Billy Baxter (February 8, 1926 – January 20, 2012) was born and lived in the West side of

Manhattan Manhattan ( ) is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the Boroughs of New York City, five boroughs of New York City. Coextensive with New York County, Manhattan is the County statistics of the United States#Smallest, larg ...

. He was an American film producer who began his career in the early 1960s. He enlisted in the Navy on his 17th birthday and served aboard the battleship in the

South Pacific The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five Borders of the oceans, oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean, or, depending on the definition, to Antarctica in the south, and is ...

during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

Career

At the 1978

Cannes Film Festival The Cannes Film Festival (; ), until 2003 called the International Film Festival ('), is the most prestigious film festival in the world. Held in Cannes, France, it previews new films of all genres, including documentaries, from all around ...

, Baxter met producer Richard P. Rubenstein while playing blackjack. Rubinstein said he'd love to double down but was short on francs and couldn't make the bet. "Let me see your cards," Baxter said, and then put up the cash. After payback, the producer asked Baxter if he and Herbert might want to invest in his production of George A. Romero's '' Dawn of the Dead''. Steinmann-Baxter beat the odds and cashed checks for years. Rubinstein and Romero's ''Dawn of the Dead'' is one of the highest-grossing independent movies of all time. Baxter came out of semi-retirement to serve as an executive producer for the independent film '' Love Stalker'', which was planned to be taken to the

Cannes Film Market Cannes (, ; , ; ) is a city located on the French Riviera. It is a commune located in the Alpes-Maritimes department, and host city of the annual Cannes Film Festival, Midem, and Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity. The city is ...

for 2011.

References

* Roger Ebert. Two Weeks in the Midday Sun: A Cannes Notebook. USA: Andrews McMeel Publishing (January 1, 1987), 1987. * Chicago Sun-Times (USA) May 9, 2009, by: Roger Ebert, "Irving! Brang 'Em On!" * New York Post (USA) May 1, 2003, Steve Dunleavy, "Tel Aviv Blast Won't Keep My Buddy Baxter Down"

External links

*
MovieMaker.com interview
{{DEFAULTSORT:Baxter, Billy 1926 births 2012 deaths Film producers from New York (state) People from the Upper West Side