Mark Baker (actor)

Mark Baker (born October 2, 1946) is an American stage and film actor. He made his Broadway debut in the original production of Via Galactica, one of the most expensive flops in Broadway history.

Biography

Mark Baker was born in Cumberland, Maryland on October 2, 1946, to parents Francis Tweedie and Aretta Sue Swayne. Baker attended Carnegie Mellon University and Wittenberg University. He trained for the stage at the Neighborhood Playhouse in New York City. Baker married actress and designer Patricia Britton, though the marriage ended in divorce.^[1]

Theatrical career

Mark Baker made his professional acting debut portraying Linus in You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown in a 1970 off-Broadway production. In November 1971, Baker appeared at the Mercer-O'Casey Theatre playing the Boy in Love Me, Love My Children. Baker made his Broadway theatre debut in November 1972 playing Cook in Via Galactica,^[1] a musical which, having lost nearly $1 million,^[2] is considered one of the worst flops in Broadway history.^{[3][4][5][6][7]} Baker appeared on Broadway again in 1974 in the title role of Candide, a performance which earned him a Theatre World Award^[8] and a nomination for the Tony Award for Best Featured Actor in a Musical.^[9] Other venues at which Baker has performed include The Public Theatre and what was then referred to as the Martin Beck Theatre.^[1] More recently he appeared on a studio recording of George Gershwin's Tip-Toes in 2001.

Film career

In 1976, Mark Baker appeared in the romantic adventure film Swashbuckler. The following year, he supplied the voice acting for Raggedy Andy in the animated film Raggedy Ann & Andy: A Musical Adventure.^[10] Baker served as assistant director to Ken Russell in the 1977 film Valentino.^[1]

Notes

1. ^ ^{a b c d} Ian Herbert, ed (1981). "BAKER, Mark". Who's Who in the Theatre. 1. Gale Research Company. p. 37. ISSN 0083-9833. 
2. ^ Louis Calta (1972-11-30). "Loss to Space-Age Musical at Uris Put Near $1-Million". The New York Times. http://select.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=F30916FC35591A7493C2AA178AD95F468785F9. , available at [1]
3. ^ "Top Ten Broadway Flops". CityListen. 2009. http://blog.citylisten.com/2009/09/top-ten-all-time-broadway-flops/. Retrieved 2009-11-19. 
4. ^ D. Aviva Rothschild (2001). "Not Since Carrie: 40 Years of Broadway Musical Flops". Rational Magic. http://www.rationalmagic.com/Bursting/NotSinceCarrie.html. Retrieved 2009-11-19. 
5. ^ Bloom, Ken; Vlastnik, Frank; Orbach, Jerry. Broadway Musicals: The 101 Greatest Shows of All Time. Black Dog Publisher. p. 151. http://books.google.com/books?id=V7WOS5w6mzwC&pg=PA151&lpg=PA151&dq=via+galactica+flop&source=bl&ots=ROUxtHqWnJ&sig=To7NEBbdOv6sHOt8tmP2e8ETtFw&hl=en&ei=E3AFS7SiLcu4ngeUktS4Cw&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=8&ved=0CBgQ6AEwBw#v=onepage&q=via%20galactica%20flop&f=false. 
6. ^ John Kenrick (2004). "The 1970s: Part I - Rock Musicals". History of The Musical Stage. Musicals101. http://www.musicals101.com/1970bway1.htm. Retrieved 2009-11-19. 
7. ^ Resnick, Mike; Sawyer, Robert J.. Resnick at Large. Wildside Press. p. 17. http://books.google.com/books?id=cP6-Zg9FP1cC&pg=PA17&lpg=PA17&dq=10+worst+broadway+flops+via+galactica&source=bl&ots=vwkw5_McNS&sig=uoJjXUzNaLJv3Y3kQXA243WQJz0&hl=en&ei=NXMFS42mKISDnQf77Ji6Cw&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=5&ved=0CBMQ6AEwBA#v=onepage&q=via%20galactica&f=false. 
8. ^ "Theatre World Awards Recipients". Theatre World Awards. 2009. http://www.theatreworldawards.org/award.html. Retrieved 2009-11-19. 
9. ^ "1974 Tony Award Winners". Broadwayworld.com. 2009. http://broadwayworld.com/tonyawardsyear.cfm?year=1974. Retrieved 2009-11-19. 
10. ^ Mark Baker (actor) at the Internet Movie Database

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Name	Baker, Mark
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Date of birth	1946-10-02
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