The Real Stanley Baxter

I approached this book with a real sense of anticipation. Having enjoyed Stanley Baxter’s television work for many years, I was curious to find out more about this elusive performer. His life, of which I knew very little, would prove to be both fascinating and, at times, genuinely moving. It’s just a shame the writing failed, in almost every way, to do him justice.Brian Beacom makes no secret that he is a product of the newspaper industry; in and of itself there is, perhaps, nothing wrong with that. His tabloid journalism style is, however, misplaced in longform prose and, quite often, made me feel genuinely uncomfortable. The Real Stanley Baxter reads like a drawn-out kiss-and-tell red-top feature article; from the overtly salacious (and often irrelevant and misleading) chapter headings, to the sensational tone of the text, Beacom seems to succeed in giving Baxter the thing he spent so much of his life trying to avoid: the lurid tabloid exposé. Take this paragraph which talks of Baxter’s fragile mental state after being arrested on his own in a public toilet:‘When he arrived at Beaconsfield, Stanley was close to tears. But director Ken Annakin had heard the news on the radio and quickly realised immediately (sic) he had a basket case on his hands. Annakin helped soothe the totally terrified Stanley… but Stanley knew all too well his career was hanging by nothing thicker than the width of Babette’s knicker elastic.’This crushingly insensitive portrayal of the effects of a hostile world on a man fearful for his life and career illustrates the writer’s overriding priority for sensationalism over compassion for his subject. It also demonstrates a distracting tendency to feature a little too much of the writer’s own voice, something which occurs repeatedly throughout. Some of the best moments in the book are where we hear Stanley recounting his memories ‘first hand’ but these are often appended with Beacom asides like “In his dreams” and “And then he truly lost the plot” which again tilt the tone towards opinionated tabloid journalism. A personal bug-bear too was the writer’s tendency to end each chapter with a ‘and-if-you-think-that’s-bad-wait-till-you-hear-what-happened-next’ sentiment. Perhaps this again betrays Beacom’s background in an industry obsessed with selling more copy.If the tone isn’t enough to concern the reader, the technical deficiencies of the text are even more jarring. Luath Press declares itself ‘committed to publishing well written books worth reading’. The reader may therefore assume the publisher has engaged the services of an editor (or, at the very least, a proof reader). It’s surprising then that The Real Stanley Baxter is absolutely littered with errors. Some sentences barely make any sense at all:‘What Stanley does is pretty stupid in that he was not more cognoscente (sic) of what the police were capable of.’‘But he wouldn’t have to take a time-out from television, to reflect on when he would be fit to offer up his next series or perhaps an hour-long special.’On occasions there is also a lack of basic fact checking in evidence:‘When the new sitcom Are You Being Served exploded onto television screens in 1973…’(Are you Being Served was barely acknowledged by audiences when the one-off pilot episode was included as part of a BBC season of Comedy Playhouse, first shown in 1972.)It’s a shame these fundamental problems overshadow what is a fascinating and genuinely touching life story. Beacom arguably has some pathos for his subject – the crushingly destructive and terrifying climate of inequality and victimisation gay men endured during those decades is captured quite well – as well as an admiration for Stanley Baxter’s luminous talent. The quality and style of the writing, however, let his subject down and I was left feeling that Stanley deserves so much better than this sorry coda to what has been an incredible life and career.

Unfortunately, if you like Stanley Baxter do not read this book. It is just a long catalogue of rampant gay trysts, without really talking about the man's genuine talent. And as for the author, l don't think the concept of proof reading has ever entered his mind. The book is full of endless typo's and at least two factual errors as well. It took 20 years to put together and isn't really a tribute to a national treasure.

What a read! I couldn’t put it down. A fascinating insight into the life of a very private man. Growing up in a tenement in Scotland he was a permanent fixture on our telly. The whole family roared with laughter at him. The book highlights his inner struggles and personal tragedies. But fear not, a majority of the book is VERY funny. I know I’ll read it again in a few months. Whole heartedly recommended!

If you are a Stanley Baxter fan do not read this book. He was a genius in his impersonations of both male and female and his Xmas Shows were superb. The book paints a troubled picture of a life as a gay man along with gay friends,a wife and a live in lover. It does not comment on his wonderful costumes in any detail or the work of the great makeup artists or the great dancing. It is a hard read and does not do justice to one of the very best.

This book focussed too much on Baxter's sexual tendencies, homosexuality, and gay relationships and too little on his comedic talents. One chapter would have sufficed! I'm sure not all his associations within the theatrical world, were gay and if they were, why does the reader need to know!! I wanted to laugh, I ended up depressed, I'm astonished I stuck with it!

I've been a huge admirer of Stanley Baxter for as long as I can remember - and that's a long time. He was that rarest of things, a genuine Scottish Star. Oh there have been plenty of excellent actors, singers and comics who hailed from Scotland, but you can count on the fingers of one hand the fortunate few who could sell out the major theatres or see their names above the credits of a movie. Stanley Baxter was one of the few and rightly deserves his place of honour in the Pantheon of Scotia's darlings. I read this searingly honest and entertaining biography in one sitting. Absolutely unputdownable.

The book takes some time to settle, spending a lot of time in the nitty gritty of his childhood and it feels as though the author takes a bit too much licence with the descriptions. The writing picks up as we progress through Stanley’s illustrious career. I bought this book to celebrate a giant of Scottish comedy and it does pay homage to his magnificent shows - and rightly so - but I came away feeling as though something was missing. On the whole a good read.

A courageous and entertaining biography. In my formative years, I enjoyed Stanley Baxter 's Christmas Pantomines, with his TV spectaculars later in his career. He hasn't shirked in being open about his marriage, sexuality and relationships with other performers and TV companies.He brought back memories of other productions, which I saw as a teenager, including a memorable performance by Eartha Kitt at the Glasgow Alhambra. Like Stanley, I was Gay in the making, and empathized with his experiences and feelings. It was also very interesting to be given the background to his time as a Private on Parade, and subsequent friendship with other members of the troup, including Kenneth Williams and Peter Nichols. A good read.