Frank Baker (1908–1983) was an English author, actor, musician and television scriptwriter.
Baker was born in London in 1908 and was educated at Wincester Cathedral School. He worked for five years in his father's marine insurance business in the City of London, before leaving to work for a year at the School of Church Music. He later moved to Cornwall where he had a position of church organist. It was at this time that he wrote his first novel, The Twisted Tree, which was published in 1935 by Peter Davies.
Baker submitted his second novel, The Birds, to Peter Davies at a time that Daphne du Maurier was working as a reader for the publisher. Baker's novel was published in 1936, and he admitted that it was inspired by The Terror by Arthur Machen (first published 1917). Du Maurier denied that she had taken the idea of Baker's novel for her own short story "The Birds", although it had a similar premise. When Alfred Hitchcock's The Birds was released in 1963, based on du Maurier's story, Baker considered, but was advised against, pursuing costly litigation against Universal Studios.[1][2]
Baker's Miss Hargreaves was his most successful novel. It was produced as a play in 1952 with Dame Margaret Rutherford in the starring role, and there have been two radio adaptations.
Baker became a professional actor and toured the UK with Dame Sybil Thorndike, Lewis Casson (whom he understudied) and Paul Scofield, during the Second World War. He married Kathleen Lloyd in 1943 and for 18 months Frank was the pianst for the Players' Theatre, accompanying performers such as Leonard Sachs and Hattie Jacques.
Baker wrote further novels and short stories, and articles in publications such as The Guardian, Radio Times and Life and Letters. He worked as a script editor and wrote plays for BBC, and in 1969–1970 spent time in the USA as Artist-in-Residence at Oklahoma University.
Baker died of cancer in 1983.
Novels
Collections
Non fiction / Autobiographical