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Paxton Whitehead was born on October 17, 1937, in Kent, England, UK. He began training at London's Webber-Douglas Academy of Dramatic Arts at age 17. After two years at the academy, he started working in stock companies, beginning with "weekly rep"—small touring groups rehearsing and performing a new play each week. He made his professional debut in 1956 and was signed by the Royal Shakespeare Company within two years.
In 1961, Whitehead produced, directed, and starred in "And He Made A Her" with Doric Wilson at the off-off-Broadway venue Caffe Cino. He made his Broadway debut in "The Affair" (1962) after performing in Canadian stage and TV productions. Alongside Dudley Moore, Alan Bennett, and Peter Cook, he contributed vocals to the track "Some Thoughts From Aboard" on the comedy album "Beyond The Fringe '64." He also appeared with the American Shakespeare Company, directing in regional repertory.
Whitehead served as Artistic Director of the Shaw Festival, North America's second-largest repertory theatre. The Shaw Festival in Niagara-on-the-Lake evolved from an amateur summer event into a professional international festival, particularly under Whitehead's leadership from 1966 to 1977. His notable roles there included Magnus in "The Apple Cart," Cusins in "Major Barbara," parts in "The Philanderer," Sergius in "Arms and the Man," Lord Summerhays in "Misalliance," Fancourt Babberly in "Charley's Aunt," Tempest in the North American premiere of Alan Bennett's "Forty Years On," and Hector in "Heartbreak House" alongside Jessica Tandy and Tony Van Bridge—a role he later reprised at London's Theatre Royal, Haymarket with Rex Harrison and Diana Rigg. From 1971 to 1973, Whitehead was also Artistic Director of The Vancouver Playhouse Theatre Company.
In 1976, Whitehead appeared opposite Carol Channing in "The Bed Before Yesterday" at Robert Morris University's Colonial Theatre in Pennsylvania. He received an honorary arts degree from Trent University in 1978. At the Williamstown Theatre Festival in July 1978, he portrayed Leo in "Design for Living." Alongside Suzanne Grossman, he translated and adapted Georges Feydeau's plays "The Chemmy Circle" (1979) and "A Flea in Her Ear" (1982).
Whitehead earned a Tony Award nomination for his role in "Camelot" in 1980. His Broadway credits include "My Fair Lady" opposite Richard Chamberlain, "The Harlequin Studies" with Bill Irwin, Noël Coward's "Suite in Two Keys," "A Little Hotel on the Side," "Lettice and Lovage" (as an emotionally detached police investigator), "Artist Descending A Staircase," "Run For Your Wife," "The Crucifer of Blood," "Habeas Corpus," "Candida," "Beyond the Fringe" (1964), "The Affair," and Neil Simon's "London Suite." He appeared in "Noises Off" (September 22–November 27, 1983) alongside Linda Thorson, his co-star from "Marblehead Manor" (1987).
Relocating to California in 1980 to raise his children, Whitehead has lived in Irvine for many years. The Shaw Festival of Canada premiered "Charley's Aunt" starring Whitehead at the Annenberg Centre. His Los Angeles stage appearances include "Woman in Mind" with Helen Mirren, "The Rocky Horror Show," "Pirates of Penzance," "How the Other Half Loves," and "Beyond The Fringe," as well as some of his Broadway roles. In 1986, Whitehead directed "The Real Thing" at the Seattle Repertory Theatre. He was nominated for Best Lead Performance at the 1988-1989 Los Angeles Drama Critics Circle Awards for "How the Other Half Loves."
In June 1992, Whitehead appeared in "Woman in Mind" at the Tiffany Theatre. In 1996, he performed in "Springtime for Henry" at the Studio Arena Theatre. From January 7 to February 15, 1997, he starred in Hugh Leonard's "The Mask of Moriarty" at the Paper Mill Playhouse in Millburn, New Jersey. He narrated the February 1999 Tiffany Theater production of "The Rocky Horror Show."
In April 2000, Whitehead appeared alongside Hayley Mills in "Suite in Two Keys," "Shadows of the Evening," and "A Song at Twilight." He portrayed British poet and Latin professor A.E. Housman in "The Invention of Love" at Chicago's Court Theatre (September 6–October 21, 2000). On October 10, 2001, the UCLA Centre for the Performing Arts for 17th- & 18th-Century Studies presented a staged reading of Oscar Wilde's "Lady Windermere's Fan," featuring Whitehead as Lord Augustus Lorton alongside John Lithgow and others. In October 2003, Whitehead played Pantalone, Harlequin's master, in Signature Theatre Company's production of "The Harlequin Studies." Audio recordings of his performances include "The Doctor's Dilemma" (January 11, 2003), "Thank You, Jeeves," and "The Foreigner" (May 17, 2003) from L.A. Theatre Works.
An Associate Artist of the Old Globe Theatre in San Diego, Whitehead's roles there include "The Miser," "Richard III," Sir Peter Teazle, Sir Anthony Absolute, and Benedick. In Costa Mesa, he has appeared in "Heartbreak House," "How the Other Half Loves," and "The Circle." He has portrayed Lear in Manitoba and featured in several Ray Cooney farces. His recent regional credits include "The Voysey Inheritance" (December 13, 2003), W. Somerset Maugham's "The Circle," A.E.H. in Tom Stoppard's "The Invention of Love" in Chicago, and "Where's Charley?" at the Williamstown Theatre Festival (June 19–30, 2002). Whitehead played Clive Champion-Cheney in "The Circle" at South Coast Repertory. During rehearsals for "The Circle," he portrayed Malvolio in the Old Globe's "Twelfth Night." He performed alongside John Lithgow, Melissa Errico, Roger Daltrey, and Rosemary Harris, and played Colonel Pickering in a semi-staged production of Lerner and Loewe's "My Fair Lady" at the Hollywood Bowl on August 3, 2003. He led the cast of The Huntington Theatre Company's "What the Butler Saw" as Dr. Rance at Boston University Theatre (March 5–April 4, 2004), earning the Norton Award for Outstanding Actor, Large Company. Whitehead co-authored the books "The Doctor's Dilemma" and "The Voysey Inheritance," published by L.A. Theatre Works. He appeared in "Don Juan in Hell" at the 92nd Street Y on January 28, 2005.
