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Stanley Baxter

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Comedian

The Resume

    (May 24, 1926- )
    Born in Glasgow, Scotland, United Kingdom
    Starred in the series ‘The Stanley Baxter Show’ (1963-71, BBC One) and ‘The Stanley Baxter Picture Show’ (1972-75, ITV)
    Portrayed the title role in the children’s television show ‘Mr. Majieka’ (1988-90)
    Appeared in the films ‘Geordie’ (1955), ‘Very Important Person’ (1961), ‘Crooks Anonymous’ (1962), and ‘Father Came Too!’ (1963)

Why he might be annoying:

    He began as a child star, when he would impersonate Mae West without having any idea who she was.
    He married actress Moira Robertson despite being gay.
    After he was arrested for soliciting sex in a public men’s room (1962), he considered committing suicide: ‘My career will never survive this. And if I don’t have a career, what do I have?’ (Instead, he hired an aggressive barrister who got the charges dismissed.)
    He sued the estate of his friend Kenneth Williams to keep Williams’ posthumously published diaries from revealing Baxter’s homosexuality.
    He officially came out of the closet in his authorized biography at age 94 (2020).
    He is a hypochondriac: ‘Every headache is a brain tumor, every cough is cancer.’
    He said he rarely appeared on talk shows because ‘I get too damned nervous about appearing as myself. I’m still not sure who I am.’

Why he might not be annoying:

    He first became friends with Kenneth Williams when they were both entertaining soldiers in Singapore as part of Combined Services Entertainment.
    He at least told Robertson about being gay before their marriage. (And went through with the wedding only because she threatened to throw herself out the window of their flat if he did not.)
    He appeared in Joe Orton’s farce ‘What the Butler Saw.’
    He was one of Scotland’s most popular pantomime performers.
    His ‘Duchess of Brendagh’ (a thinly disguised impersonation of Queen Elizabeth) ticked off Mary Whitehouse.
    He won a pair of BAFTA Awards for Best Light Entertainment Performance (1960,1975).
    He received a Lifetime Achievement Award at the British Comedy Awards (1997).

Credit: C. Fishel


Featured in the following Annoying Collections:

Year In Review:

    For 2024, as of last weekly ranking, Out of 1 Votes: 100% Annoying
    In 2022, Out of 6 Votes: 33.33% Annoying
    In 2021, Out of 10 Votes: 40.0% Annoying
    In 2020, Out of 8 Votes: 37.50% Annoying