Paxton Whitehead
| Paxton Whitehead | |
|---|---|
| Born |
17 October 1937 East Malling and Larkfield, Kent, England |
| Occupation | Actor |
| Spouse(s) |
Patricia Gage (divorced) Katherine Jane Robertson |
Paxton Whitehead (born 17 October 1937) is an English actor.
Paxton was born in East Malling and Larkfield, Kent, the son of Louise (née Hunt) and Charles Parkin Paxton. His father was a lawyer. He trained at London's Webber Douglas Academy of Dramatic Art beginning when he was 17 years old.
Paxton 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.
In 1961, Whitehead directed Doric Wilson's first play to be performed, And He Made a Her, a comedy, was an off-off-Broadway production at the Caffe Cino. He made his Broadway debut in The Affair (1962) after appearing in Canadian stage and TV productions.
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. He went on to appear with the American Shakespeare Company to direct in regional repertory.
Whitehead succeeded Barry Morse as Artistic Director of the Shaw Festival, the only repertory company dedicated to the works of George Bernard Shaw. Under his leadership, it continued to develop into an international event. 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.
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. He served until 1977 and appeared in productions as actor. His notable appearances included The Apple Cart, Major Barbara, The Philanderer, Arms and the Man, Misalliance and Heartbreak House with Jessica Tandy. 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.
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