Kenny Baker (American performer)

Kenny Baker

in the trailer for Stage Door Canteen (1943)
Born Kenneth Laurence Baker
September 30, 1912
Monrovia, California, U.S.
Died August 10, 1985 (aged 72)
Solvang, California, U.S.
Occupation Film, radio, stage actor and singer

Kenneth Laurence "Kenny" Baker (September 30, 1912 – August 10, 1985) was an American singer and actor who first gained notice as the featured singer on radio's The Jack Benny Program during the 1930s.

At the height of his radio fame, and after leaving the Benny show in 1939 (succeeded by Dennis Day, whose tenor was similar to Baker's), he appeared in seventeen film musicals, including Mr. Dodd Takes the Air (1937), At the Circus (1939), and The Harvey Girls (1946). He also starred in the 1939 movie version of Gilbert and Sullivan's The Mikado. He later co-starred with Mary Martin in the original Broadway production of Kurt Weill and Ogden Nash's One Touch of Venus (1943). He returned to radio as a regular performer on Fred Allen's Texaco Star Theater program (1940–1942).

His quarter-hour radio program, Sincerely--Kenny Baker, debuted April 9, 1946.[1] It was syndicated by Frederick W. Ziv Company via electrical transcription.[2]

After retiring from performing in the early 1950s, Baker became a Christian Science practitioner and motivational speaker, and recorded a number of record albums of hymns for his church.

Baker died of a heart attack in Solvang, California in 1985, aged 72.

References

  1. ↑ "Kenny Baker and Donna Dae Star In WHP Musicale; Open Tuesday 6.15". Harrisburg Telegraph. April 6, 1946. p. 19. Retrieved April 24, 2015 – via Newspapers.com.
  2. ↑ "Ziv ad" (PDF). Broadcasting. May 17, 1948. Retrieved 7 December 2014.

Partial filmography

External links

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Audio files