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==Career== |
==Career== |
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In 1961, Baxter produced the Broadway play "Mandingo" starring Franchot Tone, Dennis Hopper and Brooke Hayward. The play was not a success. Broke, Baxter went to work for the press agent he'd hired to handle Mandingo, the legendary Bill Doll. A year later, he became a producer again when he created the "The Celebrity Column with [[Earl Wilson]]" radio show during the New York newspaper strike. For the rest of the sixties, he became one of the best known PR men in New York. He handled the publicity for [[La Dolce Vita]], "The Pawnbroker," [[Juliet of the Spirits]], and several more unforgettable movies. He became partners with the noted art collector and philanthropist Herbert R. Steinmann in 1973. The first movie the duo bought at the [Cannes Film Festival], Lina Wertmuller's [[Love and Anarchy]] became a hit. Steinmann-Baxter released their next film, the groundbreaking [Outrageous!], and it too was a hit. |
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At the 1978 [[Cannes Film Festival]], Baxter met producer [[Richard E. Rubenstein]] while playing Black Jack. Rubinstein said he'd love to double down but was short on Francs and couldn't make the bet. "Let me see your cards," Baxter said, and then put up the cash. After payback, the producer asked Baxter if he and Herbert might want to invest in his production of [[George A. Romero]]'s [Dawn of the Dead]. Steinmann-Baxter beat the odds and cashed checks for years. |
At the 1978 [[Cannes Film Festival]], Baxter met producer [[Richard E. Rubenstein]] while playing Black Jack. Rubinstein said he'd love to double down but was short on Francs and couldn't make the bet. "Let me see your cards," Baxter said, and then put up the cash. After payback, the producer asked Baxter if he and Herbert might want to invest in his production of [[George A. Romero]]'s [Dawn of the Dead]. Steinmann-Baxter beat the odds and cashed checks for years. |
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Rubinstein and Romero's [[Dawn of the Dead]] is one of the highest grossing independent movies of all time. |
Rubinstein and Romero's [[Dawn of the Dead]] is one of the highest grossing independent movies of all time. |
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In 1980, Baxter convinced Lord [[Lew Grade]] to finance a televised documentary on the annual [Cannes Film Festival]. Baxter's friends, [Kathleen Carroll], [[Roger Ebert]], [[Alexander Walker]], [[Andrew Sarris]] and [[Molly Haskell]] all participated in [http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1846982/ Diary Of The Cannes Film Festival]. |
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Baxter got his nickname 'Silver Dollar' from [[Roger Ebert]] for his habit of handing out silver dollar tips to impress French waiters at the American Bar of the Hotel Majestic in Cannes.<ref>Los Angeles Times (USA) February 9, 1988 Charles Champlin, "Remembering the Cannes of a Long-Gone Era" International Herald Tribune (USA) [http://blogs.suntimes.com/ebert/2009/05/irving_brang_em_on.html Roger Ebert's Journal]</ref> |
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Baxter recently came out of semi-retirement to act as an executive producer for the independent film [http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1754156/ Love Stalker] which will be taken to the [[Cannes Film Market]] for [[2011]]. |
Baxter recently came out of semi-retirement to act as an executive producer for the independent film [http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1754156/ Love Stalker] which will be taken to the [[Cannes Film Market]] for [[2011]]. |
Revision as of 01:06, 3 May 2011
Billy Baxter was born and currently resides in the West side of Manhattan. He is an American film producer who began his career in the early 1960s. He enlisted in the Navy on his 17th birthday and served aboard the USS New Jersey Battleship in the South Pacific during WWII.
Career
At the 1978 Cannes Film Festival, Baxter met producer Richard E. Rubenstein while playing Black Jack. Rubinstein said he'd love to double down but was short on Francs and couldn't make the bet. "Let me see your cards," Baxter said, and then put up the cash. After payback, the producer asked Baxter if he and Herbert might want to invest in his production of George A. Romero's [Dawn of the Dead]. Steinmann-Baxter beat the odds and cashed checks for years.
Rubinstein and Romero's Dawn of the Dead is one of the highest grossing independent movies of all time.
Baxter recently came out of semi-retirement to act as an executive producer for the independent film Love Stalker which will be taken to the Cannes Film Market for 2011.
External links
References
- ^ Roger Ebert. Two Weeks In the Midday Sun: A Cannes Notebook. USA: Andrews McMeel Publishing (January 1, 1987), 1987. ISBN 978-0836279429
- ^ Chicago Sun-Times (USA) May 9, 2009, by: Roger Ebert, "Irving! Brang 'Em On!"
- ^ New York Post (USA) May 1, 2003, Steve Dunleavy, "Tel Aviv Blast Won't Keep My Buddy Baxter Down"