Stanley
Baxter, legendary Scots comedian and all-round
entertainer, hardly seen in public since his
retirement eleven years ago, has been persuaded
back before the cameras by the BBC.
He’s
recently been in Scotland revisiting his old
home territory for a documentary about his life
and times in showbusiness. It will be screened
as a 75th Birthday tribute at the
end of May.
Stanley
Baxter became a household name in Scotland before
being lured to TV, where his elaborate shows,
glitzy costumes, sharp patter and mimicry won
him national affection.
Where
It All Began
The
Baxter showbiz career had very local beginnings,
but the pace was set by his mother, a formidable
character, who set Stanley on the road to stardom.
 "As
far as I know the cameras are going to take
me to north Kelvinside where I was born, to
where I was brought up in Wilton Street," says
Stanley.
"My mother, who might have been described as
the Hyacinth Bucket of her day, pushed me into
the business. She was taking me into all the
church halls in our neighbourhood when I was
seven, doing impersonations. She was, I suppose,
over-protective. All mothers are.
"I’d do Dave Willis, a household name and
one of the top Scots comedians throughout the
Forties and early Fifties. I’d sing a song
called One of the Lads from Valencia and for
that my mother made me a matador’s costume.
His
mother’s passion for the young Stanley’s
performance ability was not shared by her husband,
as the star explains:
"My
father wasn’t at all approving of all this,
I can tell you. He’d declare in no uncertain
terms ‘this boy should be doing his homework,
not appearing on stage with fat ladies and accordion
players in church halls’.
"But even at that age I was hooked and from
the age of 14 until I was called up into the
Army I’d done a hundred broadcasts."
Entertaining
The Troops
It
was during national service in the army, while
working with fellow soldier performers Kenneth
Williams and John Schlesinger, that Stanley
Baxter decided that his future lay in showbusiness,
but his first attempts ended in rejection.
"Demobbed in 1948, I auditioned for the Old
Vic in London, but they were looking for younger,
rawer material and I was rejected for being
‘too formed as an artist’.
"Then I bumped into an amateur actor who got
me a small part at the Glasgow Citizens and
the rest, as they say, is history.
Festival Memories
It was Edinburgh and the 1948 festival which
Stanley fondly recalls, saw the start of his
professional career. "That was the first of
three Edinburgh Festivals I played as a straight
actor.
"We had the great Tyrone Guthrie directing at
the Assembly Hall and I remember dropping into
the Festival Club in George Street for crab
salad and white wine - a whole new world for
me.
"With a glass in my hand I felt like one helluva
fellow.
"For The Thrie Estaites, a medieval morality
play, we thought naebody would turn up but we
had them standing in their seats for that first
performance. The cast were amazed when Tony
(Guthrie), instead of hanging around for the
plaudits, caught the night train back to London."
London
Calling
It was to be television, not the theatre, which
would catapult Stanley into the limelight -
at least while budgets were still generous enough
to afford the spectacular shows he became famous
for. One of the first people he met in London
was an old friend from Glasgow who was a newly
appointed BBC television producer.
The meeting resulted in On the Bright Side,
revues with Una Stubbs, Amanda Barrie and David
Kernan. Within weeks Stanley was inundated with
offers for film and theatre.
"The first TV of note was On the Bright Side,
which ran for two seasons and co-starred Betty
Marsden," he recalls.
"Our girl dancers were Una Stubbs and Amanda
Barrie. We asked Amanda if she could handle
a couple of lines, imagine!
"I got a Bafta for that. A Bafta, I said, what
the hell’s that? Network telly was the
making of me, and almost the ruination.
Birted
Out
"The specials we did were very ambitious, like
the movies MGM made in the Thirties and Forties.
They were expensive productions - not for the
money I was paid, believe me - and I was fired
by John Birt. I switched to LWT, where David
Bell and I developed a great working relationship
for six specials.
"BBC Scotland bought four of them and when Michael
Grade came back from America to the BBC he said
‘Come and work for us in London’.
"Before long Birt, still in charge, announced
that the Beeb needed to save £19 million and
that I was their most expensive artist to produce.
So, again, he did me."
By then, though, there wasn’t a viewer
in the land who didn’t know who Stanley
Baxter was. Over Christmas and New Year most
of them habitually said of his specials, new
or repeats, that he was the only good thing
on the box over the holidays.
Today, Stanley Baxter shuns the limelight, almost
to the point of being branded reclusive. And
he can’t visualise himself ever returning
to Scotland to live.
"I’m happy living in Highgate. I miss my
wife Moira, yes. Miss my toast and tea from
her first thing."
Baxter married Moira in 1952 but she died three
years ago, following a lengthy illness.
"But time’s healed," he adds. "I’ve
adjusted and I’m enjoying retirement.
"The stress is off and if it looks like coming
back I’ll take a tranquilliser. A wee half
of something - and I’m not talking about
alcohol, it’ll be half a tablet."
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