Jane Baxter

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

Known For: Acting

Born: Bremen, Germany, 1909-09-09

Died: 1996-09-13

No.	Year	Title	Role	Vote Average
1	1930	Bed Rock	Rosie	0
2	1930	Bed and Breakfast	Audrey Corteline	0
3	1931	Down River	Hilary Gordon	0
4	1932	Two White Arms	Alison Drury	0
5	1932	Flat No. 9	Eileen Merridew	0
6	1933	The Constant Nymph	Antonia Sanger	0
7	1934	Blossom Time	Vicki Wimpassinger	48
8	1934	The Night of the Party	Peggy Studholme Kennion	54
9	1934	We Live Again	Missy Kortchagin	66
10	1934	The Little Minister	Maid Helping with Wedding Dress	59
11	1935	Enchanted April	Lady Caroline Dester	54
12	1935	Drake of England	Elizabeth Sydenham	70
13	1935	The Clairvoyant	Christine	60
14	1936	The Man Behind the Mask	Lady June Slade	48
15	1936	Dusty Ermine	Linda Kent	61
16	1938	Second Best Bed	Patricia Lynton	75
17	1938	The Ware Case	Lady Margaret 'Meg' Ware	63
18	1939	Murder Will Out	Pamela Raymond	0
19	1939	Confidential Lady	Jill Trevor	20
20	1940	The Chinese Bungalow	Charlotte Merivale	42
21	1940	The Briggs Family	Sylvia Briggs	0
22	1941	Ships with Wings	Celia Wetherby	40
23	1943	The Flemish Farm	Tresha	55
24	1952	Death of an Angel	Mary Welling	60
25	1953	All Hallowe'en	Lady DeVille	0

Jane Baxter

Film

Television