Paxton Whitehead

Francis Edward Paxton Whitehead (17 October 1937 – 16 June 2023) was an English actor and theatre director. He was nominated for a Tony Award and a Drama Desk Award for his performance as Pellinore in the 1980 revival of Camelot. Whitehead had many Broadway roles. He was also known for his film roles, most memorably Rodney Dangerfield's foil in Back to School, and for his many guest appearances on several U.S. television shows: he portrayed Bernard Thatch on The West Wing, and in the 1990s often appeared in recurring and guest roles on major sitcoms, such as Frasier, Caroline in the City, Ellen, 3rd Rock from the Sun, The Drew Carey Show, Mad About You, and Friends.

Early life

Paxton Whitehead was born in East Malling and Larkfield, Kent on 17 October 1937, the son of Louise (née Hunt) and Charles Parkin Whitehead. His father was a lawyer. He trained at London's Webber Douglas Academy of Dramatic Art beginning when he was 17 years old.

Career

Whitehead worked in repertory, small touring companies that rehearsed and performed a new play each week. In 1958, he was signed by the Royal Shakespeare Company. In 1961, Whitehead directed Doric Wilson's first play to be performed, And He Made a Her, a comedy that was an off-off-Broadway production at the Caffe Cino. He made his Broadway debut in The Affair (1962) after appearing in Canadian stage and television productions.

Whitehead replaced Jonathan Miller in the Broadway production of Beyond the Fringe in 1964 and appeared on the LP recording of the show, Beyond the Fringe '64. He went on to appear with the American Shakespeare Company to direct in regional repertory.

In 1967 Whitehead succeeded Barry Morse as artistic director of Ontario's Shaw Festival, the only repertory company dedicated to the works of George Bernard Shaw. Under his leadership, it continued to develop into an international event. During his tenure he was able to push through a plan of building the purpose-built 869-seat state-of-the-art Festival Theatre to expand considerably the capacity for audiences at Niagara-on-the-Lake. Queen Elizabeth II, Indira Gandhi, and Pierre Trudeau were among those who attended performances at the Shaw Festival Theatre during its inaugural season in 1973. He served until 1977 and appeared in productions as an actor. His notable appearances included The Apple Cart, Major Barbara, The Philanderer, Arms and the Man, Misalliance, and Heartbreak House with Jessica Tandy. Whitehead and Suzanne Grossman adapted Georges Feydeau's plays There's One in Every Marriage for the Broadway stage in 1971 and Chemin de Fer in 1974.

Whitehead received an honorary degree in arts from Trent University in 1978 and earned an Antoinette Perry "Tony" Award nomination for Camelot in 1980. He appeared in numerous Broadway productions including My Fair Lady with Richard Chamberlain, The Harlequin Studies with Bill Irwin, Noël Coward's Suite in Two Keys, Peter Shaffer's Lettice and Lovage, London Suite by Neil Simon, and as Sherlock Holmes in The Crucifer of Blood.

Whitehead was well known for his film roles and many guest and recurring appearances on television shows, especially many of the top sitcoms from the 1990s such as Frasier, Caroline in the City, Ellen, 3rd Rock from the Sun, The Drew Carey Show, Mad About You, and Friends. He also appeared on Magnum, P.I., Murder, She Wrote, Law & Order, The West Wing, and many more. In 2007, he played Graham Hainsworth in Desperate Housewives, the father of Susan Mayer's fiancé, Ian.

In later years, Whitehead continued to work in regional theatre and on Broadway. Whitehead appeared in the role of Phil at the Westport Country Playhouse in Westport, Connecticut from 12–27 July 2007 in Relatively Speaking, a comedy. Whitehead began previews of The Importance of Being Earnest by Oscar Wilde on Broadway at the American Airlines Theatre on 17 December 2010 in the role of Reverend Canon Chasuble. The show opened on 13 January 2011 and was filmed live on 11/12 March 2011 for broadcast in June 2011. He played the role of George Bernard Shaw in Anthony Wynn's Bernard and Bosie: A Most Unlikely Friendship in a benefit performance for the on 5 May 2011.

Whitehead was an associate artist of the Old Globe Theatre in San Diego. He performs on recordings of Shaw's The Doctor's Dilemma and Harley Granville-Barker's The Voysey Inheritance.

Personal life

Whitehead's first marriage, to Patricia Gage, ended with their divorce in 1986. He was then married to Katherine Robinson from 1987 until she died in 2009. He had two children.

Whitehead lived in Arlington County, Virginia, in his final years. He died from complications of a fall at a hospital in Arlington, on 16 June 2023, at age 85.

Selected performances

Stage actor

Stage director

• The Circle, Shaw Festival, 1967
• The Chemmy Circle, Shaw Festival, 1968
• A Flea in Her Ear, Charles Playhouse, 1969
• Forty Years On, Shaw Festival, 1970
• The Secretary Bird, Main Stage, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, 1970
• The Chemmy Circle, Main Stage, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, 1971
• The Sorrows of Frederick, Main Stage, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, 1971
• Misalliance, Shaw Festival, 1972
• Getting Married, Shaw Festival, 1972
• Charley's Aunt, Shaw Festival, 1972
• Widowers' Houses, Shaw Festival, 1973
• Arms and the Man, Main Stage, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, 1973
• The Crucifer of Blood, Elitch Gardens Theatre, Denver, Colorado, USA, 1979
• Misalliance, Walnut Street Theatre, Philadelphia, PA, then Old Globe Theatre, San Diego, USA, 1982
• The Real Thing, Seattle Repertory Theatre, WA, USA, 1986
• Beyond the Fringe, Old Globe Theatre, San Diego, transferring to the Los Angeles Theatre Centre, USA, 1986

Filmography

Film

Television

Selected works

• Feydeau, Georges (1968). Grossmann, Suzanne; Whitehead, Paxton (eds.). Chemin de Fer; a play in four acts [The Chemmy Circle] (play). London: Samuel French, Inc. ISBN 978-0-573-60694-6. OCLC .
• Feydeau, Georges (1973). Grossmann, Suzanne; Whitehead, Paxton (eds.). There's One in Every Marriage (play). Kroll. LCCN .
• Feydeau, Georges (27 May 1982). Grossmann, Suzanne; Whitehead, Paxton (eds.). La Puce à l'oreille [A Flea in Her Ear] (play). London: Kroll.

External links

• at IMDb
• at Broadway World.com
• discography at Discogs