Stanley Baxter’s Wife, Moira Robertson was a theatre actress back in the day. It was while she was working as a performer at the Citizens Theatre and unsurprisingly, that was where she met Stanley Baxter. After they got married, Moira lived her life as a housewife while not much was heard of her career. They remained together as a couple for the next 46 years before she died from a drug overdose in 1997.
While legacies of people are often kept in their works, Moira’s marital life came into the limelight 23 years after her death when Stanley came out as gay in his 2020 biography, The Real Stanley Baxter.
Stanley Baxter’s Wife Died of an Overdose in 1997
Moira Robertson died sometime in January 1997 from a drug overdose. Taking her own life was quite a tragedy, however, reports revealed that she was previously diagnosed with schizophrenia and sectioned.
Moira was on medications for several years before she later stopped. This made the condition worse. Sadly, she died while Stanley was at work overseas.
How She Met and Married Stanley Baxter
The former theatre actress and Stanley met while they were actors at the Citizens Theatre in Glasgow, Scotland. At the time, she had graduated from an art school and was pursuing an interest in acting while Stanley’s career had already taken off since when he was 7 when he started appearing at talent shows.
For the three years that he worked at the theatre, he was considered the brightest star at the theatre, yet, he did not do this alone. That is to say, other performers brought to life the productions that were made there.
While he was getting the professional attention of many, he and Moira were also drawing close. On her part, Moira was very serious about the relationship and started dreaming of getting married, however, Stanley had issues that were preventing him.
He tried to break things off with her but Moira would not hear of it. She went as far as threatening to fall off their second-story window if he did not get married to her. This threat was enough to hasten their marriage as he soon shocked everyone (including his parents and closest friend, Kenneth Wiliams) when he got married to Moira in her parent’s Dumbarton home in March 1951.
One would wonder what was preventing him. It turned out that he was a closeted gay. He stated in his book, The Real Stanley Baxter, that he told Moira but she insisted on the union. While his career continued to expand, The Bright Star actor demanded that Moira leave acting.
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Moira’s Husband Came Out as Gay 23 Years After Her Death
Considering that Moira was aware of her husband’s sexual preferences throughout their marriage, it was the public that was shocked by Stanley’s coming out as gay in 2020. The revelation was made in The Real Stanley Baxter, his biography written by Brian Beacom. Based on the book, Stanley had maintained lovers throughout the marriage with one with an accountant lasting for many years.
More on how they were able to make this work, Moira is said to have allowed him to bring lovers into their matrimonial home. On days he would return home with them, Moira took up the main bedroom while he took the one opposite.
Away from the dynamics of their relationship, Stanley’s decision to come out at the time he did has continued to interest many. In the past, he had done his best to hide his sexual orientation so his career would not crash considering that in the 40s and 50s, being gay was a taboo.
Stanley went as far as initiating legal action to prevent the posthumous publication of Kenneth Williams’s diaries.
He decided to come out at the age of 94 so he could deal with the issue. Despite that, he revealed he has never been happy being gay.
