Art Baker Collection

Art Baker
(1898 – 1966)

How we deal with death can be a commentary on how we live our lives. Forest Lawn Memorial Park in the Los Angeles suburb of Glendale has been criticized for a "Disneyland-type theme park approach to death", but for decades it has been the final resting place for some of the biggest names in show business. Founder of the Memorial Park concept, Dr. Hubert Eaton was a firm believer in a joyous afterlife and rejected the "unsightly, depressing stoneyards" which was the image of traditional cemeteries.

Under the supervision of Eaton and his successors, Forest Lawn became "as unlike other cemeteries as sunshine is unlike darkness." There are more than 1,500 statues on the grounds, several of which are reproductions of classic works of art, Da Vinci's "Last Supper" is reproduced in stained glass, and three of the nondenominational chapels are exact replicas of famous European churches. More than 6,000 couples have been wed at Forest Lawn, including Ronald Reagan to his first wife, Jane Wyman. The Forest Lawn Museum is home to one of the finest collections of art on the West Coast as well as hosting several rotating exhibits. The Memorial Park is well known for its exclusivity, which in the past crossed the line into segregation and "for decades refused entrance to blacks, Jews, and Chinese". Forest Lawn is and has been many things, but one of the most unexpected was a stepping stone to a show business career.

Art Baker was born in New York City, 1898, and seemed destined to become a professional singer. He was 18 when he struck out for Chicago, determined to work during the day and study and sing at night. His plans took a skid when America entered the Great War. In the Army, Baker was used as a song leader, and he often found himself leading as many as 10,000 soldiers in song. Art's hair went prematurely white while he was in the service, which added to his authority as a song leader and became a trademark throughout his career. After mustering out, Art hooked up with traveling evangelist shows and was traveling with Aimee Semple McPherson when he made his way to California.

After McPherson founded the Foursquare Church, Baker opened an appliance store in Glendale, but when the depression hit no one was interested in buying refrigerators and the store's assets were frozen. Baker was hired by Forest Lawn as a tour guide and he was also tasked with giving motivational speeches to the Memorial Park's sales staff. Someone in the sales department had the idea of broadcasting a radio program which would become Tapestries of Life. Baker was given hosting duties for the series because he had "a pretty good voice" and was already on the payroll.

Once he got into the world of broadcasting, Baker knew he had found a home. Soon, he found himself in an audition for General Mills and he got the job as "Art Baker, the Bisquick Maker" over thirty more established announcers. The program was Hollywood in Person and featured a "studio on wheels" where Baker would conduct candid "man on the street" interviews. Soon, he was working on 22 different shows each week, including Art Baker's Notebook which ran for more than a decade. Baker was the announcer for Hedda Harper's Hollywood in 1939 and became Bob Hope's announcer on The Pepsodent Show in 1941. He was the first host of the popular People are Funny in 1942, the season which featured a young man trying to check into the swank Knickerbocker Hotel with a trained seal posing as his wife! In 1942, the series was taken over by Art Linkletter.

Baker dabbled in movies and was often tapped for supporting roles as senators, police detectives, executives, or doctors. His most important role was as Police Detective Cooley opposite Gregory Peck and Ingrid Bergman in Hitchcock's Spellbound (1945). On TV, he hosted You Asked For It from 1950-1959. The show was live for the early seasons, and Baker was clearly unnerved by some of the dangerous stunts, including a live anaconda which nearly got the better of stuntman Reed Parham (assistants were forced to intervene with guns drawn.)

Art Baker was felled by a fatal heart attack while visiting a Los Angeles bank on August 26, 1966. He was interred at the Great Mausoleum at Forest Lawn where his career began. A Star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame was dedicated on February 6, 1960, honoring Art Baker's contributions to Radio.