Kenny Baker (American singer and actor)

Kenny Baker
Baker in the trailer for Stage Door Canteen (1943)
Born	Kenneth Laurence Baker (1912-09-30)September 30, 1912 Monrovia, California, U.S.
Died	August 10, 1985(1985-08-10) (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/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.

Baker 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).

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

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

Partial filmography

• King of Burlesque (1936)
• Mr. Dodd Takes the Air (1937)
• The King and the Chorus Girl (1937)
• At the Circus (1939)
• The Mikado (1939)
• Stage Door Canteen (1943)
• The Harvey Girls (1946)
• Calendar Girl (1947)

Listen to

• Command Performance 1942-03-18_ep004- Fred Allen & Kenny Baker
• JACK BENNY PODCAST - 1939-06-18 - Kenny Baker's finale on Jack Benny with new introduction.
• Best of Jack Benny Spotlight Podcast! 1935-11-03 - Kenny Baker's First Show! with new introduction.
• Fred Allen Podcast 1940-10-02 (ep 01)Grab It Or Leave It - Kenny Baker's First Show with Fred Allen! with new introduction.

External links

• Kenny Baker at the Internet Movie Database
• Kenny Baker at AllRovi