0:00:02 > 0:00:03- He was a unique showman.- Cheeky!
0:00:05 > 0:00:09This is showbiz at its very, very, very, best.
0:00:11 > 0:00:15He'd make a better woman than a man, cos he had fantastic legs.
0:00:15 > 0:00:18(SCOTTISH ACCENT)
0:00:18 > 0:00:21He was a huge star. He was the star that everybody wanted.
0:00:21 > 0:00:25Nobody could do what he did as well as he did. He was a one-off.
0:00:25 > 0:00:27Hush up, here she comes now.
0:00:27 > 0:00:29He could conjure 100 characters and voices
0:00:29 > 0:00:31and play them all in the same scene.
0:00:31 > 0:00:34I like a man that grows his own lunch.
0:00:36 > 0:00:38He was the man and the woman
0:00:38 > 0:00:41who made the most extravagant shows on British television.
0:00:41 > 0:00:45And they kept saying, "He's our flagship, economise somewhere else."
0:00:45 > 0:00:47Good night, folks.
0:00:47 > 0:00:50Would I like to see The Stanley Baxter Big Picture Show
0:00:50 > 0:00:52tomorrow night, a new one?
0:00:52 > 0:00:55You bet I would, I'd cancel anything. He's a genius.
0:00:55 > 0:01:00These are The Many Faces Of Stanley Baxter.
0:01:11 > 0:01:15At their peak in the 1980s, Stanley Baxter's television epics
0:01:15 > 0:01:18were eagerly anticipated by millions.
0:01:18 > 0:01:24His jaw-dropping shows escalated in style, aspirations and cost.
0:01:24 > 0:01:27His mother coached him to be an entertainer.
0:01:27 > 0:01:30She likely dreamt of young Stanley realising her own
0:01:30 > 0:01:34ambitions for the stage, although not literally as a woman.
0:01:34 > 0:01:40# Life's a treat and Joy's complete in a state of grace
0:01:40 > 0:01:45# I'm setting the pace With my dancing feet... #
0:01:45 > 0:01:49Stanley Baxter was born in Glasgow in 1926.
0:01:50 > 0:01:54Called for National Service, Stanley Baxter joined the army's
0:01:54 > 0:01:56Combined Services Entertainment Unit
0:01:56 > 0:02:00and met Kenneth Williams in Singapore.
0:02:00 > 0:02:02Stanley, like a lot of comedians
0:02:02 > 0:02:08of his generation, had been through the war and has served as a soldier.
0:02:08 > 0:02:12And there was this tradition of entertainment for the troops,
0:02:12 > 0:02:14and troops entertaining themselves.
0:02:14 > 0:02:18And Stanley, like Spike Milligan, Eric Sykes and Peter Sellers
0:02:18 > 0:02:22and Tony Hancock, were all part of that tradition.
0:02:22 > 0:02:26And Stanley was in Combined Services Entertainment with
0:02:26 > 0:02:28Kenneth Williams and Peter Nichols.
0:02:28 > 0:02:31Stanley would have fun with his impersonations of Kenneth Williams
0:02:31 > 0:02:32for years to come.
0:02:33 > 0:02:38Good evening and welcome to another edition of International Camparet.
0:02:38 > 0:02:41'What looked like a boy of 15 with whitened hair
0:02:41 > 0:02:44'and a white moustache, made his way through.
0:02:44 > 0:02:46'I said, "What's going on here?" Ha-ha-ha.
0:02:46 > 0:02:49'Of course, it turned out to be Kenneth Williams.'
0:02:49 > 0:02:52They would be lifelong friends but Stanley continued
0:02:52 > 0:02:56his induction into show business back on the stages of Glasgow.
0:02:56 > 0:02:59On his first day at the Citizens Theatre,
0:02:59 > 0:03:01Stanley found himself in the company of a man
0:03:01 > 0:03:04who would in future years be a crucial link
0:03:04 > 0:03:06in his television career.
0:03:06 > 0:03:08We were both at the same stage in our careers,
0:03:08 > 0:03:13as far as coming into the theatre was concerned.
0:03:13 > 0:03:19I got the job as assistant stage manager the same time as he did.
0:03:19 > 0:03:23But he didn't stay that for very long, they saw what a good actor
0:03:23 > 0:03:27he was and he was a very funny comedy actor, as well.
0:03:27 > 0:03:31Stanley's breakthrough moment came when a Christmas show,
0:03:31 > 0:03:35written by the theatre founder, James Bridie, failed to entertain.
0:03:35 > 0:03:37They were sensible enough to realise that Stanley,
0:03:37 > 0:03:43who had a considerable experience in revue type material,
0:03:43 > 0:03:48was the perfect person to come and pull the whole show together.
0:03:48 > 0:03:52Stanley's success in the Tintock Cup led to bigger parts and through the
0:03:52 > 0:03:561950s he became a familiar face on the stages of Glasgow and Edinburgh.
0:03:56 > 0:04:00He was an all-round entertainer in constantly changing revue shows
0:04:00 > 0:04:02and long-running pantomimes.
0:04:02 > 0:04:05All provide a welcome to Five Past Eight.
0:04:12 > 0:04:15# Turn us loose, set us free
0:04:15 > 0:04:18# We've no use for reason or rhyme
0:04:18 > 0:04:21# My slacks are slappy So what do we care?
0:04:21 > 0:04:24# Just relax I will have a good time. #
0:04:24 > 0:04:27But the characters go from, oh, from old men to young lasses,
0:04:27 > 0:04:31from young men to middle-aged men, and even an American.
0:04:38 > 0:04:40Got a fag?
0:04:40 > 0:04:43'Five Past Eight and that all sort of thing, these were big deals.'
0:04:43 > 0:04:47This is showbiz at its very, very, very best.
0:04:47 > 0:04:52So if you went to see a panto with Stanley in it,
0:04:52 > 0:04:56it was going to be spectacular. Yeah, it would be funny and all the
0:04:56 > 0:04:59rest of it and all the daft things that you'd expect,
0:04:59 > 0:05:01but there was spectacle.
0:05:01 > 0:05:05Stanley quickly became a star of the stage.
0:05:05 > 0:05:08Between pantomime seasons there were the Half Past Eight
0:05:08 > 0:05:10and Five Past Eight theatre revues -
0:05:10 > 0:05:14lavish variety shows that would be the testing ground and template
0:05:14 > 0:05:17for his own brand of television entertainment in years to come.
0:05:19 > 0:05:22He played the magnificent Howard and Wyndham chain of theatres,
0:05:22 > 0:05:25the best Scotland could offer.
0:05:25 > 0:05:28But Stanley had ambition.
0:05:28 > 0:05:30I was getting fed up with Howard and Wyndham.
0:05:30 > 0:05:34They had run into financial trouble. They'd sold the Alhambra,
0:05:34 > 0:05:36one of the best theatres in Britain, the Alhambra.
0:05:36 > 0:05:39I got really angry and I thought "I'm going to end up
0:05:39 > 0:05:41"playing number two theatres."
0:05:41 > 0:05:43Which is fine for a lot of people
0:05:43 > 0:05:46but I was used to the number ones, to be a wee bit snobby.
0:05:46 > 0:05:48So I decided to head south.
0:05:48 > 0:05:52And Stewart Cruickshank at that time was a honcho, the chief honcho
0:05:52 > 0:05:58at Howard and Wyndham, said, "You're planning to go south?
0:05:58 > 0:06:00"Anything planned?"
0:06:00 > 0:06:05I said, "No, I'm just going south and trying, really."
0:06:05 > 0:06:09"Well, I can't promise they'll be any work for you when you come back."
0:06:09 > 0:06:14Well, I'd been starring for him for ages - not a very kind remark.
0:06:14 > 0:06:18But it made me all the more determined to go south
0:06:18 > 0:06:21and make a go of it if I could.
0:06:21 > 0:06:23And so I went south and...
0:06:25 > 0:06:28..who did I get a phone call from?
0:06:28 > 0:06:30Jimmy Gilbert,
0:06:30 > 0:06:34who said, "Is it true? You're coming south with no work?"
0:06:34 > 0:06:35I said, "Absolutely true."
0:06:35 > 0:06:38"Well, I've had an idea of doing Intimate Revue."
0:06:38 > 0:06:42Now that's always been a rather chichi kind of specialised thing
0:06:42 > 0:06:45at the Royal Court and stuff like that.
0:06:45 > 0:06:46But I thought it could be adapted,
0:06:46 > 0:06:50if it were broadened a bit, for television.
0:06:50 > 0:06:54He wasn't a well-known name down in England at all.
0:06:54 > 0:06:59And we got Betty Marsden to join him as his leading lady
0:06:59 > 0:07:03and, well, we made a television version of revue.
0:07:03 > 0:07:08We didn't try and just photograph a West End revue.
0:07:08 > 0:07:12I was obviously very excited to have this chance to get on television
0:07:12 > 0:07:16because I knew that the audience was a lot bigger than anything
0:07:16 > 0:07:22I could have played to in pantomime or in Five Past Eight shows.
0:07:23 > 0:07:30But then, when I started with BBC and there was no ITV at all,
0:07:30 > 0:07:33so it was a fairly small audience.
0:07:33 > 0:07:38But when I didn't work in dialect, quite deliberately,
0:07:38 > 0:07:43the Scottish press were not best pleased.
0:07:43 > 0:07:47And they tended to be a bit snide about, "What's the matter with you?
0:07:47 > 0:07:50"Given up doing your native accent?"
0:07:50 > 0:07:52I thought, "I haven't forgotten it,
0:07:52 > 0:07:57"I just choose to show that I can do, that I've got a wider range."
0:07:57 > 0:07:59In case there should be any confusion,
0:07:59 > 0:08:03since we rarely see Stanley Baxter as himself, this is Stanley Baxter.
0:08:04 > 0:08:07And this is the Television Guild Producers Award, which he received
0:08:07 > 0:08:11a month or two ago as the best light entertainment artist of the year.
0:08:11 > 0:08:16We only did two series, we were the first BBC light entertainment show
0:08:16 > 0:08:19to win what was the equivalent of a BAFTA.
0:08:19 > 0:08:23It was a CEFTA, and Stanley was exceedingly well-received.
0:08:25 > 0:08:30He's a good-looking guy and he was versatile, talented,
0:08:30 > 0:08:33he could do all this stuff and he just suddenly, you know, to spring
0:08:33 > 0:08:38out from Glasgow, whereas a lot of the other Glasgow comedians were
0:08:38 > 0:08:44so obviously Scottish, but Stanley had the Hollywood flavour.
0:08:45 > 0:08:48Stanley was a rising star.
0:08:48 > 0:08:50He was cast in a succession of cinema features with
0:08:50 > 0:08:54Julie Christie, James Robertson Justice and Leslie Phillips.
0:08:54 > 0:08:57I've got a feeling it's going to be just what they want, you know.
0:08:58 > 0:09:03One of the bosses of Independent Artists had seen me a lot
0:09:03 > 0:09:09and had met a fan that wanted me to be signed up for Independent Artists.
0:09:10 > 0:09:12And the first thing they wanted me
0:09:12 > 0:09:17to do was something to be called Very Important Person, in which
0:09:17 > 0:09:20James Robertson Justice was playing this boffin
0:09:20 > 0:09:23who was landed and had to be kept.
0:09:23 > 0:09:25Everybody in the hut that he was sent to be in,
0:09:25 > 0:09:29mustn't let the Jerrys know that he is this boffin.
0:09:29 > 0:09:31Right.
0:09:31 > 0:09:32Back to your bunks.
0:09:32 > 0:09:34'The director, I met the director'
0:09:34 > 0:09:37and he said something that interested me enormously, he said,
0:09:37 > 0:09:41"Now, the part we want you to play is this Scots boy
0:09:41 > 0:09:44"who is obsessed about digging his way out."
0:09:44 > 0:09:47That was his way of escaping. I said, "Sounds good."
0:09:47 > 0:09:50Wavy Navy, eh? Oh, if I'm not mistaken,
0:09:50 > 0:09:54the boys in dark blue are partial to a wee bit of gardening.
0:09:54 > 0:09:56I cordially detest gardening.
0:09:56 > 0:10:00- You've done a wee bit of digging in your time.- Certainly not.
0:10:00 > 0:10:01Pity.
0:10:01 > 0:10:04He said, "This Scots boy has to impersonate
0:10:04 > 0:10:08"the German Kommandant later on in the film."
0:10:08 > 0:10:13I had one idea, we just had the idea maybe it would be good to have
0:10:13 > 0:10:16the Scots boy not only play the Scots boy
0:10:16 > 0:10:18but play the German for real.
0:10:20 > 0:10:24I said, and this is really cheeky, because I'd never made a movie,
0:10:24 > 0:10:28I said, "Oh, I'd consider taking this film on
0:10:28 > 0:10:32"if I got the German, as well." Cheeky!
0:10:32 > 0:10:35'So they said, "All right."
0:10:35 > 0:10:39'But for the first three days, they had me as that German.'
0:10:39 > 0:10:42Just so they could look at the rush and say, "Dosnae work."
0:10:42 > 0:10:44Or, "It's working."
0:10:44 > 0:10:46It's me.
0:10:46 > 0:10:48Well, obviously, they said, "It's working,"
0:10:48 > 0:10:50because I went on to do that.
0:10:50 > 0:10:51This is as far as I go.
0:10:51 > 0:10:54No doubt I'll be accused of striking a German officer this morning
0:10:54 > 0:10:57and be shot at dawn this afternoon.
0:10:57 > 0:10:59Nonsense, Everett, you've done very well.
0:10:59 > 0:11:02Don't spoil it all by getting caught now.
0:11:03 > 0:11:04Come on.
0:11:07 > 0:11:12And I got rave notices and that was my favourite film, really.
0:11:12 > 0:11:16Because in all the others I was playing a juvenile.
0:11:16 > 0:11:18CAR HORN
0:11:18 > 0:11:20'Scots juvenile was dyed here.'
0:11:22 > 0:11:24Get an ambulance!
0:11:24 > 0:11:25They made money,
0:11:25 > 0:11:29The Fast Lady made a hell of a lot of money for the studio.
0:11:29 > 0:11:33The film producers had Stanley play the stereotypical Scot.
0:11:33 > 0:11:35# The Highland hills They're not my land's hills
0:11:35 > 0:11:38# And fair as these green foreign hills may be
0:11:38 > 0:11:41# They are not the hills of old... #
0:11:41 > 0:11:45In Fast Lady, his charm wins the girl in the end
0:11:45 > 0:11:49against the smarmy English cad, Leslie Phillips.
0:11:49 > 0:11:51Why don't you turn that game in?
0:11:51 > 0:11:54I refuse to be driven off the road by you motorists!
0:11:56 > 0:12:00Buy yourself a decent car, get yourself a girl,
0:12:00 > 0:12:02this one's for sale!
0:12:03 > 0:12:07Possibly a bit on the fast side, but she's on very modern lines.
0:12:07 > 0:12:09Smashing upholstery. She's a real bargain.
0:12:09 > 0:12:11What a suggestion!
0:12:11 > 0:12:15Other sales points include, an ample rear boot...
0:12:15 > 0:12:17loose covers...
0:12:17 > 0:12:19and an automatic clutch,
0:12:19 > 0:12:22leaving plenty of room for fancy knee work.
0:12:22 > 0:12:24Dirty beast!
0:12:24 > 0:12:28Stanley, I believe you like to be known as a character actor,
0:12:28 > 0:12:30rather than a personality actor?
0:12:30 > 0:12:32I think that's because I don't have any choice,
0:12:32 > 0:12:35I think I am a character actor, rather than a personality actor.
0:12:35 > 0:12:38Certainly in all the films I've done, except for The Fast Lady,
0:12:38 > 0:12:41I've been doing character stuff.
0:12:41 > 0:12:46Stanley's story as a screen idol didn't have a happy ending.
0:12:46 > 0:12:48After just six titles, the failure of the studio
0:12:48 > 0:12:51brought his big screen career to a shuddering halt.
0:12:51 > 0:12:55- Something's gone wrong! - You've run out of petrol.
0:12:57 > 0:12:59Oh, blast!
0:12:59 > 0:13:04The people I was working for, Independent Artists, closed down,
0:13:04 > 0:13:09due to the illness of one of the partners.
0:13:09 > 0:13:14And so, as I hadn't had an offer from MGM or RKO,
0:13:14 > 0:13:1720th Century Fox, I just had to wait,
0:13:17 > 0:13:22like most actors have to do, wait till you're asked to do something.
0:13:22 > 0:13:25Stanley's Hollywood dreams were on hold.
0:13:25 > 0:13:29But he did still have the patronage of the BBC at least for a while.
0:13:29 > 0:13:34Once we won the first BAFTA for On The Bright Side,
0:13:34 > 0:13:36that was one thing, and I went on,
0:13:36 > 0:13:41under the aegis of Jimmy Gilbert, doing other shows like that.
0:13:41 > 0:13:43Oh, he did impersonations,
0:13:43 > 0:13:46we did a lot of that, we didn't have the same...
0:13:46 > 0:13:51technical help that you would get nowadays,
0:13:51 > 0:13:53it all had to be shot on film.
0:13:53 > 0:13:59But, those were the most successful stand-up equivalents,
0:13:59 > 0:14:03stand-ups that Stanley did in On The Bright Side.
0:14:03 > 0:14:05They were very funny.
0:14:05 > 0:14:07And here at last, the lovely pair...
0:14:07 > 0:14:09Stanley enjoyed filming in the studio
0:14:09 > 0:14:11and on location as was done for cinema.
0:14:11 > 0:14:14Sketches looked better than if they had been confined to a stage
0:14:14 > 0:14:16and live audience.
0:14:16 > 0:14:19But they were more expensive to produce.
0:14:20 > 0:14:23What they did at Ealing in the way of filming
0:14:23 > 0:14:25was outrageous financially.
0:14:25 > 0:14:29Any time we went for a cup of tea, everybody shut down,
0:14:29 > 0:14:31but it costs money to do that.
0:14:31 > 0:14:33Whereas we all went away to the canteen,
0:14:33 > 0:14:35then back - "Oh, lunch!" -
0:14:35 > 0:14:38we're on our way back to the canteen again...
0:14:38 > 0:14:40Well, in the end it was astronomic.
0:14:40 > 0:14:45And the powers that be said to Jimmy Gilbert, "I'm sorry.
0:14:45 > 0:14:47"You may think that he's very happy doing it,
0:14:47 > 0:14:49"but we can't afford it."
0:14:49 > 0:14:53So, that's the first time, but not the last
0:14:53 > 0:14:55that I was fired from television.
0:14:55 > 0:14:58Stanley retreated to Scotland.
0:14:58 > 0:15:00He still had a profile as an award-winning comic actor
0:15:00 > 0:15:03and his friendship with Kenneth Williams
0:15:03 > 0:15:06almost saw Stanley's career take a dramatic twist.
0:15:08 > 0:15:12I got us a half invitation from Kenneth Williams.
0:15:12 > 0:15:16IMPERSONATES KENNETH WILLIAMS: "Yes, would you like to do a Carry On?"
0:15:16 > 0:15:21I said, "No way." I was very snobby about it at that time.
0:15:21 > 0:15:25I still look at them and think, "Oh, my God, that is broad."
0:15:25 > 0:15:28These surgeons or all right for a quick slash and a fast grope round,
0:15:28 > 0:15:30but when it comes to cleaning up the mess,
0:15:30 > 0:15:32it's a doctor that's needed.
0:15:32 > 0:15:34I said, "No, I didn't want to do it."
0:15:34 > 0:15:38But, of course, he loved doing it because there wasn't
0:15:38 > 0:15:42a lot of work for him and it was like a great gang, his favourite people.
0:15:42 > 0:15:46Hattie Jakes, someone he loved.
0:15:46 > 0:15:49Stanley Baxter had been a stage sensation.
0:15:49 > 0:15:52He'd won awards for his first ever TV show,
0:15:52 > 0:15:56he'd starred in movies, but now, his career had reached a hiatus.
0:15:57 > 0:16:02Then, in 1966, he met a young, Scottish director, David Bell.
0:16:02 > 0:16:06It was a landmark, the start of a partnership that would ultimately
0:16:06 > 0:16:09see Stanley Baxter make some of Britain's
0:16:09 > 0:16:11most elaborate entertainment shows.
0:16:11 > 0:16:15He was spotted by a very brilliant,
0:16:15 > 0:16:19brilliant television director/producer, David Bell.
0:16:19 > 0:16:23And it was David who created the format in Scotland,
0:16:23 > 0:16:26the embryonic Stanley Baxter Big Picture Show.
0:16:26 > 0:16:30The Baxter and Bell partnership was perfect, but Glasgow seemed to
0:16:30 > 0:16:34lack the available studio facilities Stanley had enjoyed in London.
0:16:35 > 0:16:39I said, "I do miss all that kind of stuff I used to do at Ealing."
0:16:39 > 0:16:44"I've so many more ideas but we haven't got the facilities here."
0:16:44 > 0:16:49He said, "I've got news for you, dear, we have in a way."
0:16:49 > 0:16:50I said, "How do you mean?"
0:16:50 > 0:16:58"Well, the place the BBC were working from has now been vacated."
0:16:58 > 0:17:01"All the rigging is up there for the lighting,"
0:17:01 > 0:17:06"we could go in there and create our own MGM."
0:17:06 > 0:17:10The Stanley Baxter Show, scene one, take one.
0:17:10 > 0:17:11Very revolutionary.
0:17:13 > 0:17:16Over the shoulder and using him as all the characters,
0:17:16 > 0:17:18a blue screen and all that.
0:17:18 > 0:17:22But Stanley used it for humour as the first person to do it.
0:17:23 > 0:17:26Stanley's TV shows from Glasgow developed
0:17:26 > 0:17:29and showcased his talents but he remained a regional act,
0:17:29 > 0:17:33on the periphery of the BBC network's vision.
0:17:33 > 0:17:36When David Bell left Scotland to join London Weekend in 1970,
0:17:36 > 0:17:40it looked like Stanley might be left on the shelf.
0:17:40 > 0:17:43But fate was to hand him a golden opportunity.
0:17:44 > 0:17:52He said, "I think you should go to LWT, they're interested there."
0:17:53 > 0:17:56"I'd like you to meet the boss, Cyril Bennett."
0:17:58 > 0:18:02I said, "OK, that would be fine."
0:18:02 > 0:18:04"You think he would be really interested?"
0:18:04 > 0:18:06"Yes, yes, he's very interested in you."
0:18:06 > 0:18:09It was Stanley's good fortune that David Bell moved
0:18:09 > 0:18:13to London Weekend and persuaded them to bring Stanley with them.
0:18:13 > 0:18:17Then money was no object by that point and so the shows got
0:18:17 > 0:18:20bigger and bigger, which was exactly what Stanley needed.
0:18:20 > 0:18:21A bigger canvas.
0:18:21 > 0:18:26I don't think the influence of David Bell can be underestimated
0:18:26 > 0:18:30and also David Bell's willingness to stretch budgets.
0:18:30 > 0:18:34David Bell's catchphrase was, "It's not your money, dear."
0:18:34 > 0:18:36If only accountants came and said,
0:18:36 > 0:18:38"Isn't this going a bit over budget,
0:18:38 > 0:18:40"isn't this getting a bit expensive?"
0:18:40 > 0:18:43He'd say, "It's not your money, dear."
0:18:52 > 0:18:56There was nothing to stop the BBC doing what London Weekend did
0:18:56 > 0:18:59with Stanley. I don't think they understood what they had.
0:18:59 > 0:19:01They couldn't see it.
0:19:01 > 0:19:05It was some regional token programme that came down from Scotland
0:19:05 > 0:19:07and was played at 10:30 at night.
0:19:07 > 0:19:11He wasn't loved and appreciated,
0:19:11 > 0:19:16where as Stanley was a big star at London Weekend
0:19:16 > 0:19:18and was given the star treatment.
0:19:21 > 0:19:26Stanley's career took off. ITV provided a star billing and money.
0:19:26 > 0:19:28Over the next 16 years,
0:19:28 > 0:19:31the appearance of a Stanley Baxter show
0:19:31 > 0:19:33could empty the streets.
0:19:33 > 0:19:36So what made Stanley Baxter special?
0:19:36 > 0:19:39It was the range of vivid characters,
0:19:39 > 0:19:42starting with well observed ordinary people and escalating to
0:19:42 > 0:19:45celebrity impersonations in elaborate parodies.
0:19:46 > 0:19:49Stanley had an appeal for everybody.
0:19:49 > 0:19:51In every one of his shows
0:19:51 > 0:19:54you will find some very low musical humour,
0:19:54 > 0:19:57you'll find some very camp humour,
0:19:57 > 0:20:01you'll find some very sophisticated, witty humour.
0:20:01 > 0:20:04He worked on many, many, many levels.
0:20:07 > 0:20:11You started by being amazed at him playing all the different characters
0:20:11 > 0:20:13and how it was put together,
0:20:13 > 0:20:17but you soon forgot that because it didn't rely on that.
0:20:17 > 0:20:23The humour was just so funny - the parodies, the silly sketches.
0:20:26 > 0:20:30Stanley was a talented mimic from an early age.
0:20:30 > 0:20:34I've always been terribly interested in dialect of all kinds.
0:20:34 > 0:20:36I think we went to Blackpool once
0:20:36 > 0:20:38and I started doing broader and broader.
0:20:38 > 0:20:43My mother, who was a bit ancient,
0:20:43 > 0:20:47was on to the fact that I could do this Lancashire accent.
0:20:47 > 0:20:51LANCASHIRE ACCENT: There's a famous seaside place called Blackpool
0:20:51 > 0:20:53that's noted for fresh air and fun.
0:20:53 > 0:20:55She said, "That's quite good."
0:20:55 > 0:20:59That was one thing I did, then I went for a holiday...
0:20:59 > 0:21:03The family went on holiday to Portrush in Northern Ireland.
0:21:03 > 0:21:08That accent so fascinated me, I started doing it in life all the time
0:21:08 > 0:21:13until even my mother, who adored me doing any kind of performance...
0:21:13 > 0:21:16"Oh, give over that. We're getting a bit fed up with that." I said,
0:21:16 > 0:21:20NORTHERN IRISH ACCENT: "I love doing it, because it's so different from anything."
0:21:20 > 0:21:22"Just forget it for a wee bit."
0:21:22 > 0:21:25But I've gone back to it in television.
0:21:27 > 0:21:32- NORTHERN IRISH ACCENT: Are you waiting for the American plane too?- No, Sydney.
0:21:32 > 0:21:37Oh, my daughter's called Nora. She'll be through any minute now.
0:21:37 > 0:21:39She's been in the States for four months.
0:21:39 > 0:21:43Oh here, listen, you'll die laughing.
0:21:43 > 0:21:48She sent me a wee box of six rejuvenating pills.
0:21:48 > 0:21:51I took one and you know, I think it did make a difference.
0:21:53 > 0:21:59- Mother.- Darling. - You look marvellous.
0:21:59 > 0:22:02Well I took one of your rejuvenating pills.
0:22:05 > 0:22:07Don't tell me you've had a baby.
0:22:07 > 0:22:11No, that's your father, he took the other five.
0:22:11 > 0:22:14Stanley had always been most playful
0:22:14 > 0:22:16when sending up his own accent, Scots.
0:22:16 > 0:22:20When did you discover you had this great gift of languages?
0:22:20 > 0:22:24SCOTTISH ACCENT: I have knew it for many a year.
0:22:24 > 0:22:28As a diminutive wee'un, I was speaking French.
0:22:28 > 0:22:31I remember sucking a piece of fruit and saying to my parents,
0:22:31 > 0:22:36"Mere, Pere," which of course, as you know,
0:22:36 > 0:22:39is French for mother and father.
0:22:39 > 0:22:42So as I growed up, I felt it was incompetent upon me
0:22:42 > 0:22:45to make myself multi-bilingual.
0:22:45 > 0:22:48Parliamo Glasgow started as a germ of an idea in the '50s
0:22:48 > 0:22:54and became a cult classic when LWT gave it a peak time audience.
0:22:56 > 0:22:57Parliamo Glasgow
0:22:57 > 0:22:59was a tremendous success.
0:23:02 > 0:23:06Parliamo Glasgow took the form of a lecture by this don
0:23:06 > 0:23:12about Glasgow habits and dialects.
0:23:12 > 0:23:17Aye! Rat fat rats as blin' as a bloody bat!
0:23:18 > 0:23:22It is time, now, to examine some of the words and phrases used by
0:23:22 > 0:23:27the young lady and her fiance as they enjoy themselves at the football.
0:23:27 > 0:23:29As soon as the game commences,
0:23:29 > 0:23:33the young gentleman calls encouragement to the team he favours.
0:23:33 > 0:23:36He gives voice to a word borrowed from the aboriginal
0:23:36 > 0:23:38dwellers in New Zealand...
0:23:42 > 0:23:47But I thought I'd be limited to Glaswegians. Quite wrong.
0:23:47 > 0:23:49All of Scotland loved it
0:23:49 > 0:23:53because Glaswegian is really the lingua franca.
0:23:53 > 0:23:56The lingua franca of Scottish comedy.
0:23:56 > 0:23:58So we have...
0:24:00 > 0:24:02It's like turning
0:24:02 > 0:24:05a magnifying glass
0:24:05 > 0:24:08on something that you deal with every day of your life,
0:24:08 > 0:24:10that you walk past, you've not noticed before.
0:24:10 > 0:24:15And suddenly, you know, it becomes something. That's the genius of it.
0:24:19 > 0:24:23I think it should be up there with all of the Mr Previews
0:24:23 > 0:24:25and the Four Candles and all of those sketches,
0:24:25 > 0:24:28because it's an incredibly clever setup.
0:24:30 > 0:24:33It takes a Scottish in-joke
0:24:33 > 0:24:37and makes it accessible to the whole nation.
0:24:37 > 0:24:40The young gentleman does not relish having his singing interrupted
0:24:40 > 0:24:43and addresses his companion with the Spanish sounding word...
0:24:46 > 0:24:48Now, that does sound like a foreign language, doesn't it?
0:24:53 > 0:24:56It is one on the gob you need.
0:24:56 > 0:24:58It's a threat.
0:24:58 > 0:25:02You know, it's one on the gob you need, my man.
0:25:04 > 0:25:07That sounds vaguely Indian, doesn't it, some of these?
0:25:07 > 0:25:11With the suffix rem, we have the inspiring cry...
0:25:13 > 0:25:17That was the whole point of it, that he took something really,
0:25:17 > 0:25:19really ordinary and cranked it up.
0:25:19 > 0:25:22Parliamo Glasgow opened the door for comedy
0:25:22 > 0:25:25and Glasgow dialect for years to come.
0:25:29 > 0:25:31Oh, you know what, Rab?
0:25:31 > 0:25:34- You're beginning to speak my language.- Is he?
0:25:34 > 0:25:36Rab's with me.
0:25:36 > 0:25:39When you come fae Govan, you speak straight fae the heart.
0:25:39 > 0:25:42The reason we were able to take that where we took it
0:25:42 > 0:25:44wasn't part of what had gone before.
0:25:44 > 0:25:49If it hadn't been for the Parliamos and Stanley,
0:25:49 > 0:25:52if it hadn't been for the Billy Connollys,
0:25:52 > 0:25:55then we wouldn't have been able to
0:25:55 > 0:25:58inhabit that territory that we did inhabit.
0:25:58 > 0:26:02Hey, you're nothing but a waste of ozone!
0:26:02 > 0:26:06- Leave me alone! - It's only me, it's only me.
0:26:06 > 0:26:11Don't cough your lungs up onto the pavement, either.
0:26:11 > 0:26:15You know when one of your sort of boyhood heroes turns up on a set
0:26:15 > 0:26:20and essentially your set and you think, "Oh, God,
0:26:20 > 0:26:23"we better get it right this week," you know what I mean?
0:26:23 > 0:26:27Well, if you'll excuse me, some of us have some living to do.
0:26:27 > 0:26:30Taxi!
0:26:30 > 0:26:32It was great fun. Great fun.
0:26:32 > 0:26:36Stanley's Scotsman was compelling much earlier.
0:26:36 > 0:26:39In 1971, when The Goodies needed a stereotypical Scotsman
0:26:39 > 0:26:42for their hunt for the Loch Ness monster,
0:26:42 > 0:26:45Stanley was perfectly over the top.
0:26:45 > 0:26:47We had the three of us
0:26:47 > 0:26:50and then we would have a guest star
0:26:50 > 0:26:52and Stanley was...
0:26:54 > 0:26:57..guess what, he was a Scotsman.
0:26:57 > 0:26:58Good morning.
0:26:58 > 0:27:02It's a braw brich moonlich nich tonich.
0:27:02 > 0:27:03'I don't know how,'
0:27:03 > 0:27:08there must have been a gap in my schedule.
0:27:08 > 0:27:11I've seen him quoted since as saying, you know,
0:27:11 > 0:27:15he had no idea what it was and hadn't seen it, you know?
0:27:15 > 0:27:18I still sense, slightly begrudgingly,
0:27:18 > 0:27:20he said he enjoyed it.
0:27:20 > 0:27:22# Oh, when the sun sinks in the west
0:27:22 > 0:27:24# That's the time that I love best
0:27:24 > 0:27:28# When the moon's a-roaming in the gloaming
0:27:28 > 0:27:29# McHoots! #
0:27:29 > 0:27:33- You must be English tourists. - That's right.
0:27:33 > 0:27:35- And you'll be after the monster, eh?- Yeah.
0:27:35 > 0:27:38Well, you've come to the right place and at just the right time.
0:27:38 > 0:27:42- The monster season's just opened again.- Oh, yes?
0:27:42 > 0:27:45Uh-huh. Now, you'll be needing your monster fishing permits.
0:27:45 > 0:27:48That will be five pounds for the week in advance, if you didnae mind?
0:27:50 > 0:27:52Thank you.
0:27:53 > 0:27:56# If I ruled the world...
0:27:56 > 0:27:58Stanley's career was flying.
0:27:58 > 0:28:00Whilst he was a master of dialects
0:28:00 > 0:28:03and audiences always loved his mimes of celebrities,
0:28:03 > 0:28:05at LWT the shows got bigger.
0:28:05 > 0:28:08The production team would match the characterisations with
0:28:08 > 0:28:12elaborate costume, make up, sets and props.
0:28:12 > 0:28:14# If I ruled the world
0:28:14 > 0:28:16# Every head would be...
0:28:16 > 0:28:20Seems to me that Harry has been singing those beautiful
0:28:20 > 0:28:24and inspiring words since time began.
0:28:24 > 0:28:26For all eternity, in fact,
0:28:26 > 0:28:31and that, I think, is where we ought to send him.
0:28:31 > 0:28:33# ..rule the...
0:28:33 > 0:28:35EXPLOSION
0:28:35 > 0:28:39# World. #
0:28:39 > 0:28:42Stanley would play real people, you know.
0:28:42 > 0:28:46He'd suddenly be Fred Astaire and also play Ginger Rogers.
0:28:46 > 0:28:50And he had the voices and the mannerisms of these people.
0:28:50 > 0:28:52The observation of the man, oh boy.
0:28:52 > 0:28:54Didn't they?
0:28:54 > 0:28:56- AUDIENCE:- Do well!
0:28:56 > 0:28:57I'm not very well.
0:28:57 > 0:28:59One of those winter colds, you know? All snuffly.
0:28:59 > 0:29:02Just this morning, I woke up early, turned to Anthea and said,
0:29:02 > 0:29:05"Don't you hate that stuffed up feeling in the morning?"
0:29:05 > 0:29:07She said, "I rather like it."
0:29:07 > 0:29:10# Christmas comes but once a year
0:29:10 > 0:29:12# And that is once too much, I fear
0:29:12 > 0:29:16# For someone who deplores The festive season... #
0:29:16 > 0:29:18- COMPERE:- Nana Missouri.
0:29:18 > 0:29:20APPLAUSE
0:29:25 > 0:29:27LAUGHTER
0:29:29 > 0:29:32You can link him to Ronnie Barker in the way that Stanley Baxter
0:29:32 > 0:29:34would change his appearance.
0:29:34 > 0:29:36You couldn't believe you were looking at him.
0:29:36 > 0:29:39And, you know, people go, "Oh, he was in drag."
0:29:39 > 0:29:40Yes, he did brilliant drag,
0:29:40 > 0:29:43but you'd see him play a load of other parts.
0:29:43 > 0:29:47It was all frightening. You thought, "How was he doing that?"
0:29:47 > 0:29:51I loved doing Arthur Negus.
0:29:53 > 0:29:57I thought it would be an idea if somebody brought in a human being
0:29:57 > 0:29:59and he examined them.
0:30:01 > 0:30:04Oh, you never knew you were worth so much, did you?
0:30:04 > 0:30:07Oh, my word, now.
0:30:07 > 0:30:12Isn't that a beauty, and aren't you a lucky lady there?
0:30:12 > 0:30:16I'd make a guess that it's a maiden aunt.
0:30:16 > 0:30:18Yes and I'm its niece.
0:30:18 > 0:30:20And Arthur Negus dutifully
0:30:20 > 0:30:25went round examining this postmistress,
0:30:25 > 0:30:28making all the kind of comments he made about
0:30:28 > 0:30:30a Chipperfield or something.
0:30:30 > 0:30:35Someone's gone to a lot of trouble to preserve this one.
0:30:35 > 0:30:38I like it because it's so simple.
0:30:38 > 0:30:41It just oozes simplicity, this thing.
0:30:41 > 0:30:43You know, at one time,
0:30:43 > 0:30:45you'd probably find it behind the counter.
0:30:45 > 0:30:49I'd say that it was a village postmistress.
0:30:49 > 0:30:51Just look at those beady eyes
0:30:51 > 0:30:54and that mean little mouth.
0:30:54 > 0:30:59It's got "position closed" written all over it.
0:30:59 > 0:31:02Now, everybody, funnily enough,
0:31:02 > 0:31:07remembers that aunt with those great earphones
0:31:07 > 0:31:10who didn't say anything.
0:31:10 > 0:31:12She just stood there and glowered.
0:31:12 > 0:31:14And they keep remembering that
0:31:14 > 0:31:17where as I remembered the Arthur Negus.
0:31:17 > 0:31:21It was one of the best impressions that I ever did of anybody.
0:31:21 > 0:31:24And if we're very lucky,
0:31:24 > 0:31:28we might be able to find a pair of old drawers in here.
0:31:30 > 0:31:31No.
0:31:31 > 0:31:34It was very well written by Ken Hoare.
0:31:34 > 0:31:36Any idea how much it's worth?
0:31:36 > 0:31:40Well, we're talking about a living, breathing antique.
0:31:40 > 0:31:44I think that it could be worth about £700.
0:31:45 > 0:31:48A most excellent postmistress.
0:31:48 > 0:31:52HE KNOCKS ON WOOD Oh dear. Oh, what a shame.
0:31:52 > 0:31:56I'm afraid it's absolutely valueless.
0:31:56 > 0:31:59This rather crude bit of restoration
0:31:59 > 0:32:02has totally ruined it.
0:32:02 > 0:32:04This isn't the original leg.
0:32:04 > 0:32:06It's a wooden one.
0:32:06 > 0:32:09LAUGHTER
0:32:09 > 0:32:12Nice bit of English oak, but oh dear, what a shame.
0:32:14 > 0:32:17No, I'm afraid if you wanted to raise money on this,
0:32:17 > 0:32:20you'd have very little to fall back on.
0:32:20 > 0:32:23Stanley targeted the celebrities of the day,
0:32:23 > 0:32:25but would never take off anyone he didn't like.
0:32:25 > 0:32:30In 1972, the Queen took a direct hit.
0:32:30 > 0:32:33I'm very big at the Palace, love.
0:32:33 > 0:32:34So am I.
0:32:36 > 0:32:40Yes, I got the idea that it would be wonderful to play
0:32:40 > 0:32:43the Queen for the first time on television.
0:32:43 > 0:32:46And we were all very, very nervous about it.
0:32:46 > 0:32:50And we decided that perhaps the first outing for it
0:32:50 > 0:32:53should be a royal film show.
0:32:53 > 0:32:56It was the Odeon in Holloway Road.
0:32:56 > 0:32:59They realised something was going to happen and a crowd had gathered.
0:32:59 > 0:33:02David Bell, brilliant as he was,
0:33:02 > 0:33:03he turned to them and said,
0:33:03 > 0:33:08"Stanley Baxter's coming down that hill in a coach as the Queen
0:33:08 > 0:33:11"and we don't mind you standing there as long as you don't shout out,
0:33:11 > 0:33:14" 'Hello, Stanley!' or anything like that.
0:33:14 > 0:33:18"If you behave exactly as the public would,
0:33:18 > 0:33:19"then you can stay."
0:33:21 > 0:33:24LAUGHTER
0:33:24 > 0:33:26The red carpet will have to follow too.
0:33:30 > 0:33:3250 extras for nothing.
0:33:33 > 0:33:38And so that went very, very well and became the talk of the town.
0:33:38 > 0:33:42And now, yes, the moment we've all been waiting for.
0:33:42 > 0:33:46Her Grace, the Duchess of Brenda has come out onto the balcony.
0:33:46 > 0:33:48One of the first people to impersonate
0:33:48 > 0:33:50the Queen in a comedy sketch on television.
0:33:50 > 0:33:53Sellers had done it on radio,
0:33:53 > 0:33:56but Stanley did it slightly in disguise.
0:33:56 > 0:33:59It wasn't stated as "The Queen".
0:33:59 > 0:34:01It was "The Duchess of Brenda"
0:34:01 > 0:34:04and of course, Brenda was the below-stairs nickname
0:34:04 > 0:34:07for the Queen at Buckingham Palace,
0:34:07 > 0:34:10which Private Eye caught up on as well
0:34:10 > 0:34:13but that was a knowing little nod there.
0:34:13 > 0:34:17Now she appears to be holding the end of a rope.
0:34:17 > 0:34:19She is, of course, a keen sailor
0:34:19 > 0:34:23and perhaps we're going to get a demonstration of her sailing skills.
0:34:25 > 0:34:27Well, this is truly remarkable.
0:34:27 > 0:34:30The human face of royalty.
0:34:30 > 0:34:33And though this is her special day, her ruby wedding,
0:34:33 > 0:34:37the Duchess has remembered that today is also Monday.
0:34:37 > 0:34:40I was getting one or two rather rude letters
0:34:40 > 0:34:43from Tunbridge Wells, and places like that.
0:34:43 > 0:34:47"How dare you do our monarch! You ought to be horsewhipped!"
0:34:47 > 0:34:50And that went on and on
0:34:50 > 0:34:58until Barbra Streisand had a royal show herself in Leicester Square.
0:34:59 > 0:35:03And they decided to have a line-up of some other personalities,
0:35:03 > 0:35:09and I was chosen, which must have been approved by Her Majesty,
0:35:09 > 0:35:12to be in the line-up,
0:35:12 > 0:35:16and when they saw this, all the horsewhippers thought,
0:35:16 > 0:35:20"She must have heard he's all right, or she didn't take exception to it."
0:35:23 > 0:35:27Having done royalty, the Mafia and the Pope seemed fair game.
0:35:31 > 0:35:34Godfather, this is the Holy Father.
0:35:34 > 0:35:36Ah-bless you, my son.
0:35:36 > 0:35:38Atchoo!
0:35:38 > 0:35:40Bless you.
0:35:41 > 0:35:43Ladies and gentlemen, Gilbert And.
0:35:43 > 0:35:46Stanley's audiences had always been fascinated
0:35:46 > 0:35:50by his seeming unlimited ability to gently mock celebrities.
0:35:50 > 0:35:52But it's one reason his shows are rarely repeated.
0:35:52 > 0:35:55It's only impressive if you know who they are.
0:35:55 > 0:35:59# Watching Hughie Green on the TV screen, he committed suicide... #
0:35:59 > 0:36:03That's why Stanley's sadly
0:36:03 > 0:36:05one of the forgotten greats of British comedy,
0:36:05 > 0:36:10simply because his comedy doesn't transcend to the modern era.
0:36:10 > 0:36:13Stanley had a chameleon-like ability to mimic accents
0:36:13 > 0:36:16and impersonate celebrities.
0:36:16 > 0:36:20But throughout his career, his most exotic impersonations were of women.
0:36:20 > 0:36:24But ladies and men are built differently, Tarzan.
0:36:24 > 0:36:26Jane's chest has to stay covered up
0:36:26 > 0:36:30because my chest is so much bigger than Tarz...
0:36:30 > 0:36:32Oh, I don't know, though.
0:36:32 > 0:36:35Well, Zsa Zsa, it's lovely to have you back in this country.
0:36:35 > 0:36:38I suppose as always, when you're visiting Europe,
0:36:38 > 0:36:41you'll be doing quite a lot of hobnobbing with royalty.
0:36:41 > 0:36:43My momma always says to me,
0:36:43 > 0:36:47"Zsa Zsa, when you're in Europe, try to make every second count.
0:36:47 > 0:36:50"And every third or fourth viscount."
0:36:51 > 0:36:55Well, you start in pantomime with male characters
0:36:55 > 0:36:59and then you sort of are promoted to drag.
0:36:59 > 0:37:05I mean, I began for Howard and Wyndham doing Aladdin, Wishy-Washy,
0:37:05 > 0:37:11and Buttons, and then they gave you a chance at doing dame,
0:37:11 > 0:37:13and of course, dame is the best part
0:37:13 > 0:37:16and so once you succeed at that,
0:37:16 > 0:37:19you're stuck with it, I'm afraid!
0:37:24 > 0:37:27He took the tradition of pantomime dame to the extreme.
0:37:27 > 0:37:31# Miss Measles is a dotty cute confection
0:37:31 > 0:37:35# If I spot you You should go to bed with me
0:37:35 > 0:37:37# I don't mean to sound erotic
0:37:37 > 0:37:40# But my hot spot's so exotic... #
0:37:40 > 0:37:43Never think that you're playing a woman.
0:37:43 > 0:37:46No matter how good the legs were, no matter...
0:37:46 > 0:37:48It was always Stanley,
0:37:48 > 0:37:52and it was always a man, obviously a man sending it up.
0:37:52 > 0:37:54But I think also, that comes through
0:37:54 > 0:37:57from the Combined Services Entertainment days,
0:37:57 > 0:38:00where it was a necessity, because they had no women,
0:38:00 > 0:38:04so they had to play the Betty Grables
0:38:04 > 0:38:06and the Hedy Lamarrs and whatever,
0:38:06 > 0:38:10so I think that's something that Stanley carried through.
0:38:10 > 0:38:16And he's one of the very few people who can do the full drag
0:38:16 > 0:38:18and if anything, convince you
0:38:18 > 0:38:23that he'd make a better woman than a man because he had fantastic legs.
0:38:23 > 0:38:26But people think I have feminine legs. I haven't.
0:38:26 > 0:38:32I've got the legs of a footballer, covered in hair.
0:38:32 > 0:38:34But the cycling that I did
0:38:34 > 0:38:39when I was evacuated to Millport in the Firth of Clyde
0:38:39 > 0:38:42made the legs like an athlete's.
0:38:42 > 0:38:44Now, if you have an athlete's leg...
0:38:46 > 0:38:50..and you put on one thing to cover hair and everything,
0:38:50 > 0:38:53and then the silk stockings,
0:38:53 > 0:38:57you end up with pins that people say, "Oh! What pins!"
0:38:57 > 0:38:59But it's an illusion, like everything we do.
0:38:59 > 0:39:02# If patients holler for a bedpan
0:39:02 > 0:39:04# I just keep my head
0:39:04 > 0:39:06# And I ask them, kinda deadpan
0:39:06 > 0:39:08# Why cook in bed?
0:39:08 > 0:39:09# And at six the matron knocks off
0:39:09 > 0:39:12# That is when I get my rocks off
0:39:12 > 0:39:13# And I go lie down
0:39:16 > 0:39:18# With some new discovery
0:39:18 > 0:39:20# Speeding his recovery
0:39:28 > 0:39:33# I'm the hottest nurse in town! #
0:39:38 > 0:39:42I always preferred doing those male characters to the female,
0:39:42 > 0:39:44contrary to what many people think.
0:39:44 > 0:39:48Well, the verisimilitude was greater. I'm five foot ten and a half.
0:39:48 > 0:39:53Any woman I've played had to be a bit daft and strictly for comedy.
0:39:53 > 0:39:57Stanley Baxter's growing catalogue of faces captivated audiences.
0:39:57 > 0:40:00ITV was hungry for more shows
0:40:00 > 0:40:02but the preparation and production time involved
0:40:02 > 0:40:05in taking on so many characters and situations
0:40:05 > 0:40:07was almost overwhelming.
0:40:07 > 0:40:09The solution from his producer
0:40:09 > 0:40:13opened the door to a whole new chapter in Stanley's screen career.
0:40:13 > 0:40:17David Bell said, "Now, what are you willing to do?
0:40:17 > 0:40:21"They're desperate for you to go on doing these shows."
0:40:21 > 0:40:23I said, "Well, the four I did were all right
0:40:23 > 0:40:26"but I didn't think they were ambitious enough."
0:40:26 > 0:40:30He said, "They went very well." I said, "I know they went very well,
0:40:30 > 0:40:33"but I think I'd like to do... I don't know."
0:40:33 > 0:40:37"Well, they want six or more." I said, "No, impossible."
0:40:37 > 0:40:41Because just to do costume fittings alone for six shows
0:40:41 > 0:40:46with 12 characters in each one, I'd be hours just doing costume fittings
0:40:46 > 0:40:49and anyway, I can't dream up that number
0:40:49 > 0:40:52and then he said the thing that changed my life.
0:40:53 > 0:40:56"Supposing we just did one hour with you,
0:40:56 > 0:40:59"in which you did all the parts
0:40:59 > 0:41:01"with just dancers and singers behind you?"
0:41:01 > 0:41:06Hey, hi there. I'm your producer, Stu Bundy. Now, Mr Lobb...
0:41:06 > 0:41:09Actually, it's The Very Reverend C Lobb.
0:41:09 > 0:41:13Ready to go as soon as Quentin GETS HERE! I'm trying to be patient.
0:41:13 > 0:41:15Hello! Quentin?
0:41:17 > 0:41:20God almighty, you've been putting them away, haven't you?
0:41:23 > 0:41:28In 1974, the Stanley Baxter Moving Picture Show won a BAFTA.
0:41:28 > 0:41:33Stanley played all the parts but let his producer David Bell collect it.
0:41:33 > 0:41:37Playing more than one part had been part of Stanley's television shows
0:41:37 > 0:41:38since the early '60s.
0:41:38 > 0:41:40What started as a sequence of edits
0:41:40 > 0:41:43that allowed him to play more than one part in a scene
0:41:43 > 0:41:45evolved into early visual effects
0:41:45 > 0:41:50where layers of Stanleys would populate a picture.
0:41:50 > 0:41:52If you look at something like Mike Yarwood's show,
0:41:52 > 0:41:55Yarwood would do two characters at the same time.
0:41:55 > 0:41:57Maybe he'd do Harold and Albert Steptoe.
0:41:57 > 0:41:59And the way Yarwood would do it was,
0:41:59 > 0:42:02he'd put on a trilby hat for Old Man Steptoe
0:42:02 > 0:42:05and then a peak cap for Harold
0:42:05 > 0:42:08and he'd just swap the hats and go into the different characters.
0:42:08 > 0:42:12Stanley would take something like Upstairs Downstairs
0:42:12 > 0:42:14and he would play every single character.
0:42:14 > 0:42:19Potage a la bonne femme, le fruit de mer...
0:42:19 > 0:42:22- What?- Fruits of the sea. - Whatever's that?
0:42:22 > 0:42:23Oh, scallops to you!
0:42:23 > 0:42:26And you and all, Mrs Bridges.
0:42:26 > 0:42:29He used trick photography in a time when that was very innovative.
0:42:29 > 0:42:34It was the combination of Stanley's brilliance as a performer
0:42:34 > 0:42:37and his good sense of material
0:42:37 > 0:42:40and David's technical genius about making things possible
0:42:40 > 0:42:42and pushing him all the time,
0:42:42 > 0:42:44you know, "Darling, you could play six parts in this,
0:42:44 > 0:42:46"you could play eight parts."
0:42:46 > 0:42:49And Stanley's, "What about playing ten?" "Yes, we can do it,"
0:42:49 > 0:42:53and using the medium before special effects and digital and all that.
0:42:56 > 0:42:59Yes, sir. May I help you?
0:42:59 > 0:43:00# Silver bells... #
0:43:00 > 0:43:04In 1977, ITV joined with the American broadcaster CBS
0:43:04 > 0:43:06for a very special Christmas special.
0:43:06 > 0:43:10Stanley portrayed all the characters in Upstairs Downstairs
0:43:10 > 0:43:13as they welcomed Hollywood legend Bing Crosby.
0:43:13 > 0:43:16300 million Americans tuned in
0:43:16 > 0:43:19to what was Bing's last television appearance.
0:43:19 > 0:43:22This is Mrs Bridges, our esteemed cook.
0:43:22 > 0:43:24And this is Rose, our house parlour maid.
0:43:24 > 0:43:26She'll be in charge of all your personal needs,
0:43:26 > 0:43:30including your laundry, so if you have any special instructions,
0:43:30 > 0:43:33- please let her know.- Not too much starch in the sweat socks.
0:43:33 > 0:43:36Oh! Bear that in mind, Rose.
0:43:36 > 0:43:37And say hello to...
0:43:37 > 0:43:40Oh, I know who this is, Mr 'udson.
0:43:40 > 0:43:44What a thrill to meet one of Paul Whiteman's rhythm boys in the flesh.
0:43:44 > 0:43:46If you'll excuse the word.
0:43:46 > 0:43:49My auntie used to collect all of your gramophone records.
0:43:49 > 0:43:51Or was it Mr Sinatra?
0:43:51 > 0:43:55It was probably Frank. He was wild about my Whiteman period.
0:43:56 > 0:43:59Being part of the Bing Crosby Christmas Special
0:43:59 > 0:44:04was a huge accolade, and still the Stanley Baxter shows got bigger.
0:44:04 > 0:44:07He had started with traditional music hall entertainment.
0:44:07 > 0:44:08He played with accents
0:44:08 > 0:44:11and brought celebrities into sketches through impersonations.
0:44:11 > 0:44:13He was even a convincing woman.
0:44:13 > 0:44:15He didn't need anyone.
0:44:15 > 0:44:17He could play all the parts.
0:44:17 > 0:44:20# Side by side
0:44:20 > 0:44:22# By side
0:44:22 > 0:44:24# By side
0:44:24 > 0:44:29# By side by side by side by side by side! #
0:44:29 > 0:44:33I find it all...
0:44:33 > 0:44:35all so incredible.
0:44:35 > 0:44:37All jungle is same.
0:44:37 > 0:44:39Is not incredible.
0:44:39 > 0:44:43It is in the middle of Wiltshire.
0:44:43 > 0:44:47But there was one final crucial element
0:44:47 > 0:44:49in the construction of a Stanley Baxter Show -
0:44:49 > 0:44:51the set.
0:44:54 > 0:44:56It's a disgrace.
0:44:56 > 0:44:59They come over here and carry on like they own the place.
0:44:59 > 0:45:03The physical staging had to grow to accommodate Stanley's ambitions.
0:45:03 > 0:45:06An eager crew of designers and craftsmen
0:45:06 > 0:45:09gave Stanley backgrounds of Hollywood proportions.
0:45:10 > 0:45:14I fear our brave boys will be pulling out of Atlanta before nightfall.
0:45:14 > 0:45:19I declare I'm sick and tired of this silly war. Why don't we leave Tara?
0:45:19 > 0:45:21Leave the plantation, Scarlett?
0:45:21 > 0:45:24Never. Land worth fighting for, worth dying for!
0:45:24 > 0:45:28Tara will be here long after you are lying under the sod.
0:45:28 > 0:45:31Which reminds me, I haven't seen Rhett Butler in days.
0:45:38 > 0:45:41Rhett Butler, take your hands off me! Go to your white trash!
0:45:41 > 0:45:43Cousin Lulabelle is waiting for you.
0:45:43 > 0:45:45Frankly, my dear, I don't give a damn.
0:45:45 > 0:45:48You know what I'm going to do, Scarlett? Tear off that fancy dress
0:45:48 > 0:45:51and smother you all over with custard, sponge cakes and sherry.
0:45:51 > 0:45:54No, I won't be trifled with!
0:45:56 > 0:45:59He was a huge star. He was the star that everybody wanted.
0:46:01 > 0:46:03He actually said himself, I believe,
0:46:03 > 0:46:08that he didn't actually want to build some of the lavish sets.
0:46:08 > 0:46:11When he did Brideshead Revisited, he asked for a corridor.
0:46:11 > 0:46:12They built him an entire set.
0:46:12 > 0:46:16# What was the strange attraction I cannot comprehend
0:46:16 > 0:46:20# A woeful lack of action for weeks and weeks on end... #
0:46:20 > 0:46:22They threw huge pots of money at him
0:46:22 > 0:46:25and Stanley basically said,
0:46:25 > 0:46:28"OK, if you're going to give me this, I'll use it,"
0:46:28 > 0:46:33but in many respects, that was perhaps part of his downfall.
0:46:39 > 0:46:42Well, you'd have to go back and ask them how much it all cost
0:46:42 > 0:46:44and what they did, but I know that when I turned up,
0:46:44 > 0:46:47it was as I had dreamt it up.
0:46:47 > 0:46:48There was the big building,
0:46:48 > 0:46:52there were the ladies loos, one of which I was coming out of.
0:47:05 > 0:47:08AMERICAN ACCENT: Oh, my God! I'm locked in the john!
0:47:08 > 0:47:10Don't panic, ladies!
0:47:10 > 0:47:13I'm going to try and ease my door open!
0:47:17 > 0:47:19It was brilliant, brilliant stuff,
0:47:19 > 0:47:25brilliant combination of technical wizardry and artistry.
0:47:37 > 0:47:39And there was a sense in some ways
0:47:39 > 0:47:42that in the end, it just got a little bit too big.
0:47:44 > 0:47:46Help!
0:47:48 > 0:47:50Harry, you are not going to believe this.
0:47:51 > 0:47:53We got a fire going up here!
0:47:54 > 0:47:58Like it's escalating to danger level! You know what I mean?
0:47:58 > 0:47:59Here's what you do.
0:47:59 > 0:48:02Get yourself a heavy object and break the door down.
0:48:02 > 0:48:05No, of course I won't go away.
0:48:05 > 0:48:09Something tells me that I'll never go very far away from you after today.
0:48:09 > 0:48:12There's something about you, Carol. I like your style.
0:48:12 > 0:48:16Hell, we've never even met, but I'd say that you were a warm person.
0:48:16 > 0:48:19Yes, that's because my dress is on fire.
0:48:23 > 0:48:25At his peak in the 1980s,
0:48:25 > 0:48:29Stanley Baxter's television shows were nothing short of epic.
0:48:29 > 0:48:33They delivered huge audiences, but they were expensive.
0:48:33 > 0:48:36Throughout his career, nobody questioned his talent.
0:48:36 > 0:48:38Everybody worried about paying for it.
0:48:41 > 0:48:43# Legs over the saddle
0:48:43 > 0:48:44# Thighs properly spread
0:48:44 > 0:48:47# I love to be mounted on some thoroughbred... #
0:48:47 > 0:48:50And of course, every time he did a show, Stanley,
0:48:50 > 0:48:52the bench got higher and higher
0:48:52 > 0:48:55because he had to top what he'd done last time,
0:48:55 > 0:48:57but we were...I was always happy to sign the cheques
0:48:57 > 0:49:00because he always delivered, you weren't wasting the money.
0:49:00 > 0:49:04# Some say my way looks a bit of a stunt
0:49:04 > 0:49:08# Legs over the saddle
0:49:08 > 0:49:10# Riding's the life for me. #
0:49:10 > 0:49:14And to give somebody that amount of money to make a show wasn't...
0:49:14 > 0:49:17Stanley was, you know...
0:49:17 > 0:49:20He charged a fee, but I mean, he was in it...
0:49:20 > 0:49:23He was a professional and needed to be paid,
0:49:23 > 0:49:24but that wasn't the problem.
0:49:24 > 0:49:27The problem was the ambitions had got greater and greater,
0:49:27 > 0:49:30which they needed to do,
0:49:30 > 0:49:33and in hard times, you know, you have to make cuts,
0:49:33 > 0:49:36but I certainly didn't cut Stanley.
0:49:36 > 0:49:37Whatever he wanted to do...
0:49:37 > 0:49:41If Stanley wanted to make a show, I was ready to sign the cheques.
0:49:41 > 0:49:45Miss Jones, has my 12 o'clock appointment arrived yet?
0:49:45 > 0:49:47'Waiting in reception, sir.'
0:49:47 > 0:49:49Do you think she suspects anything?
0:49:49 > 0:49:55Yes, as long as I had Michael Grade on my side...
0:49:57 > 0:49:59..the shows went on
0:49:59 > 0:50:03and they kept saying, "He's our flagship! Economise somewhere else."
0:50:03 > 0:50:08MISS PIGGY VOICE: Let's discuss my television spectacular, shall we?
0:50:08 > 0:50:11I want the full star treatment.
0:50:11 > 0:50:15The dressing room I'm in now is a pigsty.
0:50:16 > 0:50:21But in 1981, Michael Grade left ITV for projects in America.
0:50:21 > 0:50:26The following executive, John Birt, was under more financial pressure.
0:50:26 > 0:50:28Budgets were re-evaluated
0:50:28 > 0:50:34and Stanley's epic spectaculars were cut from the ITV schedules in 1983.
0:50:34 > 0:50:38In the '80s, when he left London Weekend to go to the BBC,
0:50:38 > 0:50:41there was a sense that television was getting smaller.
0:50:41 > 0:50:45London Weekend, to fill its quota, was doing lots of people shows,
0:50:45 > 0:50:47things like Game For A Laugh,
0:50:47 > 0:50:50and doing lots of game shows like Punchlines with Lennie Bennett.
0:50:50 > 0:50:52Stanley never got sacked, really.
0:50:52 > 0:50:58He just wouldn't compromise his vision. You know, Stanley...
0:50:58 > 0:51:02TV got smaller. Stanley stayed the same... Stayed the same.
0:51:04 > 0:51:07But just a year later, in 1984,
0:51:07 > 0:51:11the television executive merry-go-round spun again.
0:51:11 > 0:51:14Suddenly, we got Michael Grade back from America, who phoned me up
0:51:14 > 0:51:19and said, "Is this true that you're not doing any more LWT?"
0:51:19 > 0:51:21I said, "No, I was fired."
0:51:21 > 0:51:25"Well," he said, "I've been invited to take over at BBC.
0:51:25 > 0:51:27"Would you come over and do them for me?"
0:51:27 > 0:51:30I said, "Will I ever! Of course I will."
0:51:31 > 0:51:33How do you do? Geoffrey Bainbridge.
0:51:33 > 0:51:36It's terribly naughty of me to come popping in like this,
0:51:36 > 0:51:41but I couldn't face cleaning up the West until I had a very dry martini.
0:51:41 > 0:51:44So I went and did two very successful ones.
0:51:44 > 0:51:49They also cost quite a lot of money, but they were very successful.
0:51:52 > 0:51:56This here's your ticket to paradise, Sheriff! Ain't you going to draw?
0:51:56 > 0:51:59When you say that, smile.
0:51:59 > 0:52:00Is that a threat?
0:52:00 > 0:52:02No, a compliment. You have lovely teeth.
0:52:02 > 0:52:06Have a care, Sheriff. This guy's robbed 22 stages.
0:52:06 > 0:52:08Even more than Peter Hall.
0:52:09 > 0:52:12Tomorrow I'll meet you at the railroad depot
0:52:12 > 0:52:14for a shootout at high noon.
0:52:14 > 0:52:16Impossible. I'm never up till one.
0:52:16 > 0:52:18And then what happened?
0:52:18 > 0:52:22John Birt left LWT to take over,
0:52:22 > 0:52:27senior this time, to Michael Grade.
0:52:27 > 0:52:31And he told the authorities
0:52:31 > 0:52:36that they had to lose £19 million in the coming year.
0:52:37 > 0:52:40And I was told very apologetically...
0:52:41 > 0:52:45"Well, there's no doubt that most of the money in light entertainment
0:52:45 > 0:52:50"went to your show, so I'm afraid we're going to have to let you go."
0:52:50 > 0:52:54I said, "Oh, third time! There's no surprise to me,
0:52:54 > 0:52:57"being fired all the time, costing too much."
0:52:59 > 0:53:04They had been an eagerly anticipated treat on our screens for 25 years.
0:53:04 > 0:53:07Now it was the final curtain for the Stanley Baxter shows.
0:53:07 > 0:53:09His spectaculars were luxuries
0:53:09 > 0:53:12British television just couldn't afford.
0:53:12 > 0:53:16But with so much talent and such a huge following,
0:53:16 > 0:53:20surely there was still a place for Stanley on our screens?
0:53:20 > 0:53:23Once you hit the heights that Stanley hit
0:53:23 > 0:53:25and when you look back at those shows
0:53:25 > 0:53:28and you see the scale of the ambition,
0:53:28 > 0:53:31the brilliance of the implementation and the realisation
0:53:31 > 0:53:35and the stunning crits, the great ratings,
0:53:35 > 0:53:37I mean, it was just amazing.
0:53:37 > 0:53:40That was his stock, that's what he did for a living,
0:53:40 > 0:53:44it was to do those big shows, playing all those parts,
0:53:44 > 0:53:47and once the money wasn't there to do it,
0:53:47 > 0:53:49what else would he want to do?
0:53:49 > 0:53:52He couldn't go back and do a sort of cheap sketch show.
0:53:52 > 0:53:57Everybody would have been so disappointed, so I think he made...
0:53:57 > 0:54:02The decision was made for him, but I think he was wise
0:54:02 > 0:54:06not to come back in a sort of bargain-basement-level type show.
0:54:06 > 0:54:08I think it would have been horrible.
0:54:08 > 0:54:11I thought when I was fired for the third time
0:54:11 > 0:54:14that really I should try and jack all this in.
0:54:15 > 0:54:19I said, "I just need to make a wee bit more money
0:54:19 > 0:54:22"before I can afford to get...
0:54:22 > 0:54:25"Afford a private pension."
0:54:25 > 0:54:29And again, fate intervened,
0:54:29 > 0:54:35and I got the offer of a very well-paid series
0:54:35 > 0:54:39of Mr Majeika, a children's programme.
0:54:39 > 0:54:42And that went on for three or four seasons.
0:54:46 > 0:54:50It was a completely new thing for me, to be honest,
0:54:50 > 0:54:55but I did think of one idea, that is that every time he did magic,
0:54:55 > 0:54:57he'd have a little tuft of hair that would wiggle.
0:54:57 > 0:54:59# A chest of drawers
0:54:59 > 0:55:02# A carpet, sofa, clock... #
0:55:02 > 0:55:05And that went down very well.
0:55:05 > 0:55:07Bats, boils...
0:55:07 > 0:55:08Ah! Boxes.
0:55:12 > 0:55:15It's time to get moving, Majeika.
0:55:15 > 0:55:18And that went on for three or four seasons
0:55:18 > 0:55:19and so the money...
0:55:19 > 0:55:22Because one fee for television,
0:55:22 > 0:55:27although the thing was glamorous, was not a lot of money,
0:55:27 > 0:55:31and so at last, I was getting a great wad of money,
0:55:31 > 0:55:35and so now I said, "If I just do one pantomime
0:55:35 > 0:55:39"and get a percentage of the box and that does well,
0:55:39 > 0:55:42"I think I will be able to retire!"
0:55:47 > 0:55:51"Urgent! Exit visa!"
0:55:51 > 0:55:54Oh, you couldn't possibly beam me up right now, sir?
0:55:54 > 0:55:57Majeika worked his magic on Stanley's pension fund,
0:55:57 > 0:56:02and Stanley was able to retire from mainstream television in 1990.
0:56:02 > 0:56:06I think Stanley showed immense dignity in retiring
0:56:06 > 0:56:12because there's nothing worse than someone who can't or won't let go.
0:56:12 > 0:56:14He realised...
0:56:16 > 0:56:20"This isn't the business that I started in."
0:56:20 > 0:56:24Sometimes people ask me why I didn't compromise more
0:56:24 > 0:56:28and it was simply that I was too anxious
0:56:28 > 0:56:32to get into an area that I wasn't completely familiar with.
0:56:32 > 0:56:35When people said, "Wouldn't you consider doing a sitcom?"
0:56:35 > 0:56:37I said, "Oh, no. All those lines to learn
0:56:37 > 0:56:39"and I hadn't dreamt it up myself
0:56:39 > 0:56:42"and I'd depend on a writer that I may not trust,"
0:56:42 > 0:56:45and I was just over-anxious.
0:56:45 > 0:56:47APPLAUSE
0:56:47 > 0:56:51In 1997, Stanley's contribution to comedy was marked
0:56:51 > 0:56:53with a lifetime achievement award.
0:56:53 > 0:56:58A lifetime achievement award. I feel I'm much too young for this.
0:56:58 > 0:57:00LAUGHTER
0:57:00 > 0:57:03Thank you very much, judges. It's so much appreciated.
0:57:05 > 0:57:08Stanley's reign as master of extravagant light entertainment
0:57:08 > 0:57:11had lasted for a generation of television.
0:57:11 > 0:57:15From the '60s through to the '80s, he starred in unique spectacles,
0:57:15 > 0:57:19the likes of which British television might never see again.
0:57:19 > 0:57:22I mean, take this hebburn here. Look at it.
0:57:22 > 0:57:25Eh? Old shovel-arse here.
0:57:27 > 0:57:28Scotland's finest.
0:57:28 > 0:57:32But there is only one Stanley Baxter, and there is really
0:57:32 > 0:57:35only one person who's done the sort of shows that he did.
0:57:35 > 0:57:37BIG BAND MUSIC
0:57:41 > 0:57:45Would I like to see the Stanley Baxter Big Picture Show tomorrow night, a new one?
0:57:45 > 0:57:49You bet I would. I'd cancel anything. He is a genius.
0:57:50 > 0:57:55It was showbiz, and he does showbiz very, very well.
0:57:56 > 0:58:00# With our dancing feet! #
0:58:00 > 0:58:04But you know, when I look at those shows now, I'm still quite proud.
0:58:04 > 0:58:08They hold up, and they're still glamorous, which is what matters.
0:58:08 > 0:58:12APPLAUSE
0:58:34 > 0:58:37Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd