Hello Body House Members;
April is here! Signs of Spring are in the air. This season has always signaled new beginnings and starting afresh.
Now that I’m a woman who’s in my 60s, I understand that one of the most important characteristics a person can develop is the ability to START OVER.
So, it’s in that vein that the featured classic movie star of this April issue, is the granddaughter of architect and building designer Frank Lloyd Wright… the lovely and talented, ANNE BAXTER.
***Frank Lloyd Wright is Unaffiliated and Unrelated to the Wright Brothers who are famous for inventing the airplane.***
Talk about a new (and fast) start…
At five, she appeared in a school play. When she was six, her family moved to New York, where she continued to act.
At the age of 10, after watching a Broadway play staring Helen Hayes, Baxter declared she was going to be an actress.
By the age of 13, she had a role in a Broadway play. Just three years later at the age of 16, she was offered contracts by two of the major studios, MGM and 20th Century Fox.
Baxter initially went with Fox because of the higher salary and was at some point “loaned out” to MGM as was often the case for major stars in that era.
It seems it was in her DNA to do big things.
She went on to win an Academy Award, a Golden Globe and two Laurel Awards along with another Oscar and Emmy nominations.
Although she was married three times and had 3 children with two of those husbands.
Sadly…
Her death came in the form of a brain aneurysm while she was walking down the street in New York City on December 12th 1985. She was 62 years old and she’d had a stroke less than 10 days earlier.
Scroll down for much more info on Anne Baxter, her top movies, her husbands and children and photo gallery.
Thank you for your interest in The Body House.
Stay Sensual,
Dyann Bridges – Editor-in-Chief – Writer and VO Actor
FAST FACTS ABOUT ANNE BAXTER
- Anne Baxter was born on May 7, 1923 in Michigan City, Indiana
- Baxter passed away of a brain aneurysm on December 12, 1985 while walking down the street in New York City.
- Her parents were Catherine Dorothy Baxter (née Wright; 1894–1979), whose father was the architect and designer Frank Lloyd Wright and Kenneth Stuart Baxter (1893–1977), an executive with the Seagram Company. *By 2000 the Seagram Company was no longer. Seagram’s Gin is still going strong, but major parts of the original company were sold off.*
- Baxter was raised in Westchester County, New York.
- She had a younger brother who died at the age of 3.
- Baxter was a celebrated actress, who starred in Hollywood films, Broadway productions, and television series.
- She won an Academy Award, a Golden Globe, and two Laurel Awards, and was nominated for an Emmy.
- Height – 5′ 4″
- Baxter was married 3 times
- John Hodiak (m. 1946; div. 1953)- one child together – Katrina Hodiak who became an actress
- Randolph Galt (m. 1960; div. 1969) – two children together – Melissa Galt and Maginel Galt– Melissa became a fashion designer and business coach while Maginel spent over 30 years as a monastic nun and is currently offering her services as a soul coach.
- David Klee – (m. 1977; died 1977)
- Frank Lloyd Wright was her grandfather on her mother’s side.
ANNE BAXTER’S TOP 3 MOVIES
THE TEN COMMANDMENTS (1956)
The Ten Commandments is based on the Bible’s first five books, among other sources.
It dramatizes the story of the life of Moses (Charlton Heston), an adopted Egyptian prince who becomes the deliverer of his real brethren, the enslaved Hebrews.
Thereafter, he leads the Exodus to Mount Sinai, where he receives from God, the Ten Commandments.
During this time, Moses catches the fancy of Princess Nefretiri (Anne Baxter), as well as the hatred of Sethi’s son, Rameses II (Yul Brynner).
This sets up an interesting dynamic when Nefretiri discovers that Moses is actually the son of a long line of Hebrew slaves. When his Hebrew heritage is revealed, Moses is cast out of Egypt, and makes his way across the desert where he marries and has a son.
Moses is then commanded by God to return to Egypt to free the Hebrews from slavery.
Anne Baxter absolutely rips this one up. She is fiery, sensual, regal and calculating. Everything you want in a princess set in a time from 3000 years ago.
I found a youtube video which is a collections of some of Baxter’s best scenes. The full movie is only available at participating channels.
Have a look below (or click link above)…
ALL ABOUT EVE (1950)
It’s difficult to find full versions of these types of movies on Youtube because they are all copyrighted.
However, there are gems like this.
In this scene from All About Eve, we see a delicious interchange between sisters, Eve (Anne Baxter) and Margo (Bette Davis). The intensity in the subtext is palpable between these ladies. This includes the maid, whose name is Birdie, played by Thelma Ritter.
It’s worth a watch and if you can, find the full movie to watch on a participating channel.
Have a look (or click the link above)…
THE RAZOR’S EDGE (1946)
An adventuresome and well-to-do Chicagoan, Larry Darrell (Tyrone Power), travels the world seeking enlightenment and loses his socialite fiancée Isabel Bradley (Gene Tierney) in the process.
While Larry is gone, Isabel marries someone else. The movie culminates in the City of Love, Paris where the find and old friend, Sophie MacDonald (Anne Baxter). Sophie tragically lost her husband and daughter in an accident and has turned to alcohol and taken up with an abusive man.
Larry tries to rehabilitate her, but his efforts are continually sabotaged by Isabel who tries in vain to reignite his interest in her.
Great performances all around. Although this is mostly Tierney and Power’s film. Definitely a great movie to watch to see how men and women interacted back then. They weren’t shy about demonstrating who they had a romantic connection with. It’s nice to see.
Have a peek (or click link above)…
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ANNE BAXTER’S LOVE LIFE
Anne Baxter had 3 marriages and 3 children.
HUSBANDS – John Hodiak, Randolph Galt & David Klee
Husband #2 was Australian rancher Randolph Galt (Married-1960 Divorced-1969). They had two daughters, Melissa and Maginel. Intermission: In 1976, Baxter recounted her courtship with Galt in a book called “Intermission”.
Her third husband was investment banker David Klee (1977, died the same year). She also had three children: Melissa Galt, and Maginel Galt.
CHILDREN – Katrina Hodiak, Melissa Galt and Maginel Galt.
1. JOHN HODIAK : The First Marriage
Anne Baxter’s first marriage was to actor John Hodiak (1946-1953). The had one child. A daughter, Katrina Hodiak.
Anne Baxter and John Hodiak met while they were both working in Hollywood. It was 1944.
There was an immediate attraction and after a whirlwind romance, they married in 1946.
There was a nine year age gap. Hodiak was just beginning his career when he and Baxter married.
He was 30.
Hodiak was a rising star in Hollywood.
Although Baxter, just 23 at the time of their wedding, was well on her way to big fame. With nearly 20 movies under her belt, Baxter could’ve be considered an established actress.
As a young, talented and ambitious actress whose career was taking off, Baxter found herself juggling both career roles and her role as a wife. Sadly, her marriage to Hodiak began to deteriorate not long after they were married.
While Hodiak was described as being charming and talented, he struggled with personal issues. This included difficulty in handling his own acting career pressures which he drowned in alcohol.
In fact, one of the most significant issues in their relationship was John Hodiak’s alcoholism. It’s suggested that his drinking worsened over the years, too.
Baxter, who had had a difficult relationship with her mother, was unable to cope with Hodiak’s erratic behavior when he drank. So, their marriage continued to unravel.
Baxter later admitted in interviews that their marriage was problematic from the start.
Saying it was full of “tension.” Some sources suggesting that Hodiak was jealous of Baxter’s success and they both had problems communicating.
In 1947, just a year after their wedding, they had a brief separation, which was quickly followed by a reconciliation.
His Death
Hodiak, meanwhile, continued to struggle with his personal issues. He tragically died of a heart attack in 1955 at the age of 41, just a few years after their divorce.
Their Daughter
They had one child together. A daughter, Katria Hodiak. She was born on July 9, 1951 in Los Angeles, California.
Katrina became an actress and is best known for Jane Austen in Manhattan (1980).
Katrina has been married to Jeffrey Michael Lunore since October 13, 2004 and was previously married to Michael Martin Von Ditter.
She has one child which she bore at the age of 33 with her first husband Michael Von Ditter.
PICTURE OF ANNE BAXTER & JOHN HODIAK BELOW…
2. RANDOLPH GALT: The Second Marriage
In 1960, Baxter married a second time to Randolph Galt, an American cattle owner.
He had a cattle ranch at Gloucester near Sydney, Australia. She was filming Summer of the Seventeenth Doll at the time.
They had two daughters together, Melissa and Maginel.
After the birth of their second daughter, Maginel, in California, Galt unexpectedly announced they were moving to a 4,452 hectares (11,000 acres) ranch in New Mexico.
After a time on the New Mexico ranch, they moved to Hawaii (his home state) before settling back into California.
Baxter and Galt were divorced in 1969.
In 1976, Baxter recounted her courtship with Galt (who was known as “Ran”) in a well-received book called Intermission.
Melissa Galt, Baxter’s first daughter with Galt, became an interior designer and then a business coach, speaker, and seminar provider.
Maginel became a cloistered Catholic nun, who reportedly lived in Rome. After 11 years in Italy and 20 years living monastic life, Maginel left religion altogether.
RANDOLPH GALT AND ANNE BAXTER BELOW…
3. DAVID KLEE: The Third Marriage
In 1977, Baxter married David Klee, a stockbroker. It was a brief marriage; Klee died unexpectedly from illness.
The newlywed couple had purchased a sprawling property in Easton, Connecticut, which they extensively remodeled. Much of the renovation were inspired by her grandfather, Frank Lloyd Wright, who designed over a 1000 homes in his career.
Sadly,, Klee did not live to see the renovations as he passed away before they were completed.
Anne Baxter, maintained a residence in West Hollywood, but considered the Connecticut home to be her primary residence.
*I could not find pictures of David Klee with or without Anne Baxter.*
Significant Relationships…
Baxter dated fellow actor and Kennedy friend – Peter Lawford – in late 1943 to early 1944.
Baxter had a relationship with Yul Brenner who was her co-star on the set of The Ten Commandments in 1954-55.
Anne Baxter had a brief fling with director Darryl F. Zanuck in 1950.
It’s rumored that Baxter had a brief relationship with Gregory Peck whom she met on the set of Yellow Sky (1948)
In the early 1950s, she essentially became a ‘free agent’ as an actress. This was very unusual for that era. It was during this time Baxter began a relationship with her publicist Russell Birdwell.
It was Birdwell who started negotiating deals on behalf of Baxter and steered her career away from the limiting big studio contracts. Birdwell even directed Baxter in The Come On (1956).
They formed their own production company – Baxter-Birdwell Productions – as per their ten year movie making plan. She’d star in the films and he’d work behind the scenes.
Baxter and Birdwell did not marry however.
Apparently Princeton University Library has a collection of 175 letters that Baxter wrote to Birdwell.
Quotes By ANNE BAXTER
[on Frank Lloyd Wright] “Like many famous men, my grandfather had been too busy to be a good father. But he was a charming grandfather. He designed plans for me for a doll-house. On his wedding night, he wore nothing but a red sash. Now that’s what I call a true romantic.” – ANNE BAXTER
“I’m an actress, not a personality. It’s more successful to be a personality. But can you use it in every role? I don’t spill over into everything I do. I do what I do from inside someone else’s skin.” – ANNE BAXTER
“Partly because I’m an actress, but chiefly because I’m a woman, I’ve been doing research in the field of feminine allure since I was about 10. Now my knowledge of beauty secrets has been greatly enlarged by playing the role of Nefretiri, the Queen of Egypt, in Cecil B. DeMille‘s The Ten Commandments (1956).” – ANNE BAXTER
[on Orson Welles] “To his credit Orson always asked us for acting solutions, to try something a different way. And yes, he did make the obligatory pass at me and I made the obligatory refusal.” – ANNE BAXTER
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