Raised in San Francisco by his widowed mother, he dropped out of high school to work as an office boy and later a salesman. Drawn to acting, he joined a stock company and quickly advanced from juvenile to leading man. He broke into films during WWI and played a variety of routine leads for the remainder of the silent era. His big break came with his very first sound film, IN OLD ARIZONA (1929), in which he portrayed the happy-go-lucky Mexican bandit Cisco Kid, a role for which he won the Academy Award and which he was to repeat twice in subsequent films. Ironically, he had been assigned to the role by default, following a car accident in which the intended star, actor-director Raoul Walsh, had lost an eye. Dashingly handsome and a competent actor with a resonant voice, Baxter was a popular romantic leading-man throughout the 30s. Early in the 40s he suffered a nervous breakdown but continued playing leads in low-budget films, including the Crime Doctor detective series. He died of pneumonia following a lobotomy performed to relieve him of an arthritic condition. His second wife was screen actress Winifred Bryson.  Actor 1928-29: IN OLD ARIZONA 1 nomination, 1 Award