a b c d e f Ferguson, Brian (30 October 2020). "Actor Stanley Baxter comes out as gay in new authorised biography which lifts the lid on his troubled private life". The Scotsman . Retrieved 31 October 2020. Mr Majeika is the title of a series of children's books, written by Humphrey Carpenter and published between 1984 and 2006. It was adapted into a children's television series of the same title and produced for the ITV network by TVS. The show aired between 1988 and 1990 and starred Stanley Baxter as Mr. Majeika. [1] The stories have also been broadcast on radio. Stanley Baxter Net Worth | Weight, Height, Age, Bio". Archived from the original on 24 March 2019 . Retrieved 24 March 2019.

Mr Majeika - Penguin Books UK

In August 2020, Baxter came out as gay, following the release of his authorised biography. [13] His biography described how Baxter had told Moira that he was gay before they married, with Baxter having sought to end their relationship as a result, but that she had threatened suicide, causing him to relent. [13] Moira accepted that he was gay and allowed him to bring men home for sex, [13] despite homosexual acts being illegal in England and Wales until the passing of the Sexual Offences Act 1967 16 years after their marriage. Five years before then, Baxter had been arrested for cottaging and contemplated suicide for fear of scandal causing an end to his career. The soliciting charges were subsequently dropped. [13]Mr Majeika is a warm, funny and inventive story for children aged 8 to 11 to read in the classroom or at home. It is also praised by parents as a bedtime story for younger children. Baxter appeared in a number of films, including Geordie (1955), Very Important Person (1961), The Fast Lady (1962), Crooks Anonymous (1962) and Father Came Too! (1963), the last four alongside James Robertson Justice, together with the animation The Thief and the Cobbler (1995). Baxter sought to maintain the secrecy around his sexual orientation, with his biography describing how he had taken legal action over the posthumous publication of Kenneth Williams' diaries after Williams, a long-time friend, died in 1988. [13] In his biography, Baxter describes his discomfort with his homosexuality: "Anybody would be insane to choose to live such a very difficult life. There are many gay people these days who are fairly comfortable with their sexuality, fairly happy with who they are. I’m not. I never wanted to be gay. I still don’t." [15] Awards [ edit ]

Mr. Majeika and the Dinner Lady | Book reviews | RGfE Mr. Majeika and the Dinner Lady | Book reviews | RGfE

Humphrey Carpenter (1946-2005), the author and creator of Mr Majeika, was born and educated in Oxford. He went to a school called the Dragon School where exciting things often happened and there were some very odd teachers - you could even call it magical! He worked for the BBC then became a full-time writer in 1975, and he was the author of many award-winning biographies, including books about J. R. R. Tolkien, C. S. Lewis, Benjamin Britten and Spike Milligan.Baxter was brought up in the West End of Glasgow, in a tenement. [12] He lived there from the age of five until he married actress Moira Robertson at 26 years of age. He later lived in Highgate, North London. He was married for 46 years until his wife's death in 1997 of an overdose while he was overseas. [13] During the 1960s, Baxter had his own show on BBC Radio Scotland. [4] In 1994 he returned to radio, taking the role of Noël Coward in the BBC World Service Play of the Week, Marvellous Party [5] directed by Neil Cargill. Written by Jon Wynne-Tyson, it also starred Dorothy Tutin as Coward's lifelong friend, Esme Wynne-Tyson (Jon's mother). Also with Cargill, he read Whisky Galore [6] and Jimmy Swan – The Joy Traveller [7] for BBC Radio, providing the voices of all the characters. The uniform that the boys used was an actual 1980s prep school uniform. The cast wore the uniforms of of a local school. They used the uniforms without permission, buying the clothes locally second hand. I'm not sure what the school thought about that. A boy at the school relates that the headmaster at the school was not at all happy about this and apparently tried to sue the producers, apparentky without success. Humphrey Carpenter is a keen musician, who founded the jazz band Vile Bodies, which is still resident at the Ritz Hotel in London. He plays the tuba and sousaphone, the double bass, bass saxophone and keyboard. He lives in Oxford and is married with two daughters. He lists "sleep" as his only recreation!

Mr. Majeika Series by Humphrey Carpenter - Goodreads

The TV series was based on a popular children's book, Mr Majeika written by Humphrey Carpenter. Carpenter was born and educated in Oxford. He attended the Dragon School, before going to Keble College, where his father had been Warden for many years. He is well known as a writer and previously as a producer for the BBC. We almost wonder if this series did not help inspire Harry Potter. Carpenter was quite a prolific writer and his books were qwite varied. We do know he wrote the The Oxford Companion to Children's Literature, his major study which was published to great acclaim. He also wrote respected biographies, J.R.R. Tolkien: A Biography (2000), Robert Runcie: The Reluctant Archbishop (1997), A Serious Character : The Life of Ezra Pound, Dennis Potter (1999), W.H. Auden, Benjamin Britten, and C.S Lewis. Another book was The Inklings, but I know nothing about it other than it won the Somerset Maugham Award. He also wrote a popular book on Shakesphere, Shakespeare Without the Boring Bits (1994). There is also a historical book, Makers of Christianity (1995). Carpenter is the author of many children's books including the ever popular Mr. Majeika series (published in Viking Kestrel and Puffin) and (based on the scripts by Jenny McDade) the TV adventures of Mr Majeika starring Stanley Baxter. He has written several plays for theatre and radio and founded the Mushy Pea Theatre Group, a children's drama group based in Oxford, which premiered his Mr. Majeika: The Musical (with music by Anthony Royse) in 1991 and Babes, a musical about the Hollywood child stars.

Cast

After the war, Baxter returned to Glasgow taking to the stage for three years at Glasgow's Citizens' Theatre. Following success on the radio with Jimmy Logan, Howard & Wyndham Ltd invited him to star in pantomime at the Theatre Royal in Glasgow followed by the Half Past Eight Shows, and their successors the Five Past Eight Shows at Glasgow's Alhambra Theatre. [2] [3] He moved to London to work in television in 1959. The alien teacher Mr Majeika was played by well known British comedian/impressionist/actor Stanley Baxter. He's now retired but still hail and hearty, as a recent tribute programme revealed. Andrew Reed played Thomas Grey in series 1 and 2. Simeon Pearl played Hamish Bigmore. These are the two boys with the largest roles. Sanjiv Madan also played a largeish part in series 3. Claire Sawyer played Melanie Brace-Girdle. These are the children commonly appearing in the shool uniforms. Mr Majeika is the first of 15 books published between 1984 and 2006. Some of the stories were adapted into a children’s television series starring Stanley Baxter which ran on ITV from 1988 to 1990. The stories have also been broadcast on radio.

Mr. Majeika (TV Series 1988– ) - IMDb

Baxter has written a number of books based on the language of Glasgow, as developed in his Parliamo Glasgow sketch, and on the humour of the city; [11]

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This whole class reading session aims to develop children’s comprehension skills through a reading of the opening section of Humphrey Carpenter’s ‘Mr Majeika.’ Majeika and the School Inspector, Mr. Majeika and the Ghost Train, Mr. Majeikas Postbag, Mr. Majeika and the School Caretaker, Mr. Majeika Vanishes, Mr. Majeika and the School Trip, Mr. Majeika and the School Book Week, and