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Alan Baxter(1908-1976)

  • Actor
  • Soundtrack
IMDbProStarmeterSee rank
Alan Baxter
A robber in custody, becomes wanted for murder when his younger brother kills a deputy sheriff to help him escape.
15
 
Play trailer1:38
Face of a Fugitive (1959)
15
5 Videos
45 Photos
Before there was an Alan Ladd, there was another furtive-eyed, baby-faced, cigarette-dangling Alan, impacting the movie scene with his various colorless and cold-hearted thugs, mobsters and killers. Dark-haired, bullet-headed actor Alan Baxter earned a noticeable degree of popularity back in the late 1930s and 1940s with his various despicable characters, before his film career lost steam and he sought more and more TV and stage work.

The son of a Cleveland Trust Company vice president, Baxter was born on November 19, 1908, in East Cleveland. Following high school, he studied drama at Williams College in Williamstown, Massachusetts, where he forged a strong friendship with fellow collegiate and future directing icon, Elia Kazan. Once they graduated in 1930, the duo attended Yale's School of Drama.

Baxter hooked up with the then-fledgling Group Theatre in the early 1930s and appeared in such stage productions as "Lone Valley", "The Pure in Heart" and "Waiting for Lefty". His performance in "Black Pit" in 1935, however, was witnessed by a Hollywood talent scout and it was enough to change the course of his career. Immediately heading west to Hollywood, Baxter made an auspicious debut with his strong performance as "Babe Wilson", the unfeeling killer loved by Sylvia Sidney's character in Mary Burns, Fugitive (1935). Three years later, Baxter went on to recreate the role on radio.

With his foot strongly in the Paramount door, he continued playing dangerous, unsavory types in 13 Hours by Air (1936), Big Brown Eyes (1936) and The Case Against Mrs. Ames (1936), until his contract ran out. Continuing to freelance throughout the remainder of the 1930s, he remained on the wrong side of the law in Parole! (1936), Breezing Home (1937), Night Key (1937), Wide Open Faces (1938), Off the Record (1939), My Son Is a Criminal (1939), and Each Dawn I Die (1939).

A solid "B" lead player who appeared in support when it came to "A" pictures, Baxter occasionally broke out of the "bad guy" mold -- but not often. By this time, Alan Ladd was starting to cut in on Baxter's action with his moody and sexy versions of trench-coat-trendy villains. Baxter, nevertheless, continued to roll on, playing outlaw "Jesse James" in Bad Men of Missouri (1941) opposite Dennis Morgan, Wayne Morris, and Arthur Kennedy as the Younger brothers, while adding slick malevolence to such films as Escape to Glory (1940) (with Constance Bennett), Under Age (1941) (with Nan Grey and Mary Anderson), The Pittsburgh Kid (1941) (with Jean Parker), and Rags to Riches (1941) (with Mary Carlisle). This period of filming was topped by an excellent support role in the classic Alfred Hitchcock thriller, Saboteur (1942), in which he, as the meek-voiced, mustachioed, bespectacled, peroxide blond Nazi spy "Freeman", shares a memorable scene with lead Robert Cummings.

Following standard work in China Girl (1942) and Behind Prison Walls (1943), Baxter (at age 35) signed up for the Army Air Force in 1943, and appeared in the Broadway production of Moss Hart's "Winged Victory", which later was turned into the 1944 movie version of the same name, Winged Victory (1944) (also featuring Baxter). Post-war filming grew more dismal with a high majority of "Poverty Row" pictures coming Baxter's way. His last appearance in a strong film was the Robert Ryan boxing pic, The Set-Up (1949), as a mobster involved in fixing matches. Alan decided to return to the challenge of the stage, appearing in such plays as "Home of the Brave" (1945), "The Voice of the Turtle" (1947), "The Hallams" (1948), "Jenny Kissed Me" (1948), "Tea and Sympathy" (1955), and "South Pacific" (1957) (in a non-singing role). TV also became a positive medium, with adventure guest roles on The Rifleman (1958), Wagon Train (1957), Colt .45 (1957) and Alfred Hitchcock Presents (1955), among the offerings.

By the 1960s, Baxter was seen primarily in incidental film roles, his last being the cult rodent thriller, Willard (1971). Diagnosed with cancer, the twice-married actor died a few years later at the Motion Picture Country Home in Woodland Hills, Los Angeles, on May 8, 1976, aged 67.
BornNovember 19, 1908
DiedMay 7, 1976(67)
BornNovember 19, 1908
DiedMay 7, 1976(67)
IMDbProStarmeterSee rank
  • Awards
    • 1 win total

Photos45

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Known for

Robert Cummings and Priscilla Lane in Saboteur (1942)
Saboteur
7.1
  • Freeman
  • 1942
Clint Eastwood, Lee Marvin, and Jean Seberg in Paint Your Wagon (1969)
Paint Your Wagon
6.6
  • Mr. Fenty
  • 1969
Marlene Dietrich, Judy Garland, Burt Lancaster, Spencer Tracy, Montgomery Clift, Maximilian Schell, and Richard Widmark in Judgment at Nuremberg (1961)
Judgment at Nuremberg
8.3
  • Brig. Gen. Matt Merrin
  • 1961
Raymond Massey in Abe Lincoln in Illinois (1940)
Abe Lincoln in Illinois
7.3
  • Billy Herndon
  • 1940

Credits

Edit
IMDbPro

Actor



  • O'Hara, U.S. Treasury (1971)
    O'Hara, U.S. Treasury
    7.3
    TV Series
    • Paul Fedderson
    • Walter Mason
    • 1971
  • Pete Duel and Ben Murphy in Alias Smith and Jones (1971)
    Alias Smith and Jones
    7.6
    TV Series
    • Sam
    • 1971
  • Escape from the Planet of the Apes (1971)
    Escape from the Planet of the Apes
    6.3
    • General (uncredited)
    • 1971
  • Bruce Davison in Willard (1971)
    Willard
    6.2
    • Walter Spencer
    • 1971
  • Eddie Albert, Eva Gabor, and Arnold the Piggy in Green Acres (1965)
    Green Acres
    7.3
    TV Series
    • Deputy Sheriff
    • 1970
  • The Bold Ones: The Lawyers (1969)
    The Bold Ones: The Lawyers
    7.0
    TV Series
    • Detective Sgt. Wilkerson
    • 1970
  • Kent McCord and Martin Milner in Adam-12 (1968)
    Adam-12
    7.7
    TV Series
    • Brian Michaels
    • 1970
  • John Wayne in Chisum (1970)
    Chisum
    6.8
    • Gov. Sam Axtell
    • 1970
  • Robert Wagner in It Takes a Thief (1968)
    It Takes a Thief
    7.5
    TV Series
    • Bob Green
    • 1970
  • Mannix (1967)
    Mannix
    7.4
    TV Series
    • Mayor Lewis
    • 1970
  • James Drury, Doug McClure, and John McIntire in The Virginian (1962)
    The Virginian
    7.6
    TV Series
    • Ben Thomas
    • Caleb Adams
    • Northrup
    • 1965–1970
  • Clint Eastwood, Lee Marvin, and Jean Seberg in Paint Your Wagon (1969)
    Paint Your Wagon
    6.6
    • Mr. Fenty
    • 1969
  • Peggy Lipton, Michael Cole, and Clarence Williams III in Mod Squad (1968)
    Mod Squad
    7.0
    TV Series
    • Del Schaeffer
    • 1969
  • Bonanza (1959)
    Bonanza
    7.3
    TV Series
    • Mort Becker
    • 1968
  • Don Adams in Get Smart (1965)
    Get Smart
    8.2
    TV Series
    • Senator Wheelwright
    • 1968

Soundtrack



  • Jack Elam, Chad Everett, Michael Greene, and Larry Ward in The Dakotas (1962)
    The Dakotas
    7.4
    TV Series
    • performer: "Old-Time Religion" (uncredited)
    • 1963

Videos5

Trailer
Trailer 1:36
Trailer
1
Official Trailer
Trailer 1:38
Official Trailer
15
Official Trailer
Trailer 1:38
Official Trailer
15
Santa Fe Trail
Trailer 2:13
Santa Fe Trail
42
Each Dawn I Die
Trailer 1:43
Each Dawn I Die
Saboteur
Trailer 1:54
Saboteur
2

Personal details

Edit
  • Alternative name
    • Cpl. Alan Baxter
  • Born
    • November 19, 1908
    • East Cleveland, Ohio, USA
  • Died
    • May 7, 1976
    • Woodland Hills, Los Angeles, California, USA(cancer)
  • Spouses
      Christy PalmerOctober 9, 1955 - May 8, 1976 (his death)
  • Other works
    Stage: Appeared in "Home of the Brave" on Broadway.
  • Publicity listings
    • 1 Article

Did you know

Edit
  • Trivia
    According to Thomas DeLong's "Classic Images" (December 2009) article on Alan, the actor led the Cap & Bells dramatic society, made the wrestling team, was Phi Beta Kappa, and pledged the Phi Sigma Kappa fraternity while attending Williams College.

FAQ

Powered by Alexa
  • When did Alan Baxter die?
    May 7, 1976
  • How did Alan Baxter die?
    Cancer
  • How old was Alan Baxter when he died?
    67 years old
  • Where did Alan Baxter die?
    Woodland Hills, Los Angeles, California, USA
  • When was Alan Baxter born?
    November 19, 1908

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