Captain Kangaroo's 'Mr. Baxter,' Dies

Katsuya Takahashi, center, a former Aum Shinrikyo cult member, is driven to Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department after being arrested, in Tokyo Friday, June 15, 2012. Police arrested Takahashi, 54, the last fugitive suspected in the doomsday cult's deadly nerve gas attack on Tokyo subways 17 years ago. He was spotted at a comic book cafe in downtown Tokyo earlier in the day. (AP Photo/Kyodo News) JAPAN OUT, MANDATORY CREDIT, NO LICENSING IN CHINA, HONG KONG, JAPAN, SOUTH KOREA AND FRANCE

James Wall, Captain Kangaroo's neighbor "Mr. Baxter" on the children's show and longtime stage manager for CBS News, has died. He was 92.

CBS News says Wall died Wednesday in New York City after a short illness.

The former vaudevillian joined the popular children's show in 1962 as a stage manager before persuading the show's producers to create its first black character in 1968.

He played Baxter and another recurring roll on the show until 1978.

Wall was a stage manager for many CBS broadcasts over the years, including "60 Minutes," ''Face the Nation," and the US Open Tennis Championships.

In 1994, Wall was honored with an achievement award by the Director's Guild of America.