1909-09-09 ( 115 years old ) in Bremen, Germany
A distinguished stage and film actress Jane Baxter was one of the most glamorous performers on the London stage. Winston Churchill, an ardent fan, once described her as, "that charming lady who grace personifies all that is best in British womanhood". Her stage career spanned half a century and she is best remembered for her role in "Dial M For Murder", in which she co-starred with Michael Redgrave. Redgrave said that she was "every undergraduate's ideal of an English rose".
Born Fedora Kathleen Alice Forde in Germany, she came to London as a child and studied acting at the Italia Conti Stage School. She made her West End debut at the age of 13 in the musical comedy "Love's Prisoner". On the advice of the playwright J.M. Barrie, she changed her name to Jane Baxter and, in 1938, played the lead in the hit comedy "A Damsel in Distress".
Several other West End shows followed as well as films such as We Live Again (1934), with Fredric March and The Clairvoyant (1935), with Claude Rains and, in 1935, she joined the repertory company at the Liverpool Playhouse where the leading actor was Michael Redgrave. He viewed her arrival "with some alarm", expecting "a spoilt and temperamental film star". Instead, he found "a delightful actress". Baxter eventually became godmother to Redgrave's daughter, the future actress Vanessa Redgrave.
She had success again in London in 1937 with "George and Margaret", which ran for two years and, on Broadway, she co-starred with John Gielgud and Margaret Rutherford in "The Importance of Being Earnest", in which she played "Cicely Cardew".
She continued to make films and appear on stage throughout the 1960s and her final London stage role was in John Mortimer's "A Voyage Round My Father", in which she starred opposite Michael Redgrave. Her last stage role was at the Churchill Theatre, Bromley in 1978 in the thriller "Assault", in which she appeared with Richard Todd. In 1992, she made a guest appearance - to a standing ovation - at the London Palladium in "A Tribute to Evelyn Laye". In her will, she requested that there be no memorial service for her but just a gathering of friends at her local church in Wimbledon, South London. Film director Bryan Forbes gave the address
Movies
All Hallowe'en
1953-08-01
Death of an Angel
1952-01-01
The Flemish Farm
1943-09-06
Ships with Wings
1941-11-10
The Briggs Family
1940-09-07
The Chinese Bungalow
1940-04-06
Confidential Lady
1939-12-01
Murder Will Out
1939-08-13
The Ware Case
1938-12-02
Second Best Bed
1938-07-18
Dusty Ermine
1936-12-01
The Man Behind the Mask
1936-08-23
The Clairvoyant
1935-06-07
Drake of England
1935-05-16
Enchanted April
1935-02-01
The Little Minister
1934-12-28
We Live Again
1934-11-01
The Night of the Party
1934-07-16
Blossom Time
1934-01-01
The Constant Nymph
1933-12-01
Flat No. 9
1932-05-12
Two White Arms
1932-03-01
Down River
1931-05-08
Bed and Breakfast
1930-12-22
Bed Rock
1930-06-01
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