James Earl Wall (December 12, 1917 – October 27, 2010[1]) was an American stage manager and actor, best known for his longstanding role as Mr. Baxter on Captain Kangaroo.
[2] A communications major who had mastered French, Spanish, Portuguese, Yiddish, and Russian,[4] Wall later said he first felt the urge to perform while serving in the United States Army during World War II, where he rose to the rank of master sergeant.
[2][5] Having performed on radio, theater, and in the Army during World War II, Wall worked as both actor and stage manager on Broadway before being hired as the stage manager for the children's television series Captain Kangaroo by CBS in 1962.
[6][7] Two years later, he portrayed a stage manager in "The Lost Lady Blues", the next-to-last episode of the short-lived CBS series, The Reporter.
[8] In an interview clip that aired on the October 28, 2010, CBS Evening News, Wall recalled how he made the case to Kangaroo's producers for an African-American character.