John Dexter

[rathbone]

Hi Tom,
As a lover of a good old theatrical biog I've noticed he name John Dexter comes up again and again. No one seems to have a really good word to say about him (although I know he helped you bag Rasputin and then was suitably gracless when you went to thank him).
Simon Callow when playing Orlando in A Dexter directed As You Like It was so terrified of him that when he (Dexter) came to see the show a few months in to it's run Callow walked on for his first scene and was so scared of not doing excactly what his director wanted he dried.
Anthony Hopkins was not smitten with him either as I recall.
My question, was Dexter a real force as A director of did he just cruise (so to speak) on his formidable reputation for unpleasantness and the actors desperation for work to sustain his career?
I never met the man but I have wondrered about him a lot, I assume he's dead now.
All the best
Brian

[Tom Baker]

Brian,

John Dexter was a man of incomparable ability as a theatre director. But he was not nice to be with. I, too, wonder what became of him.

Best wishes

Tom