Frank C. Baxter

Doctor Frank C. Baxter
Frank C. Baxter (left) and Eddie Albert from Our Mr. Sun
Born	Francis Condie Baxter May 4, 1896(1896-05-04) Newbold, New Jersey
Died	January 18, 1982(1982-01-18) (aged 85) San Marino, California
Cause of death	Heart attack
Citizenship	United States
Alma mater	University of Pennsylvania Cambridge University (Ph.D.)
Occupation	Professor, Actor
Employer	University of Southern California
Known for	Educational television
Notable works	The Bell Laboratory Science Series
Television	Our Mr. Sun, Hemo the Magnificent
Title	Doctor
Spouse	Lydia Morris
Children	2

Francis Condie Baxter (May 4, 1896 – January 18, 1982) was an American TV personality and educator.^[1] He was a professor of English at the University of Southern California. Baxter hosted Telephone Time in 1957 and 1958 when ABC picked up the program and ended the tenure of John Nesbitt. During the 1950s, his program Shakespeare on TV won seven Emmy Awards.^[2]

Biography

Born in Camden, New Jersey, Baxter is best remembered for his appearance as Dr. Research in almost all of the Bell Laboratory Science Series of eight educational films produced for television in the late 1950s, and which became a staple in American classrooms from the 1960s through the 1980s. The Bell Laboratory Science Series combined scientific footage, live actors and animation to convey scientific concepts and history in a lively, entertaining way; and the bald, bespectacled and affable Baxter served as narrator, lecturer and host. These films made Baxter (who was not a scientist) something of a scientific icon among baby boomers. Several of Baxter's science films have been released on DVD.^[3]

Baxter also appeared (as himself) in a prologue to the 1956 film The Mole People, in which he gave a brief history of theories of life beneath the surface of the earth.

In 1966, Baxter hosted a popular TV series called The Four Winds to Adventure, featuring filmmakers exploring little-known areas of the world, whether across continents, oceans, or local people and animals in a particular region.

Baxter died at age 85 in San Marino, California. His body was cremated, and his ashes were placed in a vault in Altadena's Mountain View Cemetery.

Awards

Baxter made history when he won the first Golden Gavel award by Toastmasters International. Baxter has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

Selected filmography

• The Mole People (1956)
• Our Mr. Sun (1956)
• Hemo the Magnificent (1957)
• The Strange Case of the Cosmic Rays (1957)
• Meteora: The Unchained Goddess (1958)
• Gateways to the Mind (1958)
• The Alphabet Conspiracy (1959)
• Thread of Life (1960)
• About Time (1962)

References

1. ^ Templeton, David (September 23, 1999). "Weird Science: Are Dr. Frank Baxter and those wacky Bell Science films ready for a comeback?". Sonoma County Independent (San Jose, California: Metro Newspapers). ISSN 1074-309X. OCLC 29676731. http://www.metroactive.com/papers/sonoma/09.23.99/bellscience-9938.html. Retrieved April 27, 2011. 
2. ^ Stewart, David (January 1996). "Frank Baxter, Television’s First Man of Learning". Current (Takoma Park, Maryland: Current LLC). http://www.current.org/education/ed9602baxter.shtml. Retrieved November 9, 2010. 
3. ^ "Amazon.com: Our Mr. Sun/Strange Case of the Cosmic Rays: Eddie Albert: Movies & TV". amazon.com. Amazon.com. http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0000AKY5Z. 

Further reading

• Templeton, David (September 23-29, 1999). "Weird Science: Are Dr. Frank Baxter and those wacky Bell Science films ready for a comeback?". Sonoma County Independent. http://www.metroactive.com/papers/sonoma/09.23.99/bellscience-9938.html. Retrieved 2010-11-09. 

External links

Biography portal

• Frank C. Baxter at the Internet Movie Database
• Frank C. Baxter at Find a Grave

Persondata
Name	Baxter, Frank C.
Alternative names
Short description
Date of birth	May 04, 1896
Place of birth	Newbold, New Jersey, United States
Date of death	January 18, 1982
Place of death	Pasadena, California, United States