Talented actor, gifted mimic & comedy genius

FOR decades he was one of the biggest stars on television, producing cinema-like extravaganzas the like of which the small screen had never seen before.

- SUE LEE

A gifted mimic, comedian and actor, Stanley Baxter, who has died at the age of 99, commanded audiences of 20 million with his shows for both ITV and the BBC during the 1970s and 80s.

In the end, TV bosses pulled the plug on his epic parodies as they simply became too expensive to produce.

But those one-off specials, which saw Stanley spoof everything from Dallas and Upstairs, Downstairs to the Queen's Christmas message and big budget Hollywood movies, stand as a reminder of a different age when the nation sat down together to be entertained.

Yesterday, as tributes poured in for the Glasgow-born star, who died on Thursday at a London care home for entertainment figures, his friend and biographer Brian Beacom described him as "one of the most entertaining people I've ever met".

Brian recalled: "He was funny, he was mischievous, he was always incredibly clever and able to come up with comedy in a way that few people could even consider.

"But just as importantly, he was a terrific friend. He had an incredible warmth and consideration for other people and it's no surprise that he was an entertainer from the 1930s onwards and he never upset a single soul." Stanley Baxter was born on May 24, 1926. He inherited a love of the theatre and performing from his mum, Bessie, who encouraged his talent for mimicry.