Paxton Whitehead

Biography

Paxton Whitehead was an English actor and theater director who began training at London's Webber Douglas Academy of Dramatic Art at 17 and worked in repertory before joining the Royal Shakespeare Company in 1958. His Broadway debut came with The Affair in 1962, then he took over from Jonathan Miller in Beyond the Fringe in 1964. From 1967 to 1977 he was artistic director of Ontario's Shaw Festival, where he acted in and directed many productions. He earned a Tony Award nomination for playing Pellinore in the 1980 revival of Camelot and appeared on Broadway in My Fair Lady, Lettice and Lovage, and The Crucifer of Blood. He was known for his film role as Rodney Dangerfield's foil in Back to School (1986) and for guest and recurring appearances on American television, including The West Wing, Frasier, and Friends. He later continued in regional theater and Broadway and was an associate artist at the Old Globe in San Diego.

85years old at death

Born October 17, 1937East Malling and Larkfield
Died June 16, 2023Arlington County
Star sign: LibraThe sign runs September 23 to October 22
Also credited as Francis Edward Paxton Whitehead

Movie Career

Films: 11
Career span: 15 years1986 to 2001

Genres

Comedy100%, 11 films
Adventure27%, 3 films
Family27%, 3 films
Animation18%, 2 films
Drama18%, 2 films

First and latest

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Early training
Whitehead trained at the Webber Douglas Academy of Dramatic Art in London, and his time there began when he was 17 years old.
A change of course
Whitehead took over from Barry Morse in 1967 as artistic director of Ontario's Shaw Festival, a repertory company devoted solely to George Bernard Shaw's works.
A role that slipped away
In 1964, Whitehead took over for Jonathan Miller in the Broadway run of Beyond the Fringe, and he can be heard on the show's LP recording, Beyond the Fringe '64.
Behind the camera
In 1971, Whitehead brought Georges Feydeau's There's One in Every Marriage to Broadway, working with Suzanne Grossman on the adaptation. The pair also adapted Chemin de Fer for the stage in 1974.
Behind the camera
In 1961, at the Caffe Cino, Whitehead took the director's role for And He Made a Her, the first play by Doric Wilson to be staged, an off-off-Broadway comedy.