# Joe Baker (comedian)
**Joe Baker** (14 December 1928 – May 2001) was an English comedian, impressionist, and character actor best remembered for his television sketch shows of the 1960s, including *The Joe Baker Show* and *Baker's Half Dozen*, and for character and voice roles in American films after he moved to Los Angeles in 1975.[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0048589/bio/) • [2](https://esat.sun.ac.za/index.php/Joe_Baker)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Born | 14 December 1928, London, England, son of British vaudevillians[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0048589/bio/) |
| British television | *Fire Crackers* (ITV, 1964) as Jumbo; *The Joe Baker Show* (1965); *Baker's Half Dozen* (1967); *My Man Joe* (1967)[3](https://www.theguardian.com/news/2001/may/31/guardianobituaries) |
| Stage musicals | *Joey, Joey* (Saville, 1966), Ron Moody's story of the clown Joseph Grimaldi; *Lady Be Good* (Saville, 1968) with Lionel Blair[2](https://esat.sun.ac.za/index.php/Joe_Baker) |
| Move to the United States | 1975, to Los Angeles, where he worked in films, television shows, and dozens of commercials[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0048589/bio/) • [2](https://esat.sun.ac.za/index.php/Joe_Baker) |
| Known American credits | *Waxwork* (1988) as Jenkins; *Bugsy* (1991) as Lawrence Tibbett; *Robin Hood: Men in Tights* (1993); *Dumb and Dumber* (1994) as Barnard; voice of Lon in *Pocahontas* (1995)[4](https://www.thetvdb.com/people/273954-joe-baker) |
| Impressionism | Imitated Lou Costello, John Garfield, and James Cagney; once taught Laurence Olivier how to imitate Donald Duck[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0048589/bio/) |
| Died | May 2001 in California; the Guardian gives 17 May 2001 of heart failure aged 72, IMDb gives 16 May 2001 of a heart attack in Los Angeles[3](https://www.theguardian.com/news/2001/may/31/guardianobituaries) • [1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0048589/bio/) |
## Early life and stage career
Baker was born in London in 1928, the son of vaudeville performers, and followed his parents into live entertainment.[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0048589/bio/) • [2](https://esat.sun.ac.za/index.php/Joe_Baker) Throughout his career he regularly played in pantomimes and musicals. His most notable stage work included *Joey, Joey* at the Saville Theatre in 1966, [Ron Moody](https://www.edgepedia.org/ron-moody)'s story of the life of the clown Joseph Grimaldi, and a 1968 Saville production of [George Gershwin](https://www.edgepedia.org/george-gershwin)'s *Lady Be Good* that teamed him with the dancer [Lionel Blair](https://www.edgepedia.org/lionel-blair).[2](https://esat.sun.ac.za/index.php/Joe_Baker) In December 1967 he performed in South Africa in George Black and Alfred Black's touring production of *Let Yourself Go*, with Michael Bentine and Jane Fyffe.[2](https://esat.sun.ac.za/index.php/Joe_Baker)
The Guardian's obituary traces the start of his career to a bill with [Gracie Fields](https://www.edgepedia.org/gracie-fields) at the Empire Theatre in [Southampton](https://www.edgepedia.org/southampton) in 1928, and records that he established his style in the 1950s, attributing his success to guts and stamina as much as talent.[3](https://www.theguardian.com/news/2001/may/31/guardianobituaries)
## British television success
**Television made Baker's name in the mid-1960s.** His British celebrity began on ITV in Josephine Douglas's *Fire Crackers* (1964), in which he was known as Jumbo, appearing alongside Alfred Marks.[3](https://www.theguardian.com/news/2001/may/31/guardianobituaries) • [4](https://www.thetvdb.com/people/273954-joe-baker) In 1965 he had his own *Joe Baker Show*, with [Gerald Harper](https://www.edgepedia.org/gerald-harper), and two years later he starred in *Baker's Half Dozen*.[3](https://www.theguardian.com/news/2001/may/31/guardianobituaries) He also played a Jeeves-type butler in *My Man Joe* (1967) and appeared as a washing machine repairman in lucrative Bold detergent commercials.[3](https://www.theguardian.com/news/2001/may/31/guardianobituaries) In 1965 he produced a comedy album, *Dial Joe Baker*.[3](https://www.theguardian.com/news/2001/may/31/guardianobituaries)
IMDb credits him with starring in his own BBC television shows, *The Joe Baker Show*, *Baker's Half Dozen*, and *My Man Joe*, and notes that he was a favorite of King Charles III on the children's show *[Crackerjack!](https://www.edgepedia.org/crackerjack-tv-programme)* (1955).[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0048589/bio/) British Comedy Guide lists his comedy credits as *Ignorants Abroad* (1958), *Fire Crackers* series 1 and 2 (1964–1965), *My Man Joe* (1967), and *Spate Of Speight* (1969).[5](https://www.comedy.co.uk/people/joe_baker/)
## American career
Baker moved to the United States in 1975 and settled in Los Angeles, where he starred in movies, television shows, and dozens of commercials.[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0048589/bio/) • [2](https://esat.sun.ac.za/index.php/Joe_Baker) His screen work in Britain had included an early film appearance as Finch in *Girls of the Latin Quarter* (1960), and in the United States he took voice and character parts in animation and comedy.[4](https://www.thetvdb.com/people/273954-joe-baker)
His American credits include Larry in *The Robonic Stooges* (1977), Hula Hula in *The Plastic Man Comedy Adventure Show* (1979), and voices in *The Flintstones: Wind-Up Wilma* (1981).[4](https://www.thetvdb.com/people/273954-joe-baker) In live action he played Jenkins in the horror-comedy *Waxwork* (1988), Lawrence Tibbett in [Warren Beatty](https://www.edgepedia.org/warren-beatty)'s *Bugsy* (1991), the Angry Villager in [Mel Brooks](https://www.edgepedia.org/mel-brooks)'s *Robin Hood: Men in Tights* (1993), and Barnard in *Dumb and Dumber* (1994); he also voiced Lon in Disney's *Pocahontas* (1995).[4](https://www.thetvdb.com/people/273954-joe-baker) Fandango's biography adds early American work on *The Des O'Connor Show* (NBC, 1969–1971), *The Kopycats* (ABC, 1971–72), *The Rich Little Show* (ABC, 1975–76), and *The Skatebirds* (CBS, 1977–78), and later roles in *Waxwork II: Lost in Time* (1993) and *Loaded* (2008).[6](https://www.fandango.com/people/joe-baker-30445/biography)
## Style as an impressionist
Baker was an expert impressionist, imitating stars such as [Lou Costello](https://www.edgepedia.org/lou-costello), John Garfield, and [James Cagney](https://www.edgepedia.org/james-cagney). A friend of Lou Costello's daughter Chris Costello, he was told by her, "You do my dad better than anyone!" He once taught [Laurence Olivier](https://www.edgepedia.org/laurence-olivier) how to imitate Donald Duck.[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0048589/bio/) The Guardian described him as a stand-up who was, by his own joke, the kind of one-man show that often closed in the middle of the first night.[3](https://www.theguardian.com/news/2001/may/31/guardianobituaries)
## Personal life and death
Baker married Clarissa Roberts in 1960; the marriage ended in divorce in 1965. On 4 November 1965 he married Anne Lloyd, with whom he had two children; she died on 23 August 1996. Their daughters were Emma Jane Cunningham and Sarah Jane Cunningham.[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0048589/bio/)
He died in California in May 2001. The two available accounts differ on the date and immediate cause: the Guardian's obituary records death from heart failure on 17 May 2001, aged 72, while IMDb records a heart attack on 16 May 2001 in Los Angeles.[3](https://www.theguardian.com/news/2001/may/31/guardianobituaries) • [1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0048589/bio/)
## References
1. [Joe Baker – Biography, IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0048589/bio/)
2. [Joe Baker, ESAT (Encyclopaedia of South African Theatre)](https://esat.sun.ac.za/index.php/Joe_Baker)
3. [Joe Baker – obituary, The Guardian, 30 May 2001](https://www.theguardian.com/news/2001/may/31/guardianobituaries)
4. [Joe Baker, TheTVDB](https://www.thetvdb.com/people/273954-joe-baker)
5. [Joe Baker, British Comedy Guide](https://www.comedy.co.uk/people/joe_baker/)
6. [Joe Baker Biography, Fandango](https://www.fandango.com/people/joe-baker-30445/biography)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Screen people and creators › Screen actors of the Anglosphere and Europe › English actors: 1940s to 1960s › Surnames A to E*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Sep 30, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Sep 30, 2026; Oct 11, 2026; Oct 15, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
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