Keith Baxter (born April 29, 1933) is a
WelshWales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom, bordered by England to its east, and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It is also an elective region of the European Union...
theatreTheatre is a branch of the performing arts. While any performance may be considered theatre, as a performing art, it focuses almost exclusively on live performers creating a self contained drama. A performance qualifies as dramatic by creating a representational illusion...
,
filmFilm encompasses individual motion pictures, the field of film as an art form, and the motion picture industry. Films are produced by recording images from the world with cameras, or by creating images using animation techniques or visual effects....
, and
televisionTelevision is a widely used telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images, either monochromatic or color, usually accompanied by sound. "Television" may also refer specifically to a television set, television programming or television transmission...
actorAn actor or actress is a person who acts in a dramatic production and who works in film, television, theatre, or radio in that capacity...
.
Early Years & RADA
Born in
Newport, WalesNewport is a city and unitary authority area in Wales. Standing on the banks of the River Usk, it is located about east of Cardiff, and is the largest urban area within the historic county boundaries of Monmouthshire and the preserved county of Gwent...
in 1933, Baxter studied at
London[]London is the capital of England and the United Kingdom. It has been a major settlement for two millennia, and the history of London goes back to its founding by the Romans, when it was named Londinium. London's core, the ancient City of London, the 'square mile', retains its medieval boundaries...
's Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts, during which period he shared an apartment with classmate
Alan BatesSir Alan Arthur Bates CBE was a British actor of stage, screen and television.-Early life:Bates was born in Allestree, Derby, England on 17 February 1934, the eldest of three sons of Florence Mary , a homemaker and a pianist, and Harold Arthur Bates, an insurance broker and a cellist...
. He made his film debut in the
1957The 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
...
remakeA remake is a piece of media based primarily on an earlier work of the same medium.-Film:The term "remake" is generally used in reference to a movie which uses an earlier movie as the main source material, rather than in reference to a second, later movie based on the same source...
of
The Barretts of Wimpole StreetThe Barretts of Wimpole Street is a 1934 film depicting the real-life romance between poets Elizabeth Barrett and Robert Browning , despite the opposition of her father Edward Moulton-Barrett . The film was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Picture...
.
Films
In 1960,
Orson WellesGeorge Orson Welles was an American film director, writer, actor and producer, who worked extensively in film, theatre, television, and radio. Welles was also an accomplished magician, starring in troop variety spectacles in the war years...
selected Baxter to portray Prince Hal in his stage production
Chimes at Midnight, which combined portions of the
ShakespeareanWilliam Shakespeare was an English poet and playwright, widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's preeminent dramatist. He is often called England's national poet and the "Bard of Avon"...
plays
Henry IV, Part I,
Henry IV, Part II,
Henry VHenry V is a history play by William Shakespeare, written in 1599. It is based on the life of King Henry V of England, and focuses on events immediately before and after the Battle of Agincourt during the Hundred Years' War....
,
Richard IIKing Richard the Second is a history play by William Shakespeare believed to be written in approximately 1595. It is based on the life of King Richard II of England and is the first part of a tetralogy, referred to by some scholars as the Henriad, followed by three plays concerning Richard's...
, and
The Merry Wives of WindsorThe Merry Wives of Windsor is a comedy by William Shakespeare, first published in 1602, though believed to have been written prior to 1597. It features the fat knight Sir John Falstaff, and is Shakespeare's only play to deal exclusively with contemporary Elizabethan era English middle class life...
and brought the comic figure of
FalstaffSir John Falstaff is a fictional character who appears in three plays by William Shakespeare as a companion to Prince Hal, the future King Henry V...
to the forefront of a primarily tragic tale. Baxter repeated his performance in the
1965The year 1965 in film involved some significant events.-Top grossing films : After theatrical re-issue
source: http://www.boxofficereport.com/database/1965.shtml- Awards :Academy Awards:*Boeing Boeing*Brainstorm...
film versionChimes at Midnight, also known as Falstaff, is a 1965 film directed by Orson Welles based on William Shakespeare's recurring character Sir John Falstaff. Welles himself plays Falstaff, Keith Baxter plays Prince Hal , and John Gielgud plays Henry IV...
. Additional film credits include
Ash WednesdayAsh Wednesday is a 1973 American drama film directed by Larry Peerce. The screenplay by Jean-Claude Tramont focuses on the effect extensive cosmetic surgery has on the life of a middle-aged married woman.-Plot:...
and
Killing Time-Plot:After the mobster who murdered his partner is acquitted, semicorrupt detective Robert Bryant hires a beautiful female assassin, Maria, to kill him. When he discovers that he cannot afford Maria's services, Bryant is forced to hire another assassin, Madison, to kill her...
.
Broadway
In 1961, Baxter made his
Broadway debutBroadway Theatre, commonly called simply Broadway, is the theatre associated with the 40 large professional theaters with 500 seats or more located in the Theatre District, New York in Manhattan, New York City...
as King Henry VIII in
A Man for All SeasonsA Man for All Seasons is a play by Robert Bolt. An early form of the play had been written for BBC Radio in 1954, but after Bolt's success with The Flowering Cherry, he reworked it for the stage....
. Other
New York CityNew York is the most populous city in the United States, and the center of the New York metropolitan area, which is among the most populous urban areas in the world. A leading global city, New York exerts a powerful influence over worldwide commerce, finance, culture, fashion and entertainment...
stage credits include
Avanti!Avanti! is a 1972 American/Italian comedy film produced and directed by Billy Wilder. The screenplay by Wilder and I.A.L. Diamond is based on the 1968 play of the same title by Samuel Taylor.-Plot:...
(1968),
SleuthSleuth is a 1970 play written by Anthony Shaffer. The play is set in the Wiltshire, England manor house of Andrew Wyke, an immensely successful mystery writer. His home reflects Wyke's obsession with the inventions and deceptions of fiction and his fascination with games and game-playing...
(1970),
Romantic ComedyRomantic Comedy is a play by Bernard Slade, author of Same Time, Next Year.The plot focuses on Phoebe Craddock and Jason Carmichael, playwrights who meet and decide to collaborate just as he is getting married...
(1980), and
The Woman in BlackThe Woman in Black is a 1983 horror novel by Susan Hill about a menacing spectre that haunts a small English town.It was adapted into a stage play by Stephen Mallatratt. It was also made into a TV movie in 1989, based on a screenplay by the distinguished film and television writer Nigel Kneale,...
(2001).
The Original Mark Antony to Liz Taylor's Cleopatra
Baxter was signed for the role of Octavian "Augustus" Caesar opposite
Elizabeth TaylorDame Elizabeth Rosemond Taylor, DBE , also known as Liz Taylor, is an English-born British-American actress. Known for her acting skills and beauty, as well as her Hollywood lifestyle, including many marriages...
's Cleopatra in the
1963The year 1963 in film involved some significant events.-Events:* June 12 - Cleopatra starring Elizabeth Taylor, Rex Harrison and Richard Burton premieres at the Rivoli Theatre in New York City....
film epic of
the same nameCleopatra is a 1963 film directed by Joseph L. Mankiewicz. The screenplay was adapted by Sidney Buchman, Ben Hecht, Ranald MacDougall, and Joseph L. Mankiewicz from a book by Carlo Mario Franzero. The film starred Elizabeth Taylor, Richard Burton, Rex Harrison, Roddy McDowall and Martin Landau. The...
. Taylor's bout with 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 eventually co-starred with Taylor in the
1973The 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....
film
Ash WednesdayAsh Wednesday is a 1973 American drama film directed by Larry Peerce. The screenplay by Jean-Claude Tramont focuses on the effect extensive cosmetic surgery has on the life of a middle-aged married woman.-Plot:...
.
TV Work
Baxter's television work includes appearances in
Gideon's WayGideon's Way was a British TV crime series made by ITC Entertainment in 1964/65, based on the novels by John Creasey . The series was made at Elstree in twin production with The Saint TV series...
,
The AvengersThe Avengers is a British television adventure series about secret agents in 1960s Britain. The programmes were made by TV company ABC Weekend Television , and created by its Head of Drama Sydney Newman...
,
Hawaii Five-OHawaii Five-O is an American television series that starred Jack Lord in the lead role for a fictional Hawaii state police department. The show ran for 12 seasons, from 1968 to 1980. The twelfth season was repackaged into syndication under the title McGarrett.-Overview:The CBS television network...
, and the mini-series
MerlinMerlin is a television miniseries released in 1998 that retells the legend of King Arthur from the perspective of the wizard Merlin. Sam Neill stars in the title role in a story that covers not only the rise and fall of Camelot but also the phase in the legendary history of Britain that precedes...
.
Baxter is an Associate Member of the Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts.
Theater awards
- 1971 Drama Desk Award
The Drama Desk Award, presented since 1955, is the only award that recognizes excellence in shows produced in all sectors of New York theatre, including Broadway, off-Broadway, off-off-Broadway and legitimate not-for-profit theaters. It is widely considered one of the top American theater awards...
for Sleuth
- 1962 Theatre World Award
The Theatre World Award, first awarded for the 1945-46 season, is an American honor presented annually to actors and actresses in recognition of an outstanding New York City stage debut performance, either on Broadway or off-Broadway.-History:...
for A Man for All Seasons
External links