Alan Edwin Baxter (November 19, 1908 – May 7, 1976) was an American film and television actor.
Early years
Baxter was born in
East Cleveland,
Ohio
Ohio () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Of the fifty U.S. states, it is the 34th-largest by area, and with a population of nearly 11.8 million, is the seventh-most populous and tenth-most densely populated. The sta ...
. He earned a
bachelor's degree
A bachelor's degree (from Middle Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate academic degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to six ...
from
Williams College
Williams College is a Private college, private liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Williamstown, Massachusetts. It was established as a men's college in 1793 with funds from the estate of Ephraim Williams, a col ...
,
[ ] where he was a member of
Phi Sigma Kappa
Phi Sigma Kappa (), colloquially known as Phi Sig or PSK, is a men's social and academic fraternity with approximately 74 active chapters and provisional chapters in North America. Most of its first two dozen chapters were granted to schools in ...
fraternity and a classmate of
Elia Kazan
Elia Kazan (; born Elias Kazantzoglou ( el, Ηλίας Καζαντζόγλου); September 7, 1909 – September 28, 2003) was an American film and theatre director, producer, screenwriter and actor, described by ''The New York Times'' as "one o ...
. He went on to study in the 47 Drama Workshop at Yale University.
[
]
Stage
After he completed his studies, Baxter became a member of the Group Theatre in New York City. His Broadway
Broadway may refer to:
Theatre
* Broadway Theatre (disambiguation)
* Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S.
** Broadway (Manhattan), the street
**Broadway Theatre (53rd Stree ...
credits include ''The Hallams'' (1947), '' Home of the Brave'' (1945), ''The Voice of the Turtle'' (1943), ''Winged Victory'' (1943), ''Thumbs Up!'' (1934), and ''Lone Valley'' (1932).
Military service
Baxter served in the United States Army Air Corps
The United States Army Air Corps (USAAC) was the aerial warfare service component of the United States Army between 1926 and 1941. After World War I, as early aviation became an increasingly important part of modern warfare, a philosophical r ...
during World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
.
Personal life
Baxter had been married to actress Barbara Williams for 17 years at the time of her death on November 9, 1953. Later, he was married to Christy Palmer until his death.
Filmography
* ''Mary Burns, Fugitive
''Mary Burns, Fugitive'' is a 1935 American drama film directed by William K. Howard.
Sylvia Sidney plays a small-town coffee-shop owner who falls for a gangster, ends up in prison and then released in a scheme to trap him.
Plot
Mary Burns (S ...
'' (1935) – 'Babe' Wilson (film debut)
* '' The Trail of the Lonesome Pine'' (1936) – Clayt Tolliver
* ''Big Brown Eyes
''Big Brown Eyes'' is a 1936 American crime comedy film. In the film, police officer Danny Barr (Cary Grant) is chasing jewel robbers. His girlfriend Eve Fallon (Joan Bennett) is initially working as a manicurist, but quickly takes a job as a re ...
'' (1936) – Cary Butler
* ''Thirteen Hours by Air
''13 Hours by Air'' (also known as ''20 Hours by Air'') is a 1936 drama film made by Paramount Pictures and directed by Mitchell Leisen. The film stars Fred MacMurray and Joan Bennett. The screenplay was written by Kenyon Nicholson and Bogart Rog ...
'' (1936) – Curtis Palmer
* ''The Case Against Mrs. Ames
''The Case Against Mrs. Ames'' is a 1936 mystery-drama film written by C. Graham Baker and Gene Towne based on a serial of the same name by Arthur Somers Roche originally published in ''Collier's Weekly'' magazine in 1934, and then as a novel ...
'' (1936) – Lou
* ''Parole!
''Parole!'' is a 1936 American crime film directed by Lew Landers and written by Kubec Glasmon and Horace McCoy. The film stars Henry Hunter, Ann Preston, Alan Dinehart, Alan Baxter, Alan Hale Sr. and Grant Mitchell. The film was released on ...
'' (1936) – Percy 'Okay' Smith
* ''Breezing Home
''Breezing Home'' is a 1937 American drama film directed by Milton Carruth and starring Binnie Barnes, William Gargan, and Wendy Barrie
Wendy Barrie (born Marguerite Wendy Jenkins; 18 April 1912 – 2 February 1978) was a British-Ameri ...
'' (1937) – Joe Montgomery
* ''Wide Open Faces
''Wide Open Faces'' is a 1938 American comedy film directed by Kurt Neumann and starring Joe E. Brown, Jane Wyman and Alison Skipworth.Quinlan p.72 The screenplay concerns a man who tries to prevent mobsters getting their hands on loot that th ...
'' (1937) – Danny Haines
* ''Night Key
''Night Key'' is a science fiction crime film starring Boris Karloff and released by Universal Pictures in 1937.
Plot
The inventor of a burglar alarm (Karloff) attempts to get back at the man who stole the profits to his invention (Hinds) befor ...
'' (1937) – John Baron aka The Kid
* '' It Could Happen to You'' (1937) – Bob Ames
* ''The Last Gangster
''The Last Gangster'' (also called ''Another Public Enemy'') is a 1937 American crime drama film directed by Edward Ludwig and starring Edward G. Robinson and James Stewart. The supporting cast features Rose Stradner, Lionel Stander and John C ...
'' (1937) – Acey Kile
* ''Big Town Girl
''Big Town Girl'' is a 1937 American drama film directed by Alfred L. Werker and written by Lou Breslow, Robert Ellis, Helen Logan and John Patrick. The film stars Claire Trevor, Donald Woods, Alan Dinehart, Alan Baxter, Murray Alper and Spen ...
'' (1937) – James Mead
* ''I Met My Love Again
''I Met My Love Again'' is a 1938 American romantic drama film distributed by United Artists, directed by Joshua Logan, Arthur Ripley and George Cukor. The screenplay was written by David Hertz, based on the novel ''Summer Lightning'' by Allene ...
'' (1938) – Tony
* ''Wide Open Faces
''Wide Open Faces'' is a 1938 American comedy film directed by Kurt Neumann and starring Joe E. Brown, Jane Wyman and Alison Skipworth.Quinlan p.72 The screenplay concerns a man who tries to prevent mobsters getting their hands on loot that th ...
'' (1938) – Tony
* ''Gangs of New York
''Gangs of New York'' is a 2002 American epic historical drama film directed by Martin Scorsese and written by Jay Cocks, Steven Zaillian and Kenneth Lonergan, based on Herbert Asbury's 1927 book ''The Gangs of New York''. The film stars Le ...
'' (1938) – 'Dapper' Mallare
* '' Off the Record'' (1939) – Joe Fallon
* ''Boy Slaves
''Boy Slaves'' is a 1939 drama film starring Roger Daniel and Anne Shirley. The film was directed by P.J. Wolfson and based upon an Albert Bein story. ''Boy Slaves'' is an exposé of child labor.
Plot
Runaway boy Jesse Thompson, hoping to earn ...
'' (1939) – Graff
* ''My Son Is a Criminal
''My Son Is a Criminal'' is a 1939 American crime film directed by Charles C. Coleman (as C.C. Coleman Jr.) and starring Alan Baxter, Julie Bishop, Gordon Oliver and Willard Robertson.
Plot
Former police chief Tim Halloran Sr. (Willard Roberts ...
'' (1939) – Tim Halloran Jr.
* ''Let Us Live
''Let Us Live'' is a 1939 American crime film directed by John Brahm starring Maureen O'Sullivan, Henry Fonda and Ralph Bellamy.
The script of the film was adapted from the 1936 Harper's Magazine story "Murder in Massachusetts" by Joseph F. ...
'' (1939) – Joe Linden
* ''Each Dawn I Die
''Each Dawn I Die'' is a 1939 Crime film, gangster film directed by William Keighley and starring James Cagney and George Raft. The plot of ''Each Dawn I Die'' involves a crusading reporter who is unjustly thrown in jail and befriends a famous gan ...
'' (1939) – Carlisle
* ''In Name Only
''In Name Only'' is a 1939 romantic film starring Cary Grant, Carole Lombard, and Kay Francis, directed by John Cromwell. It was based on the 1935 novel ''Memory of Love'' by Bessie Breuer. The fictional town where it is set, Bridgefield, Co ...
'' (1939) – Charley
* '' Abe Lincoln in Illinois'' (1940) – Billy Herndon
* ''The Lone Wolf Strikes
''The Lone Wolf Strikes'' is a 1940 crime drama film directed by Sidney Salkow, which stars Warren William, Joan Perry, and Eric Blore.
The Lone Wolf character dates back to 1914, when author Louis Joseph Vance
Louis Joseph Vance (September ...
'' (1940) – Jim Ryder
* ''Free, Blonde and 21
''Free, Blonde and 21'' is a 1940 American drama film directed by Ricardo Cortez and written by Frances Hyland. The film stars Lynn Bari, Mary Beth Hughes, Joan Davis, Henry Wilcoxon, Robert Lowery, Alan Baxter and Kay Aldridge. The film was re ...
'' (1940) – Mickey Ryan
* ''Escape to Glory
''Escape to Glory'' is a 1940 American war film directed by John Brahm. It stars Pat O'Brien and Constance Bennett. During World War II, a British freighter carrying a diverse group of passengers is attacked by a German U-boat.
Cast
*Pat O'Brien ...
'' (1940) – Larry Perrin, alias Larry Ross
* ''The Man Who Talked Too Much
''The Man Who Talked Too Much'' is a 1940 American drama film directed by Vincent Sherman and written by Walter DeLeon and Earl Baldwin. Starring George Brent, Virginia Bruce, Brenda Marshall, Richard Barthelmess, William Lundigan, George Tobia ...
'' (1940) – Joe Garland
* ''Santa Fe Trail
The Santa Fe Trail was a 19th-century route through central North America that connected Franklin, Missouri, with Santa Fe, New Mexico. Pioneered in 1821 by William Becknell, who departed from the Boonslick region along the Missouri River, th ...
'' (1940) – Oliver Brown
* '' Under Age'' (1941) – Tap Manson
* ''Bad Men of Missouri
''Bad Men of Missouri'' is a 1941 American Western film directed by Ray Enright and written by Charles Grayson. The film stars Dennis Morgan, Jane Wyman, Wayne Morris and Arthur Kennedy. The film was released by Warner Bros. on July 26, 194 ...
'' (1941) – Jesse James
* ''Rags to Riches
Rags to riches refers to any situation in which a person rises from poverty to wealth, and in some cases from absolute obscurity to heights of fame, fortune and celebrity—sometimes instantly. This is a common archetype in literature and popula ...
'' (1941) – Jimmy Rogers
* ''The Pittsburgh Kid
''The Pittsburgh Kid'' is a 1941 American sports film directed by Jack Townley and starring Billy Conn, Jean Parker and Dick Purcell.Ritchie p.231
The film's sets were designed by the art director John Victor Mackay.
Plot
About to fight his bigg ...
'' (1941) – Joe Barton
* ''Shadow of the Thin Man
''Shadow of the Thin Man'' is the fourth of six ''The Thin Man'' murder mystery comedy films. It was released by MGM in 1941 and was directed by W. S. Van Dyke. It stars William Powell and Myrna Loy as Nick and Nora Charles. Also, in this fil ...
'' (1941) – 'Whitey' Barrow
* ''Borrowed Hero
''Borrowed Hero'' is a 1941 American film directed by Lewis D. Collins.
Plot
A knowledgeable newspaper reporter helps a young prosecutor fight organized crime in a city.
Cast
* Alan Baxter as Roger Andrews
*Florence Rice as Ann Thompson
*C ...
'' (1941) – Roger Andrews
* ''Saboteur
Sabotage is a deliberate action aimed at weakening a polity, effort, or organization through subversion, obstruction, disruption, or destruction. One who engages in sabotage is a ''saboteur''. Saboteurs typically try to conceal their identiti ...
'' (1942) – Mr. Freeman
* ''Prisoner of Japan
''Prisoner of Japan'' is a 1942 American Drama (film and television), drama film directed by Arthur Ripley and written by Robert Chapin and Arthur Ripley. The film stars Alan Baxter (actor), Alan Baxter, Gertrude Michael, Ernst Deutsch, Corinna M ...
'' (1942) – David Bowman
* '' Stand By All Networks'' (1942) – Victor
* ''China Girl China Girl may refer to:
Music
*China Girl (song), "China Girl" (song), a 1977 song by David Bowie and Iggy Pop, rerecorded and released as a single by Bowie in 1983
*"China Girl", a song by John Cougar, released in 1982 on the album ''American Foo ...
'' (1942) – Bill Jones
* '' The Human Comedy'' (1943) – Brad Stickman
* ''Behind Prison Walls
''Behind Prison Walls'' is a 1943 American crime film directed by Steve Sekely and written by Van Norcross. The film stars Alan Baxter (actor), Alan Baxter, Gertrude Michael, Tully Marshall, Edwin Maxwell (actor), Edwin Maxwell, Jacqueline Dalya ...
'' (1943) – Jonathan MacGlennon
* '' Pilot No. 5'' (1943) – Winston Davis
* ''Submarine Base
A submarine base is a military base that shelters submarines and their personnel.
Examples of present-day submarine bases include HMNB Clyde, Île Longue (the base for France's Force océanique stratégique), Naval Submarine Base Kings Bay, Na ...
'' (1943) – Joe Morgan
* '' Women in Bondage'' (1943) – Otto Bracken
* ''Winged Victory
The ''Winged Victory of Samothrace'', or the ''Nike of Samothrace'', is a votive monument originally found on the island of Samothrace, north of the Aegean Sea. It is a masterpiece of Greek sculpture from the Hellenistic era, dating from the beg ...
'' (1944) – Maj. Halper
* ''The Prairie
''The Prairie: A Tale'' (1827) is a novel by James Fenimore Cooper, the third novel written by him featuring Natty Bumppo. His fictitious frontier hero Bumppo is never called by his name, but is instead referred to as "the trapper" or "the old ...
'' (1947) – Paul Hover
* ''Close-Up
A close-up or closeup in filmmaking, television production, still photography, and the comic strip medium is a type of shot that tightly frames a person or object. Close-ups are one of the standard shots used regularly with medium and long s ...
'' (1948) – Phil Sparr
* '' The Set-Up'' (1949) – Little Boy
* ''She Shoulda Said No!
''She Shoulda Said No!'' (also known as ''Wild Weed''; ''The Devil's Weed''; ''Marijuana, the Devil's Weed''; and ''The Story of Lila Leeds and Her Exposé of the Marijuana Racket'') is a 1949 exploitation film that follows in the spirit of mora ...
'' (1949) – Markey
* ''The True Story of Jesse James
''The True Story of Jesse James'' is a 1957 American Western drama film adapted from Henry King's 1939 film '' Jesse James'', which was only loosely based on James' life. It was directed by Nicholas Ray, with Robert Wagner portraying Jesse Jam ...
'' (1957) – Barney Remington
* '' The End of the Line'' (1957) – Mike Selby
* ''The Restless Years
''The Restless Years'' is an Australian soap opera which followed the lives of several Sydney school-leavers and the drama and relationships faced by young adults. It was created by Reg Watson and produced by the Reg Grundy Organisation for N ...
'' (1958) – Alex Fisher
* ''The Restless Gun
''The Restless Gun'' is an American Western television series that appeared on NBC between 1957 and 1959, with John Payne in the role of Vint Bonner, a wandering cowboy in the era after the American Civil War. A skilled gunfighter, Bonner is a ...
'' (1958) as George Frazier in Episode "The Torn Flag"
* ''Face of a Fugitive
''Face of a Fugitive'' is a 1959 American Western film directed by Paul Wendkos. It stars Fred MacMurray, Lin McCarthy, Myrna Fahey, James Coburn and Dorothy Green and was based on the short story "Long Gone" by Peter Dawson, the pen name of Jo ...
'' (1959) – Reed Williams
* ''The Mountain Road
''The Mountain Road'' is a 1960 war film starring James Stewart and directed by Daniel Mann. Set in China and based on the 1958 novel of the same name by journalist-historian Theodore H. White, the film follows the attempts of a U.S. Army major ...
'' (1960) – Gen. Loomis
* ''Judgment at Nuremberg
''Judgment at Nuremberg'' is a 1961 American epic courtroom drama film directed and produced by Stanley Kramer, written by Abby Mann and starring Spencer Tracy, Burt Lancaster, Richard Widmark, Maximilian Schell, Werner Klemperer, Marlene Dietr ...
'' (1961) – Brig. Gen. Matt Merrin
* '' This Property Is Condemned'' (1966) – Knopke
* ''Assault on a Queen
''Assault on a Queen'' is a 1966 American action-adventure film directed by Jack Donohue and starring Frank Sinatra and Virna Lisi. Based on a 1959 novel by Jack Finney, it was adapted for the screen by Rod Serling and released by Paramount Pic ...
'' (1966) – Larry – Crewman (uncredited)
* '' Welcome to Hard Times'' (1967) – Jack Millay
* '' Paint Your Wagon'' (1969) – Mr. Fenty
* ''Chisum
''Chisum'' is a 1970 American Western film directed by Andrew McLaglen, starring John Wayne in the titular role, and adapted for the screen by Andrew J. Fenady from his short story "Chisum and the Lincoln County War." The supporting cast featu ...
'' (1970) – Gov. Sam Axtell
* '' Willard'' (1971) – Walter T. Spencer
* ''Escape from the Planet of the Apes
''Escape from the Planet of the Apes'' is a 1971 American science fiction film directed by Don Taylor and written by Paul Dehn. It stars Roddy McDowall, Kim Hunter, Bradford Dillman and Ricardo Montalbán. It is the third of five films in the or ...
'' (1971) – Military Officer (uncredited)
Television roles
Among Baxter's television appearances were four guest roles on the CBS
CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS, the abbreviation of its former legal name Columbia Broadcasting System, is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainm ...
' courtroom drama series, ''Perry Mason
Perry Mason is a fictional character, an American criminal defense lawyer who is the main character in works of detective fiction written by Erle Stanley Gardner. Perry Mason features in 82 novels and 4 short stories, all of which involve a c ...
''. In 1961, he played the title role of Eugene Houseman in "The Case of the Left-Handed Liar". Also in 1961 ''Gunsmoke
''Gunsmoke'' is an American radio and television Western drama series created by director Norman Macdonnell and writer John Meston. It centers on Dodge City, Kansas, in the 1870s, during the settlement of the American West. The central character ...
'' “Long, Long Trail” he played Lou Hacker and ''Maverick
Maverick, Maveric or Maverik may refer to:
History
* Maverick (animal), an unbranded range animal, derived from U.S. cattleman Samuel Maverick
Aviation
* AEA Maverick, an Australian single-seat sportsplane design
* General Aviation Design Burea ...
'' “Flood's Folly” he played Judge John Scott. In 1964, he played Roger Gray in “The Case of the Missing Button”. He also made three guest appearances on '' The Virginian'', and he was guest starred on '' Ripcord'', as Leach in the episode "Derelict". In September 1960, he appeared in the season premiere episode "The Longest Rope" of the western series ''Cheyenne
The Cheyenne ( ) are an Indigenous people of the Great Plains. Their Cheyenne language belongs to the Algonquian language family. Today, the Cheyenne people are split into two federally recognized nations: the Southern Cheyenne, who are enroll ...
''. In 1961 he appeared on Thriller in the season 2, episode “Waxworks” playing Sergeant Dane. He also played Detective Baldwin on ''Alfred Hitchcock Hour
''Alfred Hitchcock Presents'' is an American television anthology series created, hosted and produced by Alfred Hitchcock, aired on CBS and NBC between 1955 and 1965. It features dramas, thrillers and mysteries. Between 1962 and 1965 it was ren ...
'' in “The Crimson Witness”.
References
External links
*
*
Alan Baxter in ''Submarine Base'' from YouTube
{{DEFAULTSORT:Baxter, Alan
1908 births
1976 deaths
American male film actors
Male actors from Cleveland
20th-century American male actors
Williams College alumni
Yale School of Drama alumni
United States Army Air Forces personnel of World War II