cecil Blount DeMille was an American film director and Academy Award-winning film producer in both silent and sound films. He was renowned for the flamboyance and showmanship of his movies...
's award winning The Ten Commandments
The Ten Commandments (1956 film)
The Ten Commandments is a 1956 American epic film that dramatized the biblical story of the Exodus, in which the Hebrew-born Moses, an adopted Egyptian prince, becomes the deliverer of the Hebrew slaves. The film, released by Paramount Pictures in VistaVision on October 5, 1956, was directed by...
(1956).
Baxter appeared regularly on television in the 1960s. She did a stint as one of the What's My Line?
What's My Line?
What's My Line? is a panel game show which originally ran in the United States on the CBS Television Network from 1950 to 1967, with several international versions and subsequent U.S. revivals. The game tasked celebrity panelists with questioning contestants in order to determine their occupations....
"Mystery Guests" on the popular Sunday night CBS-TV quiz program. She also starred as guest villain "Zelda the Great" in two episodes of the superhero show Batman
Batman (TV series)
Batman is an American television series, based on the DC comic book character of the same name. It stars Adam West as Batman and Burt Ward as Robin — two crime-fighting heroes who defend Gotham City. It aired on the American Broadcasting Company network for three seasons from January 12, 1966 to...
. She appeared as another villain, "Olga, Queen of the Cossacks," opposite Vincent Price
Vincent Price
Vincent Leonard Price, Jr. was an American actor, well known for his distinctive voice and serio-comic attitude in a series of horror films made in the latter part of his career.-Early life and career:Price was born in St...
's "Egghead" in three episodes of the show's third season. She also played an old flame of Raymond Burr
Raymond Burr
Raymond William Stacey Burr was a Canadian actor, primarily known for his title roles in the television dramas Perry Mason and Ironside. His early acting career included roles on Broadway, radio, television and in film, usually as the villain...
on his crime series Ironside
Ironside (TV series)
Ironside is a Universal television series which ran on NBC from September 14, 1967 to January 16, 1975. The show starred Raymond Burr as the wheelchair-using Chief of Detectives, Robert T. Ironside. The character's debut was in a TV-movie on March 28, 1967. The original title of the show in the...
.
Baxter returned to Broadway during the 1970s in Applause
Applause (musical)
Applause is a musical with a book by Betty Comden and Adolph Green, lyrics by Lee Adams, and music by Charles Strouse. It won the Tony Award for Best Musical and Lauren Bacall won the Tony for Best Actress in a Musical....
, the musical version of All About Eve
All About Eve
All About Eve is a 1950 American drama film written and directed by Joseph L. Mankiewicz, based on the 1946 short story "The Wisdom of Eve", by Mary Orr.The film stars Bette Davis as Margo Channing, a highly regarded but aging Broadway star...
, but this time in the "Margo Channing" role played by Bette Davis
Bette Davis
Ruth Elizabeth "Bette" Davis was an American actress of film, television and theater. Noted for her willingness to play unsympathetic characters, she was highly regarded for her performances in a range of film genres, from contemporary crime melodramas to historical and period films and occasional...
in the film. (She was replacing Lauren Bacall
Lauren Bacall
Lauren Bacall is an American film and stage actress and model, known for her distinctive husky voice and sultry looks.She first emerged as leading lady in the Humphrey Bogart film To Have And Have Not and continued on in the film noir genre, with appearances in The Big Sleep and Dark Passage ,...
, who won a Tony Award
Tony Award
The Antoinette Perry Award for Excellence in Theatre, more commonly known as a Tony Award, recognizes achievement in live Broadway theatre. The awards are presented by the American Theatre Wing and The Broadway League at an annual ceremony in New York City. The awards are given for Broadway...
in the role.)
In the 1970s, Baxter was a frequent guest and stand-in host on The Mike Douglas Show
The Mike Douglas Show
The Mike Douglas Show is an American daytime television talk show hosted by Mike Douglas that aired in syndication from 1961 to 1982, distributed by Westinghouse Broadcasting and for much of its run, originated from studios of two of the company's TV stations.The program featured light banter with...
, since Baxter and host Mike Douglas were friends. She portrayed a murderous film star on an episode of Columbo, called "Requiem for a Fallen Star". In 1983, Baxter starred in the television series Hotel
Hotel (TV series)
Hotel is an American prime time drama series which aired on ABC from September 21, 1983 to May 5, 1988 in the timeslot following Dynasty....
, replacing Bette Davis after Davis became ill.
Baxter has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame
Hollywood Walk of Fame
The Hollywood Walk of Fame consists of more than 2,400 five-pointed terrazzo and brass stars embedded in the sidewalks along fifteen blocks of Hollywood Boulevard and three blocks of Vine Street in Hollywood, California...
at 6741 Hollywood Blvd.
Personal life
In 1946, Baxter married actor John HodiakJohn Hodiak
John Hodiak was an American actor who worked in radio and film.-Early life:He was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, the son of Walter Hodiak and Anna Pogorzelec . He was of Ukrainian and Polish descent...
. They had a daughter, Katrina, born 1951, and divorced in 1953, which she later blamed on herself.
In 1960, Baxter married her second husband, Randolph Galt. Galt was the American owner of a neighboring cattle station near Sydney
Sydney
Sydney is the most populous city in Australia and the state capital of New South Wales. Sydney is located on Australia's south-east coast of the Tasman Sea. As of June 2010, the greater metropolitan area had an approximate population of 4.6 million people...
, Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
where she was filming Summer of the Seventeenth Doll. She left Hollywood with Katrina to live with him on a remote 37000 acres (149.7 km²) cattle station he bought 180 miles (289.7 km) north of Sydney called Giro . During this time, they had two daughters, Melissa (b. 1962) and Maginel (b. 1964). After the birth of Maginel, back in California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
, Galt suddenly announced they were moving to an 11000 acres (44.5 km²) ranch south of Grants, New Mexico
Grants, New Mexico
Grants is a city in Cibola County, New Mexico, United States. The population was 9,182 at the 2010 Census. It is the county seat of Cibola County....
. They then moved to Hawaii
Hawaii
Hawaii is the newest of the 50 U.S. states , and is the only U.S. state made up entirely of islands. It is the northernmost island group in Polynesia, occupying most of an archipelago in the central Pacific Ocean, southwest of the continental United States, southeast of Japan, and northeast of...
before settling back in Brentwood, Los Angeles, California
Brentwood, Los Angeles, California
Brentwood is a district in western Los Angeles, California, United States. The district is located at the base of the Santa Monica Mountains, bounded by the San Diego Freeway on the east, Wilshire Boulevard on the south, the Santa Monica city limits on the southwest, the border of Topanga State...
. Melissa Galt became an interior designer, and Maginel became a Roman Catholic nun.
Baxter married again, in 1977 to David Klee, a prominent stockbroker. It was a brief marriage; Klee died unexpectedly from illness. The newlywed couple had purchased a sprawling property in Easton, Connecticut
Easton, Connecticut
Easton is a town in Fairfield County, Connecticut, United States. The population was 7,490 at the 2010 census. Easton contains the historic district of Aspetuck....
which they extensively remodeled, however, Klee did not live to see the renovations completed. Aspects of the house were redesigned to be architecturally reminiscent of Frank Lloyd Wright's 'Prairie School
Prairie School
Prairie School was a late 19th and early 20th century architectural style, most common to the Midwestern United States.The works of the Prairie School architects are usually marked by horizontal lines, flat or hipped roofs with broad overhanging eaves, windows grouped in horizontal bands,...
Architecture. The living-room fireplace was remodeled to resemble the famous stone structure in the living room of her grandfather's masterpiece, Fallingwater
Fallingwater
Fallingwater or Kaufmann Residence is a house designed by architect Frank Lloyd Wright in 1935 in rural southwestern Pennsylvania, 50 miles southeast of Pittsburgh...
. Vaulted ceilings were lowered to embrace Wright's essential design protocol against soaring ceilings. Baxter never remarried. Although she maintained a residence in West Hollywood, Baxter considered her Connecticut home to be her primary residence. Baxter was an active benefactor of The Connecticut Early Music Society.
Baxter was a long time friend of celebrated costume designer Edith Head
Edith Head
Edith Head was an American costume designer who won eight Academy Awards, more than any other woman.-Early life and career:...
, whom she first met on the set of The Ten Commandments. Head appeared with Baxter in a cameo role in Requiem For A Falling Star, a 1973 Columbo episode. Upon Head's death in 1981, Melissa Galt, who was also a goddaughter
Godparent
A godparent, in many denominations of Christianity, is someone who sponsors a child's baptism. A male godparent is a godfather, and a female godparent is a godmother...
of Head, was bequeathed Head's jewelry collection.
Death
Baxter suffered a brainBrain
The brain is the center of the nervous system in all vertebrate and most invertebrate animals—only a few primitive invertebrates such as sponges, jellyfish, sea squirts and starfishes do not have one. It is located in the head, usually close to primary sensory apparatus such as vision, hearing,...
aneurysm
Aneurysm
An aneurysm or aneurism is a localized, blood-filled balloon-like bulge in the wall of a blood vessel. Aneurysms can commonly occur in arteries at the base of the brain and an aortic aneurysm occurs in the main artery carrying blood from the left ventricle of the heart...
on December 4, 1985, while hailing a taxi on Madison Avenue in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
. She died 8 days later at Lenox Hill hospital on December 12, aged 62.
Baxter is buried on the estate of Frank Lloyd Wright at Lloyd Jones Cemetery in Spring Green, Wisconsin
Spring Green, Wisconsin
Spring Green is a village in Sauk County, Wisconsin, United States. The population was 1,444 at the 2000 census. The village is located within the Town of Spring Green.-Geography:Spring Green is located at ....
. She was survived by her three daughters.
Filmography
- 20 Mule Team (19401940 in filmThe year 1940 in film involved some significant events, including the premieres of the Walt Disney classics Pinocchio and Fantasia.-Events:*February 7 - Walt Disney's animated film Pinocchio is released....
) - The Great ProfileThe Great ProfileThe Great Profile is a 1940 film directed by Walter Lang. It stars John Barrymore and John Payne.-Cast:*John Barrymore as Evans Garrick*Mary Beth Hughes as Sylvia Manners*Gregory Ratoff as Boris Mefoosky*John Payne as Richard Lansing...
(1940) - Charley's AuntCharley's AuntCharley's Aunt is a farce in three acts written by Brandon Thomas. It broke all historic records for plays of any kind, with an original London run of 1,466 performances....
(19411941 in filmThe year 1941 in film involved some significant events.-Events:Citizen Kane, consistently rated as one of the greatest films of all time, was released in 1941.-Top grossing films :-Academy Awards:...
) - Swamp WaterSwamp WaterSwamp Water is a 1941 film directed by Jean Renoir, starring Walter Brennan, produced at 20th Century Fox, and based on the novel by Vereen Bell. The drama was shot on location at Okefenokee Swamp, Waycross, Georgia, USA. This was Renoir's first American film...
(1941) - The Pied PiperThe Pied Piper (1942 film)The Pied Piper is a 1942 film in which an Englishman on vacation in France is caught up in the German invasion of that country, and finds himself taking an ever-growing group of children to safety. It stars Monty Woolley, Roddy McDowall and Anne Baxter. The movie was adapted by Nunnally Johnson...
(19421942 in filmThe year 1942 in film involved some significant events, in particular the release of a film consistently rated as one of the greatest of all time, Casablanca.-Events:...
) - The Magnificent AmbersonsThe Magnificent Ambersons (film)The Magnificent Ambersons is a 1942 American drama film written and directed by Orson Welles. His second feature film, it is based on the 1918 novel of the same name by Booth Tarkington and stars Joseph Cotten, Dolores Costello, Anne Baxter, Tim Holt, Agnes Moorehead and Ray Collins...
(1942) - Crash DiveCrash DiveCrash Dive is a World War II film in Technicolor released in 1943. It was directed by Archie Mayo, written by Jo Swerling and W.R. Burnett, and starred Tyrone Power, Dana Andrews and Anne Baxter...
(19431943 in filmThe year 1943 in film involved some significant events.-Events:* January 3 - 1st missing persons telecast * February 20 - American film studio executives agree to allow the Office of War Information to censor films....
) - Five Graves to CairoFive Graves to CairoFive Graves to Cairo is a 1943 World War II film by Billy Wilder, starring Franchot Tone and Anne Baxter. It is one of a number of films based on Lajos Biró's play Színmü négy felvonásban, including Hotel Imperial .-Plot:...
(1943) - The North StarThe North Star (1943 film)The North Star is a 1943 war film produced and distributed by RKO Radio Pictures. It was directed by Lewis Milestone and written by Lillian Hellman. The film starred Anne Baxter, Dana Andrews, Walter Huston, Walter Brennan and Erich von Stroheim...
(1943) - The Fighting SullivansThe Fighting SullivansThe Fighting Sullivans, originally released as The Sullivans, is a 1944 American biographical war film directed by Lloyd Bacon and written by Edward Doherty, Mary C. McCall Jr. and Jules Schermer...
(19441944 in filmThe year 1944 in film involved some significant events, including the wholesome, award-winning Going My Way plus popular murder mysteries such as Double Indemnity, Gaslight and Laura.-Events:*July 20 - Since You Went Away is released....
) - The Eve of St. Mark (1944)
- Sunday Dinner for a SoldierSunday Dinner for a SoldierSunday Dinner for a Soldier is a 1944 motion picture directed by Lloyd Bacon andbased on a novelette by Martha Cheavens.The film tells the story of a poor family in Florida who wants to host a meal for a serviceman from the Army airbase nearby....
(1944) - Guest in the HouseGuest in the HouseGuest in the House is an American film noir directed by John Brahm. The drama features Anne Baxter, Ralph Bellamy, Aline MacMahon, among others.-Cast:* Anne Baxter as Evelyn Heath* Ralph Bellamy as Douglas Proctor* Aline MacMahon as Aunt Martha...
(1944) - A Royal ScandalA Royal Scandal (film)A Royal Scandal, also known as Czarina, is a 1945 film about the love life of Russian Empress Catherine the Great. It stars Tallulah Bankhead, Charles Coburn, Anne Baxter, and William Eythe...
(19451945 in filmThe year 1945 in film involved some significant events.-Events:* Paramount Studios releases theatrical short cartoon titled The Friendly Ghost, featuring a ghost named Casper.* With Rossellini's Roma Città aperta, Italian neorealist cinema begins....
) - Smoky (19461946 in filmThe year 1946 in film involved some significant events.-Events:*November 21 - William Wyler's The Best Years of Our Lives premieres in New York featuring an ensemble cast including Fredric March, Myrna Loy, Dana Andrews, Teresa Wright, and Harold Russell.*December 20 - Frank Capra's It's a...
) - Angel on My ShoulderAngel on My Shoulder (film)Angel on My Shoulder is a 1946 American fantasy film about a deal between the Devil and a dead man. It was an independent production, produced by Charles R. Rogers and David W. Siegel, directed by Archie Mayo, written by Harry Segall and Roland Kibbee, and released by United Artists...
(1946) - The Razor's EdgeThe Razor's Edge (1946 film)The Razor's Edge is the first film version of W. Somerset Maugham's 1944 novel. It was released in 1946 and stars Tyrone Power, Gene Tierney, John Payne, Anne Baxter, Clifton Webb, Herbert Marshall, supporting cast Lucile Watson, Frank Latimore and Elsa Lanchester. Marshall plays Somerset Maugham....
(1946) - Blaze of Noon (19471947 in filmThe year 1947 in film involved some significant events.-Events:*May 22 - Great Expectations is premiered in New York.*November 24 : The United States House of Representatives of the 80th Congress voted 346 to 17 to approve citations for contempt of Congress against the "Hollywood Ten".*November 25...
) - Mother Wore TightsMother Wore TightsMother Wore Tights is a 1947 musical film starring Betty Grable and Dan Dailey as married vaudeville performers. This was Grable and Dailey's first film together, based on a book of the same name by Miriam Young. It was the highest grossing film of Grable's career up to that time, earning more...
(1947) (narrator) - HomecomingHomecoming (1948 film)Homecoming is a 1948 romantic drama starring Clark Gable and Lana Turner.-Plot:Ulysses Johnson is a surgeon coming back from World War II. As he is sitting on the transport boat taking him back to America, he is asked by a reporter about his experiences during the war. Johnson begins to tell him...
(19481948 in filmThe year 1948 in film involved some significant events.-Events:* Laurence Olivier's Hamlet becomes the first British film to win the American Academy Award for Best Picture.-Top grossing films : After theatrical re-issue- Awards :...
) - The Walls of Jericho (1948)
- The Luck of the IrishThe Luck of the Irish (1948 film)The Luck of the Irish is a 1948 film with Tyrone Power, Anne Baxter, Lee J. Cobb, Cecil Kellaway, and Jayne Meadows.-Plot:Stephen Fitzgerald , a newspaper reporter from New York, meets a leprechaun and a beautiful young woman while traveling in Ireland...
(1948) - Yellow SkyYellow SkyYellow Sky is an American western film directed by William A. Wellman. The story is believed to be loosely adapted from William Shakespeare's The Tempest. A band of outlaws flee after a bank robbery and encounter an old man and his granddaughter in a ghost town.-Plot:In 1867, a gang led by James...
(19491949 in filmThe year 1949 in film involved some significant events.-Top grossing films :- Awards :Academy Awards:*Abbott and Costello Meet the Killer, Boris Karloff, starring Bud Abbott and Lou Costello...
) - You're My EverythingYou're My Everything (film)You're My Everything is a 1949 film directed by Walter Lang. It stars Dan Dailey and Robert Young.-Cast:*Dan Dailey as Timothy O'Connor*Anne Baxter as Hannah Adams*Anne Revere as Aunt Jane*Stanley Ridges as Mr. Henry Mercer...
(1949) - A Ticket to TomahawkA Ticket to TomahawkA Ticket to Tomahawk is a 1950 comedy/western film directed by Richard Sale and starring Dan Dailey and Anne Baxter.-Plot:In 1876 Dawson wants to prevent a train from getting to Tomahawk, Colorado on time, so to keep it from competing with his stage coach line. Kit Dodge Jr...
(19501950 in filmThe year 1950 in film involved some significant events.-Events:* February 15 - Walt Disney Studios' animated film Cinderella debuts.-Top grossing films : After theatrical re-issue- Awards :Academy Awards:*Ambush...
) - All About EveAll About EveAll About Eve is a 1950 American drama film written and directed by Joseph L. Mankiewicz, based on the 1946 short story "The Wisdom of Eve", by Mary Orr.The film stars Bette Davis as Margo Channing, a highly regarded but aging Broadway star...
(1950) - Follow the SunFollow the SunFollow the Sun is a 1951 biographical film of the life of golf legend Ben Hogan. It starred Glenn Ford as Hogan and Anne Baxter as his wife. Many golfers and sports figures of the day appeared in the movie.-Plot summary:...
(19511951 in filmThe year 1951 in film involved some significant events.-Events:* Sweden - May Britt is scouted by Italian film-makers Carlo Ponti and Mario Soldati-Top grossing films : After theatrical re-issue- Awards :Academy Awards:...
) - The Outcasts of Poker FlatThe Outcasts of Poker Flat"The Outcasts of Poker Flat" is a short story written by renowned author of the American West Bret Harte. This story is a good example of regionalism and local color during the Gilded Generation. His compelling combination of realism and sentimentality offers readers real and known characters, yet...
(19521952 in filmThe year 1952 in film involved some significant events.-Events:* January 10 - Cecil B. DeMille's circus epic, The Greatest Show on Earth, premieres at Radio City Music Hall in New York City....
) - O. Henry's Full HouseO. Henry's Full HouseO. Henry's Full House is an anthology film made by 20th Century Fox, consisting of five separate stories by O. Henry. The film was produced by André Hakim and directed by five separate directors from five separate screenplays. The music score was composed by Alfred Newman...
(1952) - My Wife's Best Friend (1952)
- I ConfessI Confess (film)I Confess is a drama film directed by Alfred Hitchcock, and starring Montgomery Clift as Fr. Michael William Logan, a Catholic priest, Anne Baxter as Ruth Grandfort, and Karl Malden as Inspector Larrue. This was the only film Hitchcock made with these three actors...
(19531953 in filmThe year 1953 in film involved some significant events.-Events:*September 16 — The Robe debuts as the first anamorphic, widescreen CinemaScope film.-Top grossing films : After theatrical re-issue- Awards :Academy Awards:A...
) - The Blue GardeniaThe Blue Gardenia (1953 film)The Blue Gardenia is a 1953 black-and-white film noir directed by Fritz Lang and based on a story by Vera Caspary. The first of Lang's "newspaper noir" movie trio -- with While the City Sleeps and Beyond a Reasonable Doubt -- The Blue Gardenia criticizes newspaper coverage of a sensational murder...
(1953) - Carnival StoryCarnival StoryCarnival Story is a 1954 film directed by Kurt Neumann, starring Anne Baxter and Steve Cochran, and released by RKO Radio Pictures. The film was shot in 3-D, but was only released to theaters in 2D...
(19541954 in filmThe year 1954 in film involved some significant events and memorable ones.-Events:*May 12 - The Marx Brothers' Zeppo Marx divorces wife Marion Benda...
) (also cameo in German version titled Carnival of Love) - BedevilledBedevilledBedevilled is a 1955 crime film directed by Mitchell Leisen. It stars Anne Baxter and Steve Forrest.-Plot:A novice priest, on his way to take his final vows, offers sanctuary to a girl on the run from gangsters.-Cast:*Anne Baxter as Monica Johnson...
(19551955 in filmThe year 1955 in film involved some significant events.-Events:* November 3 - The musical Guys and Dolls, starring Marlon Brando and Frank Sinatra, debuts.* June 27 - The last ever Republic serial, King of the Carnival, is released....
) - One Desire (1955)
- The SpoilersThe Spoilers (1955 film)The Spoilers is a 1955 film directed by Jesse Hibbs, adapted to sceen by Oscar Brodney and Charles Hoffman from the novel and play by Rex Beach. The movie is set in Nome, Alaska during the 1898 Gold Rush, with Anne Baxter as Cherry Malotte, Jeff Chandler as Roy Glennister, and Rory Calhoun as...
(1955) - The Come On (19561956 in filmThe year 1956 in film involved some significant events.-Events:* October 5 - The Ten Commandments opens in cinemas and becomes one of the most successful and popular movies of all time, currently ranking 5th on the list of all time moneymakers * February 5 - First showing of documentary films by...
) - The Ten CommandmentsThe Ten Commandments (1956 film)The Ten Commandments is a 1956 American epic film that dramatized the biblical story of the Exodus, in which the Hebrew-born Moses, an adopted Egyptian prince, becomes the deliverer of the Hebrew slaves. The film, released by Paramount Pictures in VistaVision on October 5, 1956, was directed by...
(1956) - Chase a Crooked ShadowChase a Crooked ShadowChase a Crooked Shadow is a suspense film in which a woman has trouble convincing anybody that a complete stranger has taken her dead brother's identity...
(19571957 in filmThe year 1957 in film involved some significant events.-Events:* October 21 - The movie Jailhouse Rock, starring Elvis Presley, opens.-Top grossing films : After theatrical re-issue-Awards:...
) - Three Violent PeopleThree Violent PeopleThree Violent People is a 1957 American western movie starring Charlton Heston and Anne Baxter.-Plot:Confederate soldier Capt. Colt Saunders comes home to Texas from the war...
(1957) - Summer of the Seventeenth DollSummer of the Seventeenth DollSummer of the Seventeenth Doll is a pioneering Australian play written by Ray Lawler and first performed at the Union Theatre in Melbourne, Australia, on 28 November 1955...
(19591959 in filmThe year 1959 in film involved some significant events, with Ben-Hur winning a record 11 Academy Awards.-Events:* The Three Stooges make their 190th and last short film, Sappy Bull Fighters....
) - CimarronCimarron (1960 film)Cimarron is a 1960 western film based on the Edna Ferber novel Cimarron, featuring Glenn Ford and Maria Schell. It was directed by Anthony Mann, known for his westerns and film noirs....
(19601960 in filmThe year 1960 in film involved some significant events, with Alfred Hitchcock's Psycho the top-grossing release in the U.S.-Events:* April 20 - for the first time since coming home from military service in Germany, Elvis Presley returns to Hollywood, California to film G.I...
) - The DuPont Show with June AllysonThe DuPont Show with June AllysonThe DuPont Show with June Allyson is an American anthology drama series which aired on CBS from September 21, 1959 to April 3, 1961 with rebroadcasts continuing until June 12, 1961...
, as Louise in "The Dance Man" (CBS, 1960) - Mix Me a PersonMix Me a PersonMix Me a Person is a 1962 British crime drama film directed by Leslie Norman and starring Anne Baxter, Donald Sinden, Adam Faith, Walter Brown and Carole Ann Ford. A young London criminal is faced with a hanging for murdering a policeman...
(19621962 in filmThe year 1962 in film involved some significant events.-Events:*May - The Golden Horse Film Festival and Awards are officially founded by the Taiwanese government....
) - Walk on the Wild SideWalk on the Wild Side (film)Walk on the Wild Side is a 1962 film directed by Edward Dmytryk, adapted from the 1956 novel A Walk on the Wild Side by Nelson Algren. The film had a star-studded cast, including Laurence Harvey, Capucine, Jane Fonda , Anne Baxter, and Barbara Stanwyck, and was scripted by John Fante. Nonetheless,...
(1962) - The Family JewelsThe Family Jewels (film)The Family Jewels is a 1965 American comedy film. It was filmed from January 18-April 2, 1965 and was released by Paramount Pictures on July 1, 1965. The film was co-written, directed, and produced by Jerry Lewis who also played seven roles in the film...
(19651965 in filmThe year 1965 in film involved some significant events, with The Sound of Music topping the U.S. box office.-Top grossing films : After theatrical re-issue- Awards :Academy Awards:...
) (Cameo) - Seven Vengeful Women (19661966 in filmThe year 1966 in film involved some significant events.-Events:Animation legend Walter Disney, well known for his creation of Mickey Mouse, died in 15 December 1966 of acute circulatory collapse following a diagnosis of, and surgery for, lung cancer...
) - The Busy BodyThe Busy BodyThe Busy Body is a 1967 comedy film starring Sid Caesar as a member of a crime ring and Robert Ryan as his boss. It was directed and produced by William Castle and was the first film appearance for Richard Pryor....
(19671967 in filmThe year 1967 in film involved some significant events. It is widely considered as one of the most ground-breaking years in film.-Events:* December 26 - The Beatles Magical Mystery Tour airs on British television....
) - Fools' ParadeFools' ParadeFools' Parade is a 1971 drama film directed by Andrew McLaglen and starring James Stewart, George Kennedy, Kurt Russell, and Strother Martin. It was based on the novel of the same name by Davis Grubb...
(19711971 in filmThe year 1971 in film involved some significant events.-Events:*February 8 - Bob Dylan's hour long documentary film, Eat the Document, premieres at New York's Academy of Music...
) - The Late Liz (1971)
- Columbo: Requiem for a Falling Star (19731973 in filmThe year 1973 in film involved some significant events.-Events:*The Marx Brothers' Zeppo Marx divorces his second wife, Barbara Blakely. Blakely would later marry actor/singer Frank Sinatra....
) - Nero Wolfe (1977)
- Jane Austen in ManhattanJane Austen in ManhattanJane Austen in Manhattan is a Merchant Ivory Film made for LWT in 1980, but released for theatrical in UK and USA. It was the last theatrical film of Anne Baxter and the debut film of Sean Young.-Starring:*Anne Baxter - Lilliana Zorska...
(19801980 in film- Events :* May 21 - Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back is released and is the biggest grosser of the year ....
)