Alan Baxter

Alan Edwin Baxter (November 19, 1908 – May 7, 1976) was an American actor and composer whose career spanned Broadway, film, and television. Born in East Cleveland, Ohio, he pursued his education at Williams College, where he joined Phi Sigma Kappa fraternity and studied alongside future director Elia Kazan. He subsequently trained in the 47 Drama Workshop at Yale University before launching his professional career in New York City.

Following his studies, Baxter joined the Group Theatre in New York City. His Broadway career extended from 1932 to 1950 and encompassed a range of productions across multiple genres. His stage credits include Lone Valley (1932), the revue Thumbs Up! (1934), the revue Life Begins at 8:40, Winged Victory (1943), The Voice of the Turtle (1943), Home of the Brave (1945), The Hallams (1947), and Jenny Kissed Me. During World War II, Baxter served in the United States Army Air Corps.

In his personal life, Baxter was married to actress Barbara Williams for seventeen years until her death on November 9, 1953. He later married Christy Palmer, who survived him at the time of his death in 1976.

Baxter maintained an active television career in the later decades of his life. He appeared four times on the CBS courtroom drama Perry Mason, playing Eugene Houseman in the 1961 episode "The Case of the Left-Handed Liar" and Roger Gray in the 1964 episode "The Case of the Missing Button." His other television work included three guest appearances on The Virginian, a role as Lou Hacker in the Gunsmoke episode "Long, Long Trail," the character "Ab" in the Gunsmoke episode "Lover Boy," Judge John Scott in the Maverick episode "Flood's Folly," and Sergeant Dane in the Thriller episode "Waxworks." He portrayed Colonel Grover in the Outer Limits episode "O.B.I.T." in 1963, appeared as Detective Baldwin in the Alfred Hitchcock Hour episode "The Crimson Witness," played Leach in the Ripcord episode "Derelict," and appeared in the Cheyenne season premiere "The Longest Rope" in September 1960.