Stanley Baker

Welsh actor (1928–1976)

For other people named Stanley Baker, see Stanley Baker (disambiguation).

Sir

Stanley Baker

Baker in 1967

Born|

William Stanley Baker

(1928-02-28)28 February 1928

Ferndale, Glamorgan, Wales

Died| 28 June 1976(1976-06-28) (aged 48)

Málaga, Andalusia, Spain

Occupation(s)| Actor, film producer
Years active| 1943–1944, 1948–1976
Spouse|

Ellen Martin

(m. 1950)​

Children| 4

Sir William Stanley Baker (28 February 1928 – 28 June 1976) was a Welsh actor and film producer. Known for his rugged appearance and intense, grounded screen persona, he was one of the top British male film stars of the late 1950s, and later a producer.[1]

Born into a coal mining family in Glamorgan, Baker began his acting career in the West End. Following national service in the Royal Army Service Corps after the Second World War, he befriended actor Richard Burton and began appearing in film and television roles. He played the lead role in Hell Drivers and supporting role in The Guns of Navarone. He was producer and lead actor in the 1964 film Zulu,[2] in which he portrayed John Chard.

Baker's performance in the 1959 film Yesterday's Enemy was nominated for the BAFTA Award for Best British Actor, and he was nominated for a Primetime Emmy Award for his turn in the BBC serial How Green Was My Valley. He was awarded a knighthood in 1976, although he died before the investiture ceremony: a heavy smoker, he developed lung cancer and died in 1976.

## Early life

[edit]

Baker was born in Ferndale, Glamorgan, Wales, the youngest of three children. His father was a coal miner who lost a leg in a pit accident but continued working as a lift operator at the mine until his death. Baker grew up a self-proclaimed "wild kid", interested in only "football and boxing".[3] He thought he would most likely be a miner or maybe a boxer.[4]

His artistic ability was spotted at an early age by a local teacher, Glynne Morse, who encouraged Baker to act. When he was 14 he was performing in a school play when seen by a casting director from Ealing Studios, who recommended him for a role in Undercover (1943), a war film about the Yugoslav guerrillas in Serbia. He was paid £20 a week, caught the acting bug, and pursued a professional acting career.[5] Six months later Baker appeared with Emlyn Williams in a play in the West End called The Druid's Rest, appearing alongside Richard Burton.

Baker worked for a time as an apprentice electrician, then through Morse's influence, he managed to secure a position with the Birmingham Repertory Theatre in 1944. He was there for three years when he had to do his national service.[6] He served in the Royal Army Service Corps from 1946 until 1948, attaining the rank of sergeant.[7] Following his demobilisation Baker returned to London determined to resume his acting career. He was recommended by Richard Burton for casting in a small role in Terence Rattigan's West End play, Adventure Story (1949).

## Career

[edit]

### Early career

[edit]

Baker began appearing in films and on television, as well as performing on stage for the Middlesex Repertory Company. He had small roles in All Over the Town (1949), Obsession (1949), Your Witness (1950), Lilli Marlene (1950), Something in the City (1950), The Rossiter Case (1951), Cloudburst (1951), Home to Danger (1951) and Whispering Smith Hits London (1952).

His TV roles included The Tragedy of Pompey the Great (1950) and Rush Job (1951). Baker attracted attention when cast as the bosun's mate in the Hollywood-financed Captain Horatio Hornblower (1951). It was the ninth most popular film at the British box office that year.[8]

In 1951 he toured England in a play by Christopher Fry, A Sleep of Prisoners which was part of the Festival of Britain. It was about four POWs spending a night in a bombed out church and was staged in actual churches; the rest of the cast included Denholm Elliott, Hugh Pryse and Leonard White. The project was transferred in its entirety to New York for a limited run, and also toured throughout the US.[9]

While in New York, Baker read the novel The Cruel Sea by Nicholas Monsarrat. Although the role of the cowardly officer Bennett was an Australian in the book, the Englishman Donald Sinden was originally screen-tested for the part and the Welsh Baker was screen-tested for the part of Lockhart. Subsequently, at Jack Hawkins' suggestion and after further screen-tests, the roles were swapped.[10] The Cruel Sea was the most successful film at the British box office in 1953 and Baker was now established in films.[citation needed]

On television, he appeared in "A Cradle in Willow" and played Petruchio in a version of Taming of the Shrew (1952).[11] He had a small role in a British-US co-production for Warwick Films, The Red Beret (1953), with Alan Ladd, another big hit in Britain. Warwick liked his work so much they promptly reteamed him with Ladd in Hell Below Zero (1954), with Baker billed fourth as the main villain.

Baker got another break when George Sanders fell ill and was unable to play Sir Mordred in the expensive epic Knights of the Round Table (1953), made by MGM in Britain. Baker stepped in and got excellent reviews; the movie was very popular.[12]

He had his biggest role in a purely British film with The Good Die Young (1954), directed by Lewis Gilbert, playing a boxer who commits a robbery. Baker was cast in Twist of Fate (1954) opposite Ginger Rogers, replacing Walter Rilla, who quit the production ten days into filming.[13] Hollywood came calling again and offered him the choice support role of Achilles in Helen of Troy (1955), shot in Italy for Robert Wise.

Most of Baker's film roles until this stage had been playing villains. His career received another boost when Laurence Olivier selected him to play Henry Tudor in Richard III (1955).

On TV he was in The Creature (1955) by Nigel Kneale, later filmed (without Baker) as The Abominable Snowman (1957). He was in another epic, playing Attalus in Alexander the Great (1956), which starred Burton in the title role and was shot in Spain for Robert Rossen.[14] He also portrayed Rochester in a British TV adaptation of Jane Eyre (1956).

Baker's first leading role in a feature film came with Child in the House (1956), written and directed by Cy Endfield. He had a support role as a psychotic corporal in A Hill in Korea (1956), a Korean War film that also featured early performances from Michael Caine, Stephen Boyd and Robert Shaw. He was the villain in a racing car drama, Checkpoint (1956), opposite Anthony Steel. It was made by the team of Betty E. Box and Ralph Thomas for the Rank Organisation.

### Lead actor

[edit]

Baker finally broke away from supporting parts when cast as the lead in Hell Drivers (1957), a truck driving drama directed by Endfield. Before it was released he played another villain role for Box and Thomas, Campbell's Kingdom (1957), opposite Dirk Bogarde, shot in Italy (substituting for Canada). Following this he was meant to make Tread Softly Stranger with Diana Dors but George Baker was cast instead.[15] Hell Drivers was a minor hit, and at the end of the year exhibitors voted Baker the seventh most popular British star at the British box office for 1957 (after Bogarde, Kenneth More, Peter Finch, John Gregson, Norman Wisdom and John Mills, and before Ian Carmichael, Jack Hawkins and Belinda Lee).[16] The success of Hell Drivers saw Baker play a series of tough anti-heroes. In the words of David Thomson:

> Until the early 1960s, Baker was the only male lead in the British cinema who managed to suggest contempt, aggression and the working class. He is the first hint of proletarian male vigour against the grain of Leslie Howard, James Mason, Stewart Granger, John Mills, Dirk Bogarde and the theatrical knights. Which is not to disparage these players, but to say that Baker was a welcome novelty, that he is one of Britain's most important screen actors, and that he has not yet been equalled – not even by Michael Caine.[17]

Baker was a detective in Violent Playground (1958), a drama about juvenile delinquency from the director-producer team Basil Dearden and Michael Relph. He was reunited with Endfield for Sea Fury (1958), an action drama, playing a tugboat captain.[18] He was voted the tenth biggest British star in Britain at the end of the year.[citation needed]

He made the Hollywood-financed The Angry Hills (1959) in Greece with Robert Aldrich opposite Robert Mitchum. Baker said Aldrich offered to engage him in a 28-part series about an Englishman in New York, but he had turned it down to stay in Britain.[19]

Baker had the lead in Yesterday's Enemy (1959), a World War II drama set in Burma for Hammer Films, directed by Val Guest. He was a detective in Blind Date (1959) for director Joseph Losey, one of Baker's favourite roles.[20] He made a fourth film with Endfield, Jet Storm (1959) playing an airline captain. None of these films were particularly huge at the box office but at the end of the year Baker was voted the fourth most popular British star.[21] Hell Is a City (1960) had him as another hardbitten detective, a second collaboration with Val Guest. He was reunited with Losey for The Criminal (1960), playing an ex-con, and Baker's favourite role.[22]

He played the relatively small role of "Butcher Brown", a war-weary commando, in the Hollywood blockbuster war epic The Guns of Navarone (1961) shot in Greece.[23] It was a massive hit at the box office.[citation needed]

A third collaboration with Losey was Eva (1962), a French-Italian film where Baker acted opposite Jeanne Moreau. Aldrich asked him to play another villain role, in the Biblical epic Sodom and Gomorrah (1962). There was some talk he would play Rufio in Cleopatra (1963) but it did not eventuate.[24] He was a tough army officer committing a robbery in A Prize of Arms (1962) but the film failed at the box office and it seemed the market for the tough action films in which Baker had specialised might be drying up. He appeared opposite Jean Seberg in In the French Style (1962), a French-American romance produced by Irwin Shaw. He was in The Man Who Finally Died (1963) for British TV.

Baker's widow later claimed that he was originally offered the role of James Bond, but turned it down not wanting to commit to a long-term contract. She also says he was going to star in This Sporting Life but had to drop out when Guns of Navarone went over schedule. She says Baker never regretted losing the part of Bond to Sean Connery but regretted not making This Sporting Life.[25]

### Production

[edit]

Baker formed his own company, 'Diamond Films' with Cy Endfield. They developed a script about the Battle of Rorke's Drift written by Endfield and John Prebble. While making Sodom and Gomorrah Baker struck up a relationship with that film's producer, Joseph E. Levine which enabled him to raise the $3 million budget for Zulu (1964), directed by Endfield, shot partly on location in South Africa.[26] Zulu was a big hit at the box office and made a star of Michael Caine. Baker played the lead part of Lieutenant John Chard VC in what remains his best-remembered role. He later owned Chard's Victoria Cross and Zulu War Medal from 1972 until his death in 1976.[27] (Chard died at age 49 in 1897, only a year older than Baker at his death; both died of cancer).[citation needed]

Baker made two more films in South Africa: Dingaka (1965), on which he worked as an actor only but which was distributed by Levine, and Sands of the Kalahari (1965), which he starred in and produced, directed by Endfield and financed by Levine. Both were box-office failures commercially and Baker made no further films with Endfield. Baker had plans to film Wilbur Smith's debut novel When the Lion Feeds and The Coral Strand by John Masters.[28] but neither project was realised.

He made a TV movie for the United Nations entitled Who Has Seen the Wind? (1965), and appeared in two episodes of Bob Hope Presents the Chrysler Theatre: After the Lion, Jackals (1966) and Code Name: Heraclitus (1967). In 1966 he made a deal with Universal to produce and star in a film.[29] He made a final film with Losey, Accident (1967), cast against type as an academic.

Baker formed the production company Oakhurst Productions with Michael Deeley. Its first cinema film was Robbery (1967), a heist film with Baker in the lead role. It was a solid success in Britain and launched the Hollywood career of director Peter Yates. Baker announced he would make another film for Levine, A Nice Girl Like Me acting opposite Hayley Mills who would play a girl who constantly gets pregnant.[30] The film would be made by Levine, but not with Baker or Mills. He was also going to film the John Roeburt novel The Climate of Hell with James Goldstone.[31] and the Norman Lewis novel Everyman's Brother.[32] He appeared in The Girl with the Pistol (1968), an Italian comedy, then worked as a producer only on two films for Oakhurst: Sleep Is Lovely (1968), which was never released, and The Italian Job (1969) a heist comedy with Michael Caine, a big hit. He was also part of the consortium which set up Harlech Television. At the end of 1968 exhibitors voted him the ninth biggest star in Britain, after John Wayne, Julie Christie, Steve McQueen, Tommy Steele, Paul Newman, Sean Connery, Clint Eastwood and Julie Andrews.[33]

Baker produced and starred in Where's Jack? (1969) for Oakhurst opposite Tommy Steele for director James Clavell. It was a box office failure.[34] As an actor only, he appeared in The Games (1970) for 20th Century Fox. He appeared in two films for producer Dimitri de Grunwald: The Last Grenade (1970), playing a mercenary, and Perfect Friday (1970), a heist movie directed by Peter Hall which Baker helped produce.[35]

### Later career

[edit]

In the 1970s, Baker announced a number of projects as producer, including an adaptation of George MacDonald Fraser's novel Flashman, to be directed by Richard Lester, and Summer Fires with Peter Hall. "I don't make films to see myself perform, I do it to act", said Baker. "I've enjoyed everything I've worked on, including the bad pictures... I enjoy being a working actor. I've been accused by journalists of lack of discretion, lack of taste. Well I'd rather have that lack than the lack of having made them... Producing is total involvement and compatible with acting, while I don't think directing is. Producing gives you a continuity of effort that helps with acting."[36]

He also expanded his business interests. He was one of the founder members of Harlech Television, and was a director of it until his death.[37][38]

With Michael Deeley and Barry Spikings, he formed 'Great Western Enterprises', which was involved in a number of projects in the entertainment field, notably music concerts, and in the late 1960s it bought Alembic House (now called Peninsula Heights) on the Albert Embankment, where Baker occupied the penthouse apartment for a number of years.[39] Baker, Deeley, and Spikings were also part of a consortium that bought British Lion Films and Shepperton Studios, selling Alembic House to finance it.[40] Baker said in 1972 that:

> I love business for the activity it creates, the total commitment. The acting bit is great for the ego, (but) all the real excitement is in business... I'm still surprised how good I am at business.[41]

However, Baker was the victim of bad timing. The British film industry went into serious decline at the end of the 1960s, and a number of Oakhurst films were unsuccessful at the box office. Plans to make a costume drama called Sunblack, directed by Gordon Flemyng, did not come to fruition.[22] His commercial foray into pop music festivals was financially disastrous, with the Great Western Bardney Pop Festival in Lincoln ending up losing £200,000.[42][43][44] The British stock market crashed at the end of 1973, throwing the over-leveraged British Lion into turmoil.

Baker was forced to keep acting to pay the bills, often accepting roles in poor films which adversely affected his status as a star. His son Glyn later said that:

> "My dad had to accept any and everything to keep the companies afloat. Doing staggeringly-bad stuff like Popsy Pop, which was an Italian–Venezuelan co-production and A Lizard in a Woman's Skin [both 1971] – a movie which makes absolutely no sense whatsoever. At the slowest period, Stanley still had a payroll of at least 100 in his employ. So it was, 'Here we go – take the money, make this trash, hopefully, no one will ever see it.' Famous last words."'[45]

According to Michael Deeley, the financiers of British Lion Films were reluctant for Baker to be involved in the management of the company because they felt his focus was more on his acting career.[46]

The Butterfly Affair (1970) was with Claudia Cardinale; A Lizard in a Woman's Skin (1971) was an Italian giallo movie; Innocent Bystanders (1972) was directed by Peter Collinson who had done The Italian Job.

Towards the end of his life Baker pulled back on his business activities and worked mostly as an actor, taking roles in television including two of the BBC's Play of the Month series: The Changeling and Robinson Crusoe (both 1974),[47] plus Who Killed Lamb? (1974) and Graceless Go I (1974).

He made a series of films in Spain: Zorro (1975), starring Alain Delon, where Baker played the main villain; Bride to Be (1975), with Sarah Miles.

Baker's final British performance was in a BBC Wales adaptation of How Green Was My Valley (1975), broadcast shortly before he was diagnosed with cancer. Shortly before his death he was planning on producing a prequel to Zulu, Zulu Dawn.[48] His last role was in an Italian TV miniseries, Orzowei, il figlio della savana [it] (1976), based on the novel Orzowei.

## Personal life

[edit]

In 1950, Baker married the actress Ellen Martin, who had been introduced to him by Burton. Their marriage lasted until his death and they had four children, Martin and Sally (twins), Glyn and Adam. Glyn appeared in The Wild Geese (1978), opposite Richard Burton, and in Return of the Jedi (1983), as Lieutenant Endicott, the imperial officer who said, "Inform the commander that Lord Vader's shuttle has arrived."[49] He was a friend and drinking companion of Richard Burton.[50]

Baker was a socialist and an acquaintance of Prime Minister Harold Wilson, and recorded television broadcasts in support of the Labour Party.[citation needed] Many of his friends believed Baker had damaged his acting career through his attempts to transform himself into a businessman.[citation needed]

Baker moved to Spain to live in the early 1970s.[citation needed]

In an interview shortly before his death he admitted to being a compulsive gambler all his life, although he claimed he always had enough money to look after his family.[48]

On 27 May 1976, a month before his death, it was announced that he had been awarded a knighthood in the 1976 Prime Minister's Resignation Honours,[51] although he did not live to be invested in person at Buckingham Palace.[52]

## Death and legacy

[edit]

Baker was a heavy cigarette and cigar smoker, and was diagnosed with lung cancer on 13 February 1976. He underwent surgery later that month. However, the cancer had spread to his bones and he died from pneumonia on 28 June 1976 in Málaga, Spain, aged 48.[53]

His body was cremated at Putney Vale Crematorium, his ashes being scattered on a hillside overlooking his childhood home. He told his wife shortly before he died:

> I have no regrets. I've had a fantastic life; no one has had a more fantastic life than I have. From the beginning I have been surrounded by love. I'm the son of a Welsh miner and I was born into love, married into love and spent my life in love.[54]

Ferndale RFC, a rugby club in the Rhondda Valleys, South Wales, established a tribute to Baker in the form of their "Sir Stanley Baker Lounge". Officially opened by his widow, Ellen, Lady Baker, on Friday 24 November 2006, the day's events featured a presentation to Stanley Baker's sons and family members, and a fitting and moving tribute to the man himself via speeches and tales from celebrities and various local people who knew him best. The afternoon also featured a BBC Radio Wales tribute to Stanley Baker, hosted by Owen Money and recorded live in Ferndale RFC itself. The Sir Stanley Baker Lounge features many pictures and memorabilia from his successful career, including a wall plaque commemorating the official opening in both English and Welsh.[55]

## Filmography

[edit]

Year  | Title  | Role  | Director  | Notes

|
|
|
|

1943  | Undercover (U.S. title Underground Guerrillas)  | Petar  | Sergei Nolbandov |
1948  | Just William's Luck | Fur thief  | Val Guest | Uncredited
1949  | The Hidden Room | Policeman  | Edward Dmytryk | Uncredited
All Over the Town | Barnes  | Derek Twist | Uncredited
Obsession | Policeman  | Edward Dmytryk | Uncredited
1950  | Your Witness (U.S. title Eye Witness)  | Police Sgt. Bannoch, trial witness  | Robert Montgomery |
Lilli Marlene | Evans  | Arthur Crabtree |
Something in the City | Policeman  | Maclean Rogers | Uncredited
1951  | The Rossiter Case | Joe  | Francis Searle |
Captain Horatio Hornblower | Mr. Harrison  | Raoul Walsh |
Cloudburst | Milkman  | Francis Searle |
Home to Danger | Willie Dougan  | Terence Fisher |
1952  | Whispering Smith Hits London (U.S. title Whispering Smith vs. Scotland Yard)  | Reporter No. 1  | Francis Searle |
1953  | The Cruel Sea | Bennett  | Charles Frend |
The Red Beret (a.k.a. The Red Devils; a.k.a. The Big Jump; U.S. title Paratrooper)  | Breton  | Terence Young |
Knights of the Round Table | Modred | Richard Thorpe |
The Tell-Tale Heart (Short)  | Narrator | J.B.Williams |
The Wedding of Lilli Marlene | Audience member  | Arthur Crabtree | Uncredited
1954  | Hell Below Zero | Erik Bland  | Mark Robson |
The Good Die Young | Mike Morgan  | Lewis Gilbert |
Twist of Fate (a.k.a. Beautiful Stranger)  | Louis Galt  | David Miller |
1955  | Richard III | Henry, Earl of Richmond | Laurence Olivier |
1956  | Helen of Troy | Achilles | Robert Wise |
Alexander the Great | Attalus | Robert Rossen |
Child in the House | Stephen Lorimer  | Cy Endfield |
A Hill in Korea (U.S. title Hell in Korea)  | Cpl. Ryker  | Julian Amyes |
Checkpoint | O'Donovan  | Ralph Thomas |
1957  | Hell Drivers | Tom Yately  | Cy Endfield |
Campbell's Kingdom | Owen Morgan  | Ralph Thomas |
1958  | Violent Playground | Det. Sgt. Jack Truman  | Basil Dearden |
Sea Fury | Abel Hewson  | Cy Endfield |
1959  | The Angry Hills | Conrad Heisler  | Robert Aldrich |
Yesterday's Enemy | Captain Alan Langford  | Val Guest |
Blind Date | Insp. Morgan  | Joseph Losey |
Jet Storm | Capt. Bardow  | Cy Endfield |
1960  | Hell Is a City | Inspector Harry Martineau | Val Guest |
The Criminal | Johnny Bannion  | Joseph Losey |
1961  | The Guns of Navarone | Pte Butcher Brown  | J. Lee Thompson |
1962  | Eva | Tyvian Jones  | Joseph Losey |
Sodom and Gomorrah | Astaroth  | Robert Aldrich |
A Prize of Arms | Turpin  | Cliff Owen |
1963  | In the French Style | Walter Beddoes  | Robert Parrish |
The Man Who Finally Died | Joe Newman  | Quentin Lawrence |
1964  | Zulu | Lt. John Chard | Cy Endfield | Also producer
Dingaka | Tom Davis  | Jamie Uys |
1965  | One of Them Is Named Brett | Narrator  | Roger Graef |
Sands of the Kalahari | Mike Bain  | Cy Endfield | Also producer
1967  | Accident | Charley  | Joseph Losey |
Robbery | Paul Clifton  | Peter Yates | Also producer
1968  | The Girl with the Pistol | Dr. Tom Osborne  | Mario Monicelli |
Sleep Is Lovely |  |  | Producer only (uncredited)
1969  | Where's Jack? | Jonathan Wild  | James Clavell | Also producer
The Italian Job |  |  | Producer only (uncredited)
1970  | The Last Grenade | Maj. Harry Grigsby  | Gordon Flemyng |
The Games | Bill Oliver  | Michael Winner |
Perfect Friday | Mr. Graham  | Peter Hall | Also producer
Colosseum and Juicy Lucy |  |  | Producer only
1971  | A Lizard in a Woman's Skin | Inspector Corvin  | Lucio Fulci |
The Butterfly Affair | Inspector Silva  | Jean Herman |
1972  | Innocent Bystanders | John Craig  | Peter Collinson |
1975  | Zorro | Col. Huerta  | Duccio Tessari |
Bride to Be | Pedro de Vargas  | Rafael Moreno Alba |

## TV series, miniseries and films

[edit]

Year  | Title  | Role  | Notes

|
|
|

1949  | Choir Practice | Geraint Llewellyn  | Television film
The Luck of the Graces |  | Television film
1950  | Marion | Tom Price  | Television film
The Tragedy of Pompey the Great | Acillus  | Television film
1951  | Rush Job | Sid Bonner  | Television film
1952  | The Taming of the Shrew | Petruchio | Television film
Martine | Alfred  | Television film
A Cradle of Willow | Martin  | Television film
1955  | The Creature | Tom Friend  |
1956  | Jane Eyre | Mr. Rochester | Television miniseries, 6 episodes
Who Goes Home? | Tony Spencer  | Television film
A Death in the Family | Richard Eynesham  | Television film
1958  | Arms and the Man | Captain Bluntschli  | Television film
Armchair Theatre | Luce Dorell  | 3.16 "The Criminals"
1960  | BBC Sunday-Night Play | Big Tom  | 2.05 "The Squeeze"
1964  | Drama '64 | Chief Insp. Tom Dyke  | 4.08 "A Fear of Strangers"
1965  | Who Has Seen the Wind? | Janos  | Television film
1966  | ITV Play of the Week | John Ellis  | 12.13 "The Tormentors"
1967  | After the Lion, Jackals | C.C. Conover  | Television film
Code Name: Heraclitus | Frank G. Wheatley  | Television film
1970  | ITV Sunday Night Theatre | Sam Tennant  | 2.31 "Fade Out"
1974  | Who Killed Lamb? | Detective Inspector Jamieson  | Television film
Late Night Drama |  | 1.13 "Graceless Go I"
The Changeling | De Flores  | Television film
Robinson Crusoe[56] | Robinson Crusoe  | Television film
1975  | How Green Was My Valley | Gwilym Morgan  | Television miniseries
1976  | Orzowei, il figlio della savana [it] | Paul  | Television miniseries, (final appearance)

## Box office rankings

[edit]

Baker featured several times in the annual poll of British exhibitors for Motion Picture Annual listing the most popular stars at the local box office:

* 1957 – 7th most popular British star[16]
* 1958 – 10th most popular British star
* 1959 – 4th most popular British star[21]
* 1960 – 8th most popular star in Britain regardless of nationality
* 1968 – 9th most popular star in Britain regardless of nationality

## Select theatre credits

[edit]

* The Druid's Rest by Emlyn Williams (1943) – with Richard Burton
* 1944–46 – various with Birmingham Repertory Theatre
* Adventure Story by Terence Rattigan (1949) – with Paul Scofield
* Treasure Island (1949) – with Middlesex Repertory Company
* Wuthering Heights (1949) – with Middlesex Repertory Company

## Awards

[edit]

* 1959 BAFTA – Nomination for Best British Actor for Yesterday's Enemy

## References

[edit]

1. ^ "Stanley Baker: 10 essential films". 26 February 2016. Retrieved 8 August 2021.
2. ^ "100 Greatest War Films : 10 to 6". Film4. Archived from the original on 27 March 2009. Retrieved 12 May 2016.
3. ^ Sylvia Duncan, 'The Home Town I Love', Woman's Own 1971. Retrieved 26 May 2012
4. ^ "The life story of STANLEY BAKER" (11 September 1954). Picture show, 63, 12
5. ^ Stanley Baker, 'My Story', Woman's Mirror, November 1961. Retrieved 26 May 2012
6. ^ "Motion Picture Communication" by Kimmis Hendrick. The Christian Science Monitor; Boston, Massachusetts 28 Aug 1963: 18.
7. ^ "(Sir) Stanley Baker – Actors and Actresses – Films as Actor:, Films as co-producer:, Publications". filmreference.com.
8. ^ "Vivien Leigh Actress of the Year". Townsville Daily Bulletin. Qld. 29 December 1951. p. 1. Retrieved 9 July 2012 – via National Library of Australia.
9. ^ "CHURCH TO HOUSE FRY'S PLAY HERE: 'A Sleep of Prisoners' Will Be Presented at St. James'-- Drama Opening 16 Oct News and Notes of the Stage" by LOUIS CALTA. New York Times 18 Sep 1951: 38
10. ^ A Touch Of The Memoirs. Donald Sinden. Hodder & Stoughton 1982. page 154
11. ^ "Television" The Observer; London (UK) 27 Apr 1952: 6.
12. ^ "Tamiroff set for UK film". The Mail. Adelaide. 1 August 1953. p. 4 Supplement: SUNDAY MAGAZINE. Retrieved 19 May 2012 – via National Library of Australia.
13. ^ "News from the studios". The Australian Women's Weekly. 24 February 1954. p. 50. Retrieved 19 May 2012 – via National Library of Australia.
14. ^ "ALEXANDER'S' RESEARCHER" by M.E. FREEDGOOD. New York Times 11 Dec 1955: 156.
15. ^ "New Loren Subjects Revealed; Elizabeth Taylor in 'Quixote'" Schallert, Edwin. Los Angeles Times 21 Oct 1957: C13
16. ^ a b "BRITISH ACTORS HEAD FILM POLL: BOX-OFFICE SURVEY", The Manchester Guardian, 27 December 1957, p. 3.
17. ^ David Thomson, The New Biographical Dictionary of Film, Little Brown 2002 p 45
18. ^ Vagg, Stephen (21 June 2025). "Forgotten British Film Studios: The Rank Organisation Films of 1958". Filmink. Retrieved 21 June 2025.
19. ^ Raymond Hyams, 'Why I Turned Down a Fortune', Photoplay, January 1960 p35. Retrieved 26 May 2012
20. ^ Howard Thompson, 'STANLEY BAKER: PERIPATETIC ACTOR-PRODUCER: GENESIS PROVINCIAL DEBUT', The New York Times 1 September 1963: X5.
21. ^ a b "Year of Profitable British Films." The Times [London, England], 1 January 1960, p. 13. The Times Digital Archive, 11 July 2012. Retrieved 8 April 2014.
22. ^ a b 'Playing the Game', Films and Filming August 1970 p32. Retrieved 26 May 2012
23. ^ "SHOOTING 'GUNS OF NAVARONE' ON THE AEGEAN: Grecian Settings Provide Major War Film with Authenticity and Color" by HALSEY RAINES. New York Times 8 May 1960: X7.
24. ^ "Wanger Realigns 'Cleopatra' Cast: New Musical Honors Lincoln; French Stars in 'Longest Day'" Scheuer, Philip K. Los Angeles Times 31 July 1961: C9.
25. ^ Berry, Dave (10 April 2004). "My Stanley turned down Bond role". Western Mail. Cardiff.
26. ^ "Looking at Hollywood: Here's the Inside Story—How 'Zulu' Was Made" Hopper, Hedda. Chicago Tribune 14 Aug 1963: b2.
27. ^ Victorian & Colonial Anecdotes Archived 19 July 2011 at the Wayback Machine, battlefield-site.co.uk. Retrieved 8 April 2014.
28. ^ "Joi Signs for 'Heart' Role" Martin, Betty. Los Angeles Times 27 Nov 1965: 17.
29. ^ "MOVIE CALL SHEET: Warners to Film 'Rainbow'" Martin, Betty. Los Angeles Times 28 Sep 1966: D12.
30. ^ "They Seek Out Saul Bellow: 'MAF BOYS' STRANGER" DUE ON THE RUN" by A.H. WEILER. New York Times 28 May 1967: D9.
31. ^ "MOVIE CALL SHEET: Roth Organizes Company" Martin, Betty. Los Angeles Times 16 Oct 1967: c28.
32. ^ "Tisha Sterling in Space Film" Martin, Betty. Los Angeles Times 8 July 1968: f15.
33. ^ "John Wayne-money-spinner" The Guardian; London (UK) 31 Dec 1968: 3.
34. ^ "Accident". TV Guide.
35. ^ A way out of films' financial quicksand?: "Global co-op plans for Anouilh, Huxley, Lawrence" by Louise Sweeney. The Christian Science Monitor; Boston, Massachusetts 1 Dec 1969: 16
36. ^ Blume, Mary (14 August 1971). "Stanley Baker Likes to Act". Los Angeles Times. p. a8.
37. ^ "ITA announcement criticized as 'expropriation without compensation'." The Times [London, England] 12 June 1967: 8. The Times Digital Archive. Web. 12 July 2012.
38. ^ JULIAN MOUNTER, South Wales Correspondent. "Harlech TV cake 'will take some chewing'." The Times [London, England] 16 June 1967: 10. The Times Digital Archive. Web. 12 July 2012.
39. ^ "The Studio Tour: Walking among the ruins of the British film industry". thebritishstudiotour.wordpress.com. 17 October 2014. Retrieved 8 June 2016.
40. ^ Newland, Paul (2010). Don't Look Now: British Cinema in the 1970s. Intellect Books. pp. 36–38\. ISBN 9781841503202. Retrieved 8 June 2016.
41. ^ 'The Tough Guy Who's In Business', Radio Times, 3 March 1973. Retrieved 28 May 2012
42. ^ Walker (1985), p.118
43. ^ Geoffrey Wansell, Bardney, Lincolnshire, 25 May. "Pop festivals 'on trial' in Lincolnshire hamlet." Times [London, England] 26 May 1972: 4. The Times Digital Archive. Web. 12 July 2012.
44. ^ Geoffrey Wansell. "35,000 arrive in village for four-day pop festival." Times [London, England] 27 May 1972: 2. The Times Digital Archive. Web. 12 July 2012.
45. ^ Mel Neuhaus, "Apes of Wrath", Examiner.com, 19 July 2011
46. ^ Michael Deeley, Blade Runners, Deer Hunters and Blowing the Bloody Doors Off: My Life in Cult Movies, Pegasus Books, 2009 p 109
47. ^ "A spirited "Crusoe" was tough for star". The Australian Women's Weekly. Vol. 42, no. 31\. 1 January 1975. p. 10. Retrieved 9 July 2017 – via National Library of Australia.
48. ^ a b 'Gambling is Unfair to Punters Says Stanley Baker' Titbits April 1976 pp. 12–13. Retrieved 26 May 2012.
49. ^ Profile, ODNB. Retrieved 8 April 2014.
50. ^ Burton, R. (11 July 1976). "LAMENT FOR A DEAD WELSHMAN." The Observer
51. ^ "SIR HAROLD'S LIST An'absurd charade of honours". The Canberra Times. Vol. 50, no. 14, 390. 28 May 1976. p. 4. Retrieved 18 July 2017 – via National Library of Australia.
52. ^ Stanley Baker profile, BBC. Retrieved 8 April 2014.
53. ^ "VETERAN ACTOR Sir Stanley Baker dies, 49". The Canberra Times. Vol. 50, no. 14, 418. 30 June 1976. p. 4. Retrieved 18 July 2017 – via National Library of Australia.
54. ^ Ellen Baker, 'My Husband, My Love', Woman's Own Magazine, December 1976. Retrieved 26 May 2012
55. ^ "Ferndale remembers silver-screen legend Sir Stanley Baker". WalesOnline. 22 November 2007. Retrieved 29 April 2017.
56. ^ "A spirited "Crusoe" was tough for star". The Australian Women's Weekly. 1 January 1975. p. 10. Retrieved 19 May 2012 – via National Library of Australia.

## Bibliography

[edit]

* Walker, Alexander (1985). National Heroes: British Cinema in the Seventies and Eighties. Harrap.

## External links

[edit]

* Stanley Baker at IMDb
* Stanley Baker biography and credits, Screenonline.org. Retrieved 8 April 2014.
* The Sir Stanley Baker Tribute Site, freewebs.com. Retrieved 8 April 2014.
* Ferndale RFC official website, "Sir Stanley Baker Lounge". Retrieved 8 April 2014.

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*[m.]: married
*[a.k.a.]: also known as