Warner Leroy Baxter was an American film actor from the 1910s to the 1940s. Baxter became known for his role as the Cisco Kid in the 1928 film In Old Arizona, for which he won the Academy Award for Best Actor at the 2nd Academy Awards. He frequently played womanizing, charismatic Latin bandit types in Westerns, and played the Cisco Kid or a similar character throughout the 1930s, but had a range of other roles throughout his career. Baxter began his movie career in silent films with his most notable roles being in The Great Gatsby and The Awful Truth. Baxter's most notable talkies are In Old Arizona, 42nd Street, Slave Ship with Wallace Beery, Kidnapped with Freddie Bartholomew, and the 1931 ensemble short film, The Stolen Jools. In the 1940s, he was well known for his recurring role as Dr. Robert Ordway in the Crime Doctor series of 10 films. For his contributions to the motion-picture industry, Baxter has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
Early life
Baxter was born in Columbus, Ohio, to Edwin F. Baxter and Jane Barrett. Baxter was 5 months old when his father died. Baxter and his mother went to live with her brother in Columbus. They later moved to New York City, where he became active in dramatics, both participating in school productions and attending plays. In 1898, the two moved to San Francisco, where he graduated from Polytechnic High School. When the 1906 San Francisco earthquake struck, Baxter and his mother lived in Golden Gate Park for eight days and then went to live with friends in Alameda for three months. In 1908, they returned to Columbus. After selling farm implements for a living, Baxter worked for four months as the partner of Dorothy Shoemaker in an act on the Keith Vaudeville Circuit.
Film career
Baxter began his film career as an extra in 1914 in a stock company. He had his first starring role in Sheltered Daughters, and starred in 48 features during the 1920s. His most notable silent roles were in The Great Gatsby, Aloma of the South Seas as an island love interest opposite dancer Gilda Gray, and an alcoholic doctor in West of Zanzibar with Lon Chaney. Baxter's most notable starring role was as the Cisco Kid in In Old Arizona, the first all-talking Western, for which he won the second Academy Award for Best Actor. He also starred in 42nd Street, Grand Canary, Broadway Bill, and Kidnapped. By 1936, Baxter was the highest-paid actor in Hollywood, but by 1943, he had slipped to B movie roles, and he starred in a series of Crime Doctor films for Columbia Pictures. Baxter had roles in more than 100 films between 1914 and 1950.
Personal life
Baxter married Viola Caldwell in 1911, but they were soon separated and then divorced in 1913. He married actress Winifred Bryson in 1918, remaining married until his death in 1951. Married Viola Pauline Colwell in 1914 at Philadelphia, Philadelphia Co., Pennsylvania. NOTE: her surname was COLWELL on license and several census sheets. Married Winifred M. Bryson on January 29, 1918, Bronx, New York City, New York. Draft Registration for World War One, living at 333 S. Hope St., Los Angeles, CA. Gave date of birth of March 29, 1889. Stated sole support of mother. Registered Republican 1924 though 1950. Homeowner living at 138 S. Beachwood Drive, Los Angeles, California with wife and two household servants on April 8, 1930. Lived there as early as 1924. House is existent as of 2020. Homeowner living at 688 Nimes Road, Bel Aire, Los Angeles, California with wife, Winifred, and four household servants on April 10, 1940. House razed in 1980's. Homeowner living at Roxbury Drive, Beverly Hills, CA from 1944 until his death. House razed in 2019. Beach house at 77 Malibu Beach, Malibu, California for many years. He was a close friend of William Powell with whom he had starred in three films, and was at Powell's side when Jean Harlow died in 1937. When not acting, Baxter was an inventor who co-created a searchlight for revolvers in 1935, which allowed a shooter to more clearly see a target at night. He also developed a radio device that allowed emergency crews to change traffic signals from two blocks away, providing them with safe passage through intersections. He financed the device's installation at a Beverly Hills intersection in 1940.
Death
Baxter suffered from arthritis for several years, and in 1951, he underwent a lobotomy as a last resort to ease the chronic pain. On May 7, 1951, he died of pneumonia at age 62 and was interred in Forest Lawn Memorial Park Cemetery in Glendale, California. Warner Leroy Baxter's death certificate stated the following. He died at his residence on May 7, 1951 at 5:50 PM, 911 North Roxbury Drive, Beverly Hills, California. Informant Philip M. Schiefer. The death certificate further stated, "Cause of Death, Broncho-pneumonia, terminal 24 hrs. Carcinoma of prostate with generalized metastasis - 6 months. Treatment: 1/8/1943 to death; no operation; no autopsy."
