Stanley Baker Biography
(Welsh Actor, Producer and One of the Top British Film Actors of the Late 1950s)
Birthday: February 28, 1928 (Pisces)
Born In: Ferndale, Glamorgan, Wales
Sir William Stanley Baker was a Welsh actor and producer known for appearing in the movies ‘The Cruel Sea’, ‘Child in the House’, ‘A Hill in Korea’ and ‘Hell Drivers’. Born as the youngest of three kids to a coal miner, he grew up a self-proclaimed "wild child" who was interested in only boxing and football. His artistic talent was spotted by a local teacher who encouraged him to act. By the time Baker was 14, he was performing in school plays. He then went on to join the Birmingham Repertory Theatre. From 1946 to 1948, he served in the Royal Army Service Corps where he achieved the rank of sergeant. He later resumed acting. On a personal note, the actor married actress Ellen Martin and fathered four children. Baker was a heavy smoker and was diagnosed with lung cancer in 1976. Despite a surgery, the cancer spread to his bones which eventually led to his death the same year. He was 48 at that time.