Paxton Whitehead
{{Short description|English actor (1937–2023)}}
{{EngvarB|date=June 2023}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=June 2023}}
{{Infobox person
| name = Paxton Whitehead
| image = Publicity_Photo_of_Paxton_Whitehead.jpg
| caption = Publicity Photo of Paxton Whitehead
| birth_name = Francis Edward Paxton Whitehead
| birth_date = {{birth date|df=yes|1937|10|17}}
| birth_place = East Malling, Kent, England
| death_date = {{death date and age|df=yes|2023|6|16|1937|10|17}}
| death_place = Arlington County, Virginia, U.S.
| education = Webber Douglas Academy of Dramatic Art
| occupation = {{hlist|Actor|theatre director|playwright}}
| years_active = 1956–2018
| spouse = {{plainlist|
- {{marriage|Patricia Gage|1971|1986|end=divorced}}
- {{marriage|Katherine Jane Robertson|1987|2009|end = died}}
}}
| children = 2
}}
Francis Edward Paxton Whitehead (17 October 1937 – 16 June 2023) was an English actor and theatre director.{{cite web|url=https://www.encyclopedia.com/education/news-wires-white-papers-and-books/whitehead-paxton-1937|title=Paxton Whitehead|website=Encyclopedia.com|access-date=23 July 2018}}{{Cite web |last=Evans |first=Greg |date=19 June 2023 |title=Paxton Whitehead Dies: Stage Actor Who Also Played Foil To Rodney Dangerfield And Recurred On 'Mad About You' Was 85 |url=https://deadline.com/2023/06/paxton-whitehead-actor-dead-broadway-friends-mad-about-you-back-to-school-was-85-1235420139/ |access-date=20 June 2023 |website=Deadline |language=en-US}}{{Cite news |last=Slotnik |first=Daniel E. |date=20 June 2023 |title=Paxton Whitehead, Actor Who Found Humor in the Stodgy, Dies at 85 |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2023/06/20/arts/television/paxton-whitehead-dead.html |access-date=20 June 2023 |issn=0362-4331}} He was nominated for a Tony Award and a Drama Desk Award for his performance as Pellinore in the 1980 revival of Camelot. Whitehead had many Broadway roles. He was also known for his film roles and for his many guest appearances on several U.S. television shows: he portrayed Bernard Thatch on The West Wing, and in the 1990s often appeared in recurring and guest roles on major sitcoms, such as Frasier, Caroline in the City, Ellen, 3rd Rock from the Sun, The Drew Carey Show, Mad About You, and Friends.
Early life
Paxton Whitehead was born in East Malling and Larkfield, Kent on 17 October 1937, the son of Louise (née Hunt) and Charles Parkin Whitehead. His father was a lawyer. He trained at London's Webber Douglas Academy of Dramatic Art beginning when he was 17 years old.{{Cite web |title=Paxton Whitehead, prolific actor known for 'Friends,' Broadway, dies at 85 |url=https://www.usatoday.com/story/entertainment/celebrities/2023/06/20/paxton-whitehead-dies-actor-friends-broadway/70337027007/ |access-date=20 June 2023 |website=USA TODAY |language=en-US}}{{Cite web |title=Friends and Frasier star Paxton Whitehead has died, aged 85 |url=https://www.joe.ie/movies-tv/paxton-whitehead-dies-age-85-776168 |access-date=20 June 2023 |website=JOE.ie |date=20 June 2023 |language=en}}
Career
Whitehead worked in repertory, small touring companies that rehearsed and performed a new play each week. In 1958, he was signed by the Royal Shakespeare Company.{{Cite news|url=http://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/paxton-whitehead/|title=Paxton Whitehead|last=RAE|first=LISBIE|work=The Canadian Encyclopedia|access-date=11 May 2017|language=en}} In 1961, Whitehead directed Doric Wilson's first play to be performed, And He Made a Her, a comedy that was an off-off-Broadway production at the Caffe Cino.[http://www.doricwilson.com/caffecino.asp "Doric Wilson on the Caffe Cino"] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080914064853/http://www.doricwilson.com/caffecino.asp |date=14 September 2008 }}, DoricWilson.com (originally printed in Other Stages (NYC)), 8 March 1979. He made his Broadway debut in The Affair (1962) after appearing in Canadian stage and television productions.{{cite web|url=http://www.ibdb.com/person.asp?id=8081|title=Paxton Whitehead: Male, Performer, Writer, Dramaturg|work=Internet Broadway Data Base|access-date=23 June 2007}}{{cite web|url=https://www.allmovie.com/cg/avg.dll?p=avg&sql=2:75961~T1|title=Biography|work=Allmovie|author=Erickson, Hal|access-date=23 June 2007}}
Whitehead replaced Jonathan Miller in the Broadway production of Beyond the Fringe in 1964 and appeared on the LP recording of the show, Beyond the Fringe '64.{{cite web|url=http://www.broadway.com/gen/Buzz_Story.aspx?ci=520491|title=DVDs: So That's the Way You Like It: BEYOND THE FRINGE (Acorn Media)|work=Broadway.com|author=Mandelbaum, Ken|access-date=23 June 2007}} He went on to appear with the American Shakespeare Company to direct in regional repertory.
In 1967 Whitehead succeeded Barry Morse as artistic director of Ontario's Shaw Festival, the only repertory company dedicated to the works of George Bernard Shaw.{{Cite web |first1=Alex |last1=Ritman |first2=Mike |last2=Barnes |date=19 June 2023 |title=Paxton Whitehead, Stage Veteran and 'Back to School' Actor, Dies at 85 |url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/tv/tv-news/paxton-whitehead-dead-theater-veteran-back-to-school-1235518889/ |access-date=20 June 2023 |website=The Hollywood Reporter |language=en-US}} Under his leadership, it continued to develop into an international event.{{Cite journal |last=Bertolini |first=John A. |date=2012 |editor-last=Conolly |editor-first=L. W. |title=Over the Falls in a Golden Barrel: The Shaw Fest Celebrates |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/10.5325/shaw.32.1.0187 |journal=Shaw |volume=32 |issue=1 |pages=187–190 |doi=10.5325/shaw.32.1.0187 |jstor=10.5325/shaw.32.1.0187 |issn=0741-5842}} During his tenure he was able to push through a plan of building the purpose-built 869-seat state-of-the-art Festival Theatre to expand considerably the capacity for audiences at Niagara-on-the-Lake.{{Cite web |date=19 June 2023 |title=Paxton Whitehead, Stage Veteran and 'Back to School' Actor, Dies at 85 |url=https://uk.news.yahoo.com/paxton-whitehead-stage-veteran-back-165149790.html |access-date=20 June 2023 |website=Yahoo News |language=en-GB}} Queen Elizabeth II, Indira Gandhi, and Pierre Trudeau were among those who attended performances at the Shaw Festival Theatre during its inaugural season in 1973.{{Cite journal |last=Gardner |first=David |date=2000 |title=Tony van Bridge. Also In the Cast: The Memoirs of Tony van Bridge |url=http://dx.doi.org/10.3138/tric.21.1.59 |journal=Theatre Research in Canada |volume=21 |issue=1 |pages=59–61 |doi=10.3138/tric.21.1.59 |issn=1196-1198}} He served until 1977 and appeared in productions as an actor. His notable appearances included The Apple Cart, Major Barbara, The Philanderer, Arms and the Man, Misalliance, and Heartbreak House with Jessica Tandy.{{Cite web |last=Monty |first=Scott |date=20 June 2023 |title=Remembering Paxton Whitehead |url=https://www.ihearofsherlock.com/2023/06/remembering-paxton-whitehead.html |access-date=20 June 2023}} Whitehead and Suzanne Grossman adapted Georges Feydeau's plays There's One in Every Marriage for the Broadway stage in 1971 and Chemin de Fer in 1974.{{cite news|author-link1=Robert Simonson|last=Simonson|first=Robert|title=Suzanne Grossman, Actress and writer, Dies at 72|work=Playbill.com|url=http://www.playbill.com/news/article/142362-Suzanne-Grossman-Actress-and-Writer-Dies-at-72|access-date=25 August 2010|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100828110753/http://www.playbill.com/news/article/142362-Suzanne-Grossman-Actress-and-Writer-Dies-at-72|archive-date=28 August 2010}}
Whitehead received an honorary degree in arts from Trent University in 1978 and earned an Antoinette Perry "Tony" Award nomination for Camelot in 1980.{{Cite web |last=Gans |first=Andrew |title=Paxton Whitehead Joins Hollywood Bowl Camelot Cast |url=https://playbill.com/article/paxton-whitehead-joins-hollywood-bowl-camelot-cast-com-125954}} He appeared in numerous Broadway productions including My Fair Lady with Richard Chamberlain, The Harlequin Studies with Bill Irwin, Noël Coward's Suite in Two Keys, Peter Shaffer's Lettice and Lovage, London Suite by Neil Simon, and as Sherlock Holmes in The Crucifer of Blood.{{Cite web |title=Paxton Whitehead – Broadway Cast & Staff {{!}} IBDB |url=https://www.ibdb.com/broadway-cast-staff/paxton-whitehead-8081 |access-date=20 June 2023 |website=www.ibdb.com}}{{Cite web |title=Paxton Whitehead |url=http://www.iobdb.com/CreditableEntity/1745 |access-date=20 June 2023 |website=www.iobdb.com}}
Whitehead was well known for his film roles and many guest and recurring appearances on television shows, especially many of the top sitcoms from the 1990s such as Frasier, Caroline in the City, Ellen, 3rd Rock from the Sun, The Drew Carey Show, Mad About You, and Friends. He also appeared on Magnum, P.I., Murder, She Wrote, Law & Order, The West Wing, and many more. In 2007, he played Graham Hainsworth in Desperate Housewives, the father of Susan Mayer's fiancé, Ian.{{Cite web |date=11 April 2007 |title=Dress Big – Desperate Housewives (Series 3, Episode 17) {{!}} Apple TV (UK) |url=https://tv.apple.com/gb/episode/dress-big/umc.cmc.765ju8bmp86gqktim6o7maokx?showId=umc.cmc.764fqtvvzfic5cig1ubycwn4 |access-date=20 June 2023 |website=Apple TV |language=en-GB}}
In later years, Whitehead continued to work in regional theatre and on Broadway. Whitehead appeared in the role of Phil at the Westport Country Playhouse in Westport, Connecticut from 12–27 July 2007 in Relatively Speaking, a comedy.{{cite web|url=http://www.bakerstreetblog.com/2007/06/where-are-slippers-now-vall.html|publisher=Baker Street Blog|title=Where Are the Slippers Now?" (VALL)|author=Monty, Scott|date=22 June 2007|access-date=22 June 2007|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070930003141/http://www.bakerstreetblog.com/2007/06/where-are-slippers-now-vall.html|archive-date=30 September 2007}}{{cite web|url=http://www.playbill.com/news/article/109098.html|publisher=Playbill.com|title=Carr, Waterston, Whitehead to Star in Westport's Relatively Speaking|author=Hetrick, Adam|access-date=25 June 2007|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070930184051/http://www.playbill.com/news/article/109098.html|archive-date=30 September 2007}}{{cite web|url=http://www.theatermania.com/content/news.cfm/story/11029|publisher=Theater Mania|title=Carr, Hart, Waterston, Whitehead Set for Westport's Relatively Speaking|author=Lipton, Brian Scott|access-date=25 June 2007}} Whitehead began previews of The Importance of Being Earnest by Oscar Wilde on Broadway at the American Airlines Theatre on 17 December 2010 in the role of Reverend Canon Chasuble. The show opened on 13 January 2011 and was filmed live on 11/12 March 2011 for broadcast in June 2011.[http://www.broadway.com/shows/importance-being-earnest/buzz/155455/broadways-the-importance-of-being-earnest-to-be-filmed-for-the-big-screen "Broadway's The Importance of Being Earnest to be Filmed for the Big Screen"], broadway.com; accessed 22 August 2016. He played the role of George Bernard Shaw in Anthony Wynn's Bernard and Bosie: A Most Unlikely Friendship in a benefit performance for the [http://www.actorsguild.org Episcopal Actors' Guild] on 5 May 2011.{{Cite web |last=Gans |first=Andrew |title=Paxton Whitehead and Anthony Newfield Will Star in Bernard and Bosie: A Most Unlikely Friendship |url=https://playbill.com/article/paxton-whitehead-and-anthony-newfield-will-star-in-bernard-and-bosie-a-most-unlikely-friendship-com-178211 |website=Playbill}}
Whitehead was an associate artist of the Old Globe Theatre in San Diego. He performs on recordings of Shaw's The Doctor's Dilemma and Harley Granville-Barker's The Voysey Inheritance.{{Cite web |title=Paxton Whitehead Audiobooks {{!}} Audiobook Narrator {{!}} Download Instantly! {{!}} AudiobookStore.com |url=https://audiobookstore.com/narrators/paxton-whitehead-audiobooks/ |access-date=20 June 2023 |website=audiobookstore.com}}
Personal life
Whitehead's first marriage, to Patricia Gage, ended with their divorce in 1986. He was then married to Katherine Robinson from 1987 until she died in 2009. He had two children.{{cite news|url = https://www.nytimes.com/2023/06/20/arts/television/paxton-whitehead-dead.html|title = Paxton Whitehead, Actor Who Found Humor in the Stodgy, Dies at 85|last = Slotnik|first = Daniel E.|date = 20 June 2023|accessdate = 20 June 2023|newspaper = The New York Times|url-access = limited}}
Whitehead lived in Arlington County, Virginia, in his final years. He died from complications of a fall at a hospital in Arlington, on 16 June 2023, at age 85.{{cite web |title=Paxton Whitehead, Stage Veteran and 'Back to School' Actor, Dies at 85 |url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/tv/tv-news/paxton-whitehead-theater-veteran-back-to-school-1235518889/ |website=The Hollywood Reporter |date=19 June 2023 |access-date=19 June 2023}}
Selected performances
= Stage actor =
= Stage director =
{{Unreferenced section|date=June 2023}}
- The Circle, Shaw Festival, 1967
- The Chemmy Circle, Shaw Festival, 1968
- A Flea in Her Ear, Charles Playhouse, 1969
- Forty Years On, Shaw Festival, 1970
- The Secretary Bird, Main Stage, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, 1970
- The Chemmy Circle, Main Stage, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, 1971
- The Sorrows of Frederick, Main Stage, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, 1971
- Misalliance, Shaw Festival, 1972
- Getting Married, Shaw Festival, 1972
- Charley's Aunt, Shaw Festival, 1972
- Widowers' Houses, Shaw Festival, 1973
- Arms and the Man, Main Stage, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, 1973
- The Crucifer of Blood, Elitch Gardens Theatre, Denver, Colorado, USA, 1979
- Misalliance, Walnut Street Theatre, Philadelphia, PA, then Old Globe Theatre, San Diego, USA, 1982
- The Real Thing, Seattle Repertory Theatre, WA, USA, 1986
- Beyond the Fringe, Old Globe Theatre, San Diego, transferring to the Los Angeles Theatre Centre, USA, 1986
=Filmography=
== Film ==
class="wikitable sortable" |
Year
! Title ! Role !Notes ! References |
---|
1979
| Riel | McDougall | |{{cite web|url=https://www2.bfi.org.uk/films-tv-people/4ce2ba202ad4d|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180528071712/http://www.bfi.org.uk/films-tv-people/4ce2ba202ad4d|url-status=dead|archive-date=28 May 2018|title=Paxton Whitehead|website=British Film Institute|accessdate=20 June 2023}} |
1986
| Dr. Phillip Barbay | |
1986
| The Alan King Show | John Emerson |TV |
1986
| Lord Malcolm Billings | |
1987
| Center Instructor | |
1988
| Tales from the Hollywood Hills: The Old Reliable | Phipps |TV | |
1990
| Chips, the War Dog | Smythe | |
1991
| Child of Darkness, Child of Light | Father Rosetti |TV |
1991
| Hector Paradiso |TV |
1991
| Count |Voice |
1992
| Hale the Hero | General Howe |TV |
1992
| Boris and Natasha: The Movie | Anton/Kreeger Paulovitch | |
1993
| Harvey Wilks | |
1993
| 12:01 | Dr. Tiberius Scott |TV |
1993
| Judge in Heaven | |
1994
| Deane |TV |
1995
| Goldilocks and the Three Bears | McReady | |
1996
| Dr. McMerlin |TV |
1997
| British Reporter | |
1999
| The Duke | Basil Rathwood | |
1999
| King Salazar |Voice, Direct to video | |
2001
| Uncle Millard | |
2011
| The Importance of Being Earnest | Rev. Canon Chasuble |Final role | |
==Television==
class="wikitable sortable" |
Year
! Title ! Episode ! Role !Notes ! References |
---|
1974
| The National Dream: Building the Impossible Railway | The Horrid B.C. Business |TV mini-series |
1974
| Village Wooing | | |
1982
| Foiled Again | William Troubshaw | |{{cite web|url=https://www.tvguide.com/celebrities/paxton-whitehead/credits/3000396868/|title=Paxton Whitehead|website=TV Guide|accessdate=20 June 2023}} |
1982
| Hart and Sole | Patrick Burke | |
1982
| Rich and Hartless | Gordon Chumley | |
1986
| Beneath the Surface | Morgan | |
1987
| Down and Out in Beverly Hills | Jerry Jumps Right In | Derek | |
1987–1988
| Regular cast | Albert Dudley the Butler | |
1988
| The Right School for Elizabeth | Dr. Whittaker | |
1989
| My Man Tarkington | Alec Creed | |
1989
| The Grand Old Lady | Captain Oliver | |
1991
| The Troubles | Fenwick | |
1992
| The Clip Show and The Clip Show II | Sir David Tushingham |Voice |
1992
| Charlene's Flat World | Judge |Voice |
1992–1999
| Recurring character | Hal Conway | |
1993
| The Fox and the Hound | Sir Reginald Harrington | |
1995
| Simon | Regular cast | Duke Stone | |
1995–1996
| Ellen | Recurring character | Dr. Whitcomb | |
1996
| The Real Adventures of Jonny Quest | The Darkest Fathoms | Commander |Voice |
1996
| Caroline and the Cat Dancer | Cats Producer | |
1996
| World's Greatest Dick | Dr. Menard | |
1996
| Frasier | A Lilith Thanksgiving | Dr. Campbell | |
1997
| Liberty! The American Revolution | Recurring character | |
1998
| Romancing the Throne | Vesti | |
1998
| Friends | Recurring character | Mr. Waltham | |
2000
| Noël | Bernard Thatch | |
2001
| To Live and Amulet Die | Chancellor Johns | |
2002
| Rich Woman, Poor Man | Helford | |
2003
| It's Not One Thing, It's Your Mother | British Ambassador | |
2004
| A Change Is Gonna Come | Bernard Thatch | |
2007
| Graham Hainsworth | |
Selected works
- {{cite book
| last = Feydeau
| first = Georges
| author1-link = Georges Feydeau
| editor1-last = Grossmann
| editor1-first = Suzanne
| editor2-last = Whitehead
| editor2-first = Paxton
| editor1-link = Suzanne Grossmann
| editor2-link = Paxton Whitehead
| title = Chemin de Fer; a play in four acts
|trans-title=The Chemmy Circle
| type = play
| year = 1968
| publisher = Samuel French, Inc.
| location = London
| isbn = 978-0-573-60694-6
| oclc = 317851280
- {{cite book
| last = Feydeau
| first = Georges
| author1-link = Georges Feydeau
| editor1-last = Grossmann
| editor1-first = Suzanne
| editor2-last = Whitehead
| editor2-first = Paxton
| editor1-link = Suzanne Grossmann
| editor2-link = Paxton Whitehead
| title = There's One in Every Marriage
| type = play
| year = 1973
| publisher = Kroll
|lccn=72050652}}{{Cite web |title=Paxton Whitehead PERFORMER, DRAMATURG |url=https://playbill.com/person/paxton-whitehead-vault-0000000530 |website=Playbill}}
- {{cite book
| last = Feydeau
| first = Georges
| author1-link = Georges Feydeau
| editor1-last = Grossmann
| editor1-first = Suzanne
| editor2-last = Whitehead
| editor2-first = Paxton
| editor1-link = Suzanne Grossmann
| editor2-link = Paxton Whitehead
| title = La Puce à l'oreille
|trans-title=A Flea in Her Ear
| type = play
| date = 27 May 1982
| publisher = Kroll
| location = London
}}{{cite book |last=Guernsey |first=Otis L. |url=https://archive.org/details/bestplaysof1981100guer/page/81 |title=The Best Plays of 1981–1982 |publisher=Dodd, Mead and Company |year=1983 |isbn=978-0-396-08124-1 |page=[https://archive.org/details/bestplaysof1981100guer/page/81 81] |url-access=registration}}
References
{{reflist|2}}
External links
- {{IMDb name|925717}}
- [http://broadwayworld.com/galleryperson.cfm?personid=9160 Paxton Whitehead] at Broadway World.com
- {{discogs artist|Paxton Whitehead}}
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Whitehead, Paxton}}
Category:20th-century English male actors
Category:21st-century English male actors
Category:Accidental deaths from falls
Category:Accidental deaths in Virginia
Category:Male actors from Virginia
Category:Alumni of the Webber Douglas Academy of Dramatic Art
Category:English expatriates in Canada
Category:English expatriate male actors in the United States
Category:English male film actors
Category:English male television actors
Category:English theatre directors
Category:Male actors from Kent
Category:People from East Malling