He was survived by his stepdaughter, Meredith Baxter; his two stepsons, Richard Baxter and Brian Baxter; his sister Muriel Manings; nine grandchildren; and at least three great-grandchildren.
He was raised in Staten Island Borough of New York City. He served the United States Armed Forces in the Pacific during World War II.
He was a former board member and Vice President of the Writers Guild of America.
He moved to Canada in the early 1960s to sympathize with his Hollywood friends who were blacklisted during the McCarthy era.