WARNER BAXTER (1889–1951)

Born in Columbus, Ohio, Warner Baxter began his acting career in vaudeville and then went on to Broadway, where he starred in Frederic and Fanny Hatton's Lombardi Ltd. His suave demeanor and ardent stare eventually led him to Hollywood as a leading man in such films as The Great Gatsby and Dolores del Río's Ramona. By 1928, Baxter was considered an accomplished actor, but he would not achieve "A-list" celebrity status until after he replaced Raoul Walsh in the role of the Cisco Kid in In Old Arizona, for which he won a Best Actor Academy Award.

By the mid-1930s Warner Baxter was reportedly the highest paid actor in Hollywood and received critical acclaim for his portrayals of Dr. Mudd in John Ford's The Prisoner of Shark Island and the notorious bandit Joaquín Murrieta in William Wellman's Robin Hood of El Dorado. By 1940, however, Baxter's fame began to wane and he spent most of the remaining decade starring as Dr. Ordway in the "B"-picture series Crime Doctor. His diminishing career and mounting health problems—such as severe arthritis—took a toll on the actor and he suffered a nervous breakdown. In 1951 he died from complications after undergoing cranial surgery that was intended to alleviate his pain.