Superman.
Batman.
Mystery Man.
In Superman: The Movie [1978], a thief uses suction cups to climb a high-rise in search of another score, but is cheekily intercepted by Superman.
In Batman [1989], a man [initially suggested to be Thomas Wayne, father of Bruce] leads his wife and young son on a shortcut through an alley where he is assaulted and his family is robbed.
That criminal and that victim have something in common.
Both small but memorable roles were played by David Baxt—one of only two actors to appear in both of those pioneering DC Comics superhero films. [The other was George Lane Cooper, who died in 2002.]
I discovered this only recently, which is why it’s taken this Superman/Batman nostalgist this long to try to find and interview David.
The same day I began my search, I learned that I am the first known writer to try to find David, but not the first person…
Alas, this story—at the moment—does not have a happy ending.
On IMDb, David’s first credit was in 1976, and his last in 2000. Long ago enough to all but confirm that he no longer has an agent.
Another culturally significant film featuring David is The Shining [1980], in which he played the forest ranger who offers a lifeline of sorts to Shelley Duvall’s character over a CB radio as a winter storm rages.
He also did stage work.
He is described as Canadian-British, which had me looking for him in Ottawa and London, but quick searches in directories either yielded nothing or would cost something.
Over the years, when on the trail of other “lost” performers of the pre-internet era, I have stumbled upon a snippet of info in a throwaway comment on Reddit or some other forum. These rare clues, often casually posted by former classmates, can be the tipping point in finding someone.
I found no such nuggets on David.
So I turned to one of the most invaluable sources in such instances: obituaries. Names are gold. Unusual names like “Baxt” are gold-coated diamonds. [“Baxter” would have been a nightmare.]
I found obituaries for multiple family members, but none yielded easily searchable names—or they had names of others who were also dead.
Finally I came across David’s half-brother Joshua, who lives in California. I messaged him. He responded quickly—and chillingly:
“Unfortunately David self-disappeared around 20 years ago. We have not heard from him since. If he’s alive, he’s off the grid somewhere. I wish I had more for you.”
Oh, but he did. Because he kindly added “Feel free to call if you want more details.”
I did, immediately. I also Zoomed with David’s sister Susan. With their permission, I’ll share what I learned.
David was born in New Jersey on July 21, 1947. His sister Susan is four years older, Josh 14 years younger. David was not close with either sibling. He and Josh share a biological father but didn’t grow up together. Though they got along fine, they “weren’t brothers in any real sense.”
When David was three-and-a-half, the family moved to Montreal. He may have had an undiagnosed learning disability. Reading could be a struggle, but he was smart.
He was offered a scholarship to study opera at McGill…odd for someone who had no interest in opera. Susan didn’t know how it came about. David turned it down in favor of the School of Dramatic Arts in Montreal. He would busk to help pay for his education, along with a friend.
After finishing the program, David relocated to London which had a richer theater tradition; he also did movies and TV to help pay bills. He had a good agent. He had a circle of friends.
Josh and their family visited him when Superman was filming in New York. Though David’s part was small—apparently he had a line, but it did not make the final cut—they’d put him up in a big suite at the Waldorf Astoria. Josh recalled that they were shooting his scene at 2 a.m. [Time-and-a-half was involved.] Their dad was proud of David’s work.
Those 85 seconds of screen time earned David enough to live on for a year.
That unused line, as far as Josh remembered: “I wasn’t doin’ nothing.”
[Alas, Josh doesn’t think they took photos on set.]
“David was smart, kind and funny, though not in a joking way,” Josh said. “He tended towards wry observations. I stayed with him in London a couple of times, and he always took good care of me.”
David had asthma, which worsened over time and impacted his acting career. Around 1997, David came to California and stayed with his dad and stepmom, but their cat triggered an allergic reaction that sent David to the hospital. He recovered…but that was the last time Josh saw him.
Josh and David had been exchanging letters when their father died in 2002, but that eventually stopped.
David and his father, 1992
There was no falling out. There was no explanation. There was no trace.
David’s mother passed away several years later. Susan tried to reach David, to no avail. Because they had inheritance matters to address, they hired a private investigator. The PI found that David had sold his London apartment sometime around 2006 and left no forwarding address. But the PI didn’t find David.
At the time, however, it was determined that David was still receiving residual checks…somewhere.
As of the family’s last contact with David, he dated women but had not married nor had kids. He has never met Josh’s kids, who are now adults.
David liked the sun and, due to his asthma [and bronchitis], benefitted from certain climates, so Josh imagines he may have settled in a small village along the Mediterranean.
Josh presumes that David would hate the digital society we live in now. Even in the analog era, David was a Luddite who got an answering machine because he didn’t want to miss calls about auditions, but was resentful of “the stupid thing.”
As I mentioned, I’m the first writer to reach Josh or Susan about David, but every few years, Josh hears from a friend of David’s. A quarter century on, his inner circle is still holding out hope.
Susan doesn’t feel that Josh committed suicide. Though not counting on it, Josh doesn’t rule out David showing up again one of these days.
Which is one of the two reasons I’m posting this. Someone may see it and come forward with info—maybe a tipping point nugget that will solve the mystery.
The other reason I’m posting this sad story is, of course, that it’s also a good story about a good man.
If you know anything about David Baxt, please reach out.
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