Other cuttings described him as practically a recluse. Identifying clients needs and developing solutions for both existing and new to Bank clients. 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. It was the future Carry On star Kenneth Williams, also barely out of his teens but playing an old man in a CSE production. He kept phoning all the time, telling me there was something special between us. He died aged just 26 and Stanley was heartbroken. where are we up to? . He was sent to India, and then further East to Burma, where he was promoted to corporal and assigned duties as a typist (Class 3). And he met Moira Robertson, a 22-year-old who had worked her way up from the wardrobe department to the stage. Moira tried to take her own life on two occasions. When co-founder Robert Thompson left to open his own business in 1860 John Baxter - a clerk within the company - became partner. We became close, without it ever being more than friendship.'. Oh, they all varied, said the agent, suddenly sounding irritated. Scots who never visit a theatre for the rest of the year still find their way to the panto, where the scenarios and jokes have the familiarity of ritual. And by the time the then-teenager landed a place in the entertainment corps during his National Service years, Stanley was convinced that acting was his destiny. A Scottish national treasure. Baxter himself often spoke of wanting to die. Still smiling, though. Yet, the relationship was doomed from the start. For Bill this was just sexual experimentation, and he would later reject a sexual relationship with Stanley, preferring women. He was the lead in one play before going off to serve with the Royal Army Service Corps in the Far East, where he was recruited for the Combined Services Entertainment unit, a drag- and-greasepaint outfit straight out of It Aint Half Hot Mum. I know it all sounds terribly old-fashioned but men had those expectations in those days., Now, Stanley admits another reason why he felt Moira should remain at home. Ill be calmer tomorrow. A tabloid, of course, would not be interested in the finer nuances of relationships, and one can understand why Baxter might have preferred to keep such matters to himself. Stanley Baxter delighted over 20 million viewers at a time with his television specials. It truly means nothing if our council is having to make decisions which . She may have worshipped Stanley but she never got herself worked up if her husbands white shirts were dry in the morning or not. As he grew up, she was intensely jealous and would shoo away any girls who admired him: 'She started telling me about these two boys who once took a wee girl into a haunted house up the road and did terrible things to her. For decades he has hated to venture out: 'I didn't want to be seen as someone who was once Stanley Baxter,' he says. What about? Wait and see, was the answer. And although she was a good cook, she wasn't very good at washing. He is completely woven into the Scottish psyche, says Mary Brennan, a critic for the Herald. Anyone trying to hide will be photographed from a distance or forced on to daytime television. But Baxter's anxieties were channelled into his work, and his perfectionist instincts became overwhelming. And, yes, the address I had was the correct one. Just a decade ago, his annual television spectaculars were as much a part of Christmas as turkey and hangovers: in December 1985, more than 14 million people tuned in to watch the monkey-faced Scotsman mimic the Queen, in a lavish show that included a full-scale orchestra and battalions of dancers. He has a talismanic quality that makes people feel hes very much in touch with their lives, and then suddenly, out he zooshes looking really rather sexy. Is there any likelihood of that happening? When he first came to fame in the Fifties, his identity was largely irrelevant: we were content to let stars glitter from afar. Hes always quite pernickety about who hell speak to, which is why I dont want to say too much about him at the moment. Williams believed Stanley to be taking advantage of Moira and a traitor to the cause. STANLEY Baxter has come out as gay, revealing for the first time that his marriage was a faade. contact the editor here. Since our merger with Granada theres nobody higher up who would have been involved either. Edrington's success stems from a heritage of exceptional people dedicated to craftsmanship. Private passions are what we care about most, skeletons in the cupboard; but even knowing the colour of the upholstery will do. His pantos became legendary. I wrote to Stanley Baxter at his home, requesting an interview. It was the one and only time she had ever reacted in this way. . He moved to London eight years later. How would I know what he looked like? I told him of how she was slipping into little overdoses, and I would be going round to see her and reviving her. 32 others named Moira Robertson are on LinkedIn See others named Moira Robertson. Bringing businesses together in the emerging, disruptive technology space across; FinTech, Quantum Technologies and Quantitative Trading Technologies through face to face and virtual meetings and events. For a nation still mourning the loss of Eric Morecambe, Baxter another survivor of the gentler, pre-television days of variety theatre seemed ready to succeed to the title of Britains Favourite Comedian. The Real Stanley Baxter. Murdaugh is heckled as he leaves court, Mom who lost both sons to fentanyl blasts laughing Biden, Moment teenager crashes into back of lorry after 100mph police race, Missing hiker buried under snow forces arm out to wave to helicopter, Family of a 10-month-old baby filmed vaping open up, Hershey's Canada releases HER for SHE bars featuring a trans activist, Ukrainian soldier takes out five tanks with Javelin missiles. We are lucky at The Herald. His act was so daring that he was probably the first TV comedian to impersonate the Queen. After 11 months of waiting, I was becoming frustrated. Developed and created Craft kits for children and teens. Recluse. . Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. Moira didn't ever leap anywhere, he says softly. And then he met Moira, this soft-spoken chic young woman with the Bette Davis eyes. 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. No. As a last shot I rang David White, who said I had been very naughty. Instead, he was arrested. WHERE do you start, with only a name to go on? But more than that, he feared his fiercely ambitious mother. Stanley Baxter. We are no longer accepting comments on this article. He was married for 46 years, but beneath his cheerful exterior lies a man tortured by the fact he is gay. Instead of gaining the confidence to join them, he shied away, repelled by the high camp 'all chiffon hankies and make-up and flouncing about. Faye has joined us as receptionist and front of house expert on a maternity . Could they get me an interview? He soon gave up any pretence of being faithful, or heterosexual. Yet my interest had been rekindled, my hopes raised, before being dashed against the same old stonewalling. No mention of his wife, Moira, though. She was far more bohemian than me.' Lara Clark, who said she was terribly sorry, but she couldnt show me round: the RAC liked to keep a low profile. What would the neighbours think? The Citz was a heterosexual theatre company. 'I liked her,' Baxter says. She once flew to Belfast to be "reunited with the spirit of [theatre director] Tyronne Guthrie." 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.. Ah-ha. He lived in dread of being exposed in the press as a gay man. I thought she would be still be heartbroken. I shouldn't have done, but I did. She wandered, like Ophelia through Hamlet, but she would have moved to the ends of the earth for me.. He reckoned it would at least a few years before the couple arrived at Wedding Central. 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. Just a couple of years later he landed a five-picture deal with Rank Films. A native of Fountain Inn, son of the late James Chesley and They all wanted him: Aspel, Parkinson. Stanley knew he was gay. For good. He suggested I contact Mentorn Films, who were recording new links for the show. He rang back the next day, but the news was bad. Especially when youre in high heels, do you know what I mean? Stanley and Moira (born Moira Robertson) on their honeymoon in London in 1952. You can tell Ive talked to the press before, cant you? And wasnt marriage about compromise? This would be NO life for you, married to someone who is essentially and primarily homosexual!, Moira's reaction was surprising, even to those who knew how liberal she was. But of course I should have been stronger. Baxter staged full-scale MGM musicals and played every role. ', This year, he changed his mind. tomo salem nh happy hour madiga caste surnames fraser river pollution damien zachary cord rust oleum home floor coating instructions hurricane middle school football schedule fixed practice advantages and disadvantages etobicoke ircc appointment david braley health sciences centre dermatology lisbon australia population baker botts partner . About Us; Staff; Camps; Scuba. Moira Grant: m.grant@ssc.nsw.edu.au Director of Community Relations P-12 Yvette Graniero: y.graniero@ssc.nsw.edu.au: Director of People and Culture Ann McGovern: a.mcgovern@ssc.nsw.edu.au: Head of Primary P-4 Joanne Giannini j.giannini@ssc.nsw.edu.au: Director of Mary Bailey House Jackie Baxter j.baxter@ssc.nsw.edu.au Their new home, a large ground-floor flat, at 73 Clouston Street, was just a few doors along from Moiras previous flat. Looking up at me, expecting me to speak. 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. Hes having a holiday with his wife, Moira. By Jul 1988 - Present34 years 4 months. almost as often as a chambermaid turns down bed sheets.'. He adds, his voice dark: 'The truth is, I don't really want to be me.'. Moiras role, however, was reduced from Actress to Wife. No, for the reason I just gave. Oh yes? Still smiling. A Gannett Company. Is it possible that we can have a chat with him? ', To pacify her, Baxter promised they would marry, if she would consent to wait a year. We hope you've really thought about how important it is., And I said nonchalantly, Oh, not nowadays. Tayside & Stirling. Mary Brennan sees nothing surprising about Baxter being so jealous of his privacy. When he returned, he decided to seek medical treatment for his sexual urges. 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. Then one night she invited me for my favourite spaghetti up to her little rented flat at 65 Clouston Street and I was seduced back into bed again., The appetite sated, Stanley reckoned the only way to break off the relationship once and for all was to be entirely honest with Moira. And the new rules dont apply just to celebrities on the A-List: newsreaders and weather girls must also be prepared to have the minutiae of their lives subjected to close scrutiny, or at the very least have Loyd Grossman look through their keyholes. I have been writing for the Independent on Sunday for more than 20 years, but the edition that appears on Sunday will be the last. She was only using the gate to rest. 'I got into this business to be loved. It was a golden period for British film-making, and he appeared in mildly successful black-and-white movies like the Highland comedy Geordie and Very Important Person, in which he starred alongside James Robertson Justice and Leslie Phillips. I sat on the edge of the bed and sobbed my heart out, he admits. When he stopped doing TV spectaculars, we were told that everybody had an eye on the clock because the clock meant money. Meanwhile, if you think about it, if you changed out of your pyjamas if you wear any into your clothes, then got to the theatre and for the rest of the afternoon you had 32 dress changes to make, then you go out for a cup of tea and change again, then you do 32 in the evening. Posted on 24 februari 2023 by. The Real Stanley Baxter, by Brian Beacom.