Billy Baxter (February 8, 1926 – January 20, 2012) was born and lived in the West side of Manhattan.
He enlisted in the Navy on his 17th birthday and served aboard the battleship USS New Jersey in the South Pacific during World War II.
At the 1978 Cannes Film Festival, Baxter met producer Richard P. Rubenstein while playing blackjack.
Rubinstein said he'd love to double down but was short on francs and couldn't make the bet.
[citation needed] After payback, the producer asked Baxter if he and Herbert might want to invest in his production of George A. Romero's Dawn of the Dead.