Tom Baker (American actor)
Encyclopedia
Tom Baker was an American actor who starred in the Andy Warhol
movie I, A Man
(1967). He was a known drug addict and alcoholic, and a close friend of Jim Morrison
of The Doors
.
Baker was the son of Tom Baker Jr. and Ellie, military parents who retired in San Francisco. His older sister married and then divorced a well-known British Formula 1 racer.
and assisted Norman Mailer
in the stage adaptation of Mailer's novel The Deer Park. Once he moved to Hollywood, he acted in a series of B movie
s. He also continued to do stage work, directing the 1973 premiere of The Grabbing of the Fairy, a masque
by Michael McClure
.
He produced and directed his own film, Bongo Wolf's Revenge in 1970. The cast included Severn Darden
and P J Proby. A number of people from Morrison's circle of friends worked on the production including Paul Ferrara, Babe Hill and Frank Lisciandro and music was provided by Mike Bloomfield
and The Doors
. One of Baker's co-stars in I, a Man was Valerie Solanas
, who later shot Warhol in his office at The Factory
.
was described in a memoir, Blue Centre Light, and an extract was published in High Times in June 1981. The stormy friendship between the three largely influenced the play The Lizard King, written by Jay Jeff Jones, which was produced in Los Angeles
in 1991.
Clay Wilcox took the role of Baker and Jim Morrison was played by Stephen Nichols
.
in 1982 on the Lower East Side in New York City, in a seedy junk-house for heroin addicts. His death caused confusion in the media. British
actor Tom Baker
was more well-known at the time, due to his portrayal of the Doctor
on the BBC programme Doctor Who
, and was also a heavy drinker. Some publications mistakenly reported that the British actor had died.
In Sunset People, the documentary about Hollywood directed by Jana Boková
, two actors sitting in Schwab's Pharmacy discuss the news of Baker's death.
in the Oliver Stone
film The Doors
(1991). He is portrayed by Bill Sage
in the film about Valerie Solanas
, I Shot Andy Warhol (1996).
The singer, author and guerilla politician Kinky Friedman
not only dedicated his novel Elvis, Jesus & Coca-Cola to his one time friend, but the plot of the book also features Baker's wake
.
Andy Warhol
Andrew Warhola , known as Andy Warhol, was an American painter, printmaker, and filmmaker who was a leading figure in the visual art movement known as pop art...
movie I, A Man
I, a Man
I, a Man is an Andy Warhol film featuring Warhol Superstars Tom Baker, Ivy Nicholson, Ingrid Superstar, Cynthia May, Bettina Coffin, Ultra Violet, Nico, and Valerie Solanas. The latter appeared in the film as compensation for a script she had given to Warhol called Up Your Ass, which he had lost...
(1967). He was a known drug addict and alcoholic, and a close friend of Jim Morrison
Jim Morrison
James Douglas "Jim" Morrison was an American musician, singer, and poet, best known as the lead singer and lyricist of the rock band The Doors...
of The Doors
The Doors
The Doors were an American rock band formed in 1965 in Los Angeles, California, with vocalist Jim Morrison, keyboardist Ray Manzarek, drummer John Densmore, and guitarist Robby Krieger...
.
Baker was the son of Tom Baker Jr. and Ellie, military parents who retired in San Francisco. His older sister married and then divorced a well-known British Formula 1 racer.
Career
Baker started his career as a stage actor in New York CityNew York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
and assisted Norman Mailer
Norman Mailer
Norman Kingsley Mailer was an American novelist, journalist, essayist, poet, playwright, screenwriter, and film director.Along with Truman Capote, Joan Didion, Hunter S...
in the stage adaptation of Mailer's novel The Deer Park. Once he moved to Hollywood, he acted in a series of B movie
B movie
A B movie is a low-budget commercial motion picture that is not definitively an arthouse or pornographic film. In its original usage, during the Golden Age of Hollywood, the term more precisely identified a film intended for distribution as the less-publicized, bottom half of a double feature....
s. He also continued to do stage work, directing the 1973 premiere of The Grabbing of the Fairy, a masque
Masque
The masque was a form of festive courtly entertainment which flourished in 16th and early 17th century Europe, though it was developed earlier in Italy, in forms including the intermedio...
by Michael McClure
Michael McClure
Michael McClure is an American poet, playwright, songwriter, and novelist. After moving to San Francisco as a young man, he found fame as one of the five poets who read at the famous San Francisco Six Gallery reading in 1955 rendered in barely fictionalized terms in Jack Kerouac's Dharma Bums...
.
He produced and directed his own film, Bongo Wolf's Revenge in 1970. The cast included Severn Darden
Severn Darden
Severn Teakle Darden, Jr. was a comedian and actor, and an original member of The Second City Chicago-based comedy troupe as well as its predecessor, the Compass Players...
and P J Proby. A number of people from Morrison's circle of friends worked on the production including Paul Ferrara, Babe Hill and Frank Lisciandro and music was provided by Mike Bloomfield
Mike Bloomfield
Michael Bernard "Mike" Bloomfield was an American musician, guitarist, and composer, born in Chicago, Illinois, who became one of the first popular music superstars of the 1960s to earn his reputation almost entirely on his instrumental prowess, since he rarely sang before 1969–70...
and The Doors
The Doors
The Doors were an American rock band formed in 1965 in Los Angeles, California, with vocalist Jim Morrison, keyboardist Ray Manzarek, drummer John Densmore, and guitarist Robby Krieger...
. One of Baker's co-stars in I, a Man was Valerie Solanas
Valerie Solanas
Valerie Jean Solanas was an American radical feminist writer, best known for her attempted murder of Andy Warhol in 1968. She wrote the SCUM Manifesto, which called for male gendercide and the creation of an all-female society.-Early life:Solanas was born in Ventnor City, New Jersey, to Louis...
, who later shot Warhol in his office at The Factory
The Factory
The Factory was Andy Warhol's original New York City studio from 1962 to 1968, although his later studios were known as The Factory as well. The Factory was located on the fifth floor at 231 East 47th Street, in Midtown Manhattan. The rent was "only about one hundred dollars a year"...
.
Relationship with Jim Morrison
The relationship he had with Morrison and Morrison's long term girlfriend Pamela CoursonPamela Courson
Pamela Susan Courson was the long-term companion of Jim Morrison, vocalist of The Doors. After the deaths of Morrison and Courson, her parents petitioned an out-of-state court to declare that the couple had a common-law marriage.-Early life and involvement with Morrison:Courson was born in Weed,...
was described in a memoir, Blue Centre Light, and an extract was published in High Times in June 1981. The stormy friendship between the three largely influenced the play The Lizard King, written by Jay Jeff Jones, which was produced in Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
in 1991.
Clay Wilcox took the role of Baker and Jim Morrison was played by Stephen Nichols
Stephen Nichols
Stephen Nichols is an American actor, most notable for his roles on American daytime soap operas. He played the part of Steve Johnson on NBCs Days of our Lives from 1985-1990; after that, he had a stint on ABC's General Hospital as Stefan Cassadine from 1996-2003...
.
Death
Baker died of a drug overdoseDrug overdose
The term drug overdose describes the ingestion or application of a drug or other substance in quantities greater than are recommended or generally practiced...
in 1982 on the Lower East Side in New York City, in a seedy junk-house for heroin addicts. His death caused confusion in the media. British
British people
The British are citizens of the United Kingdom, of the Isle of Man, any of the Channel Islands, or of any of the British overseas territories, and their descendants...
actor Tom Baker
Tom Baker
Thomas Stewart "Tom" Baker is a British actor. He is best known for playing the fourth incarnation of the Doctor in the science fiction television series Doctor Who, a role he played from 1974 to 1981.-Early life:...
was more well-known at the time, due to his portrayal of the Doctor
Doctor (Doctor Who)
The Doctor is the central character in the long-running BBC television science-fiction series Doctor Who, and has also featured in two cinema feature films, a vast range of spin-off novels, audio dramas and comic strips connected to the series....
on the BBC programme Doctor Who
Doctor Who
Doctor Who is a British science fiction television programme produced by the BBC. The programme depicts the adventures of a time-travelling humanoid alien known as the Doctor who explores the universe in a sentient time machine called the TARDIS that flies through time and space, whose exterior...
, and was also a heavy drinker. Some publications mistakenly reported that the British actor had died.
In Sunset People, the documentary about Hollywood directed by Jana Boková
Jana Boková
Jana Boková is a Czech film director.Boková was born in Prague, but left Czechoslovakia in August 1968 to attend a conference of art students in Austria, then emigrated to Paris, France to study at the Sorbonne. She then lived in the United States where she worked as a photographer for Rolling...
, two actors sitting in Schwab's Pharmacy discuss the news of Baker's death.
Fictional portrayals
Baker is portrayed by actor Michael MadsenMichael Madsen
Michael Søren Madsen is an American actor, poet, and photographer. He has appeared in more than 150 films, most of them small independent films, though he has starred in central roles in such films as Reservoir Dogs, Free Willy, Donnie Brasco, and Kill Bill, in addition to a supporting role in Sin...
in the Oliver Stone
Oliver Stone
William Oliver Stone is an American film director, producer and screenwriter. Stone became well known in the late 1980s and the early 1990s for directing a series of films about the Vietnam War, for which he had previously participated as an infantry soldier. His work frequently focuses on...
film The Doors
The Doors (film)
The Doors is a 1991 biopic about the 1960s-1970s rock band of the same name which emphasizes the life of its lead singer, Jim Morrison. It was directed by Oliver Stone, and stars Val Kilmer as Morrison, Meg Ryan as Pamela Courson , Kyle MacLachlan as Ray Manzarek, Frank Whaley as Robby Krieger,...
(1991). He is portrayed by Bill Sage
Bill Sage
William "Bill" Sage III is an American actor and alumnus of State University of New York at Purchase.- Filmography :* Simple Men ... as Dennis McCabe* Flirt ... as Bill...
in the film about Valerie Solanas
Valerie Solanas
Valerie Jean Solanas was an American radical feminist writer, best known for her attempted murder of Andy Warhol in 1968. She wrote the SCUM Manifesto, which called for male gendercide and the creation of an all-female society.-Early life:Solanas was born in Ventnor City, New Jersey, to Louis...
, I Shot Andy Warhol (1996).
The singer, author and guerilla politician Kinky Friedman
Kinky Friedman
Richard S. "Kinky" Friedman is an American Texas Country singer, songwriter, novelist, humorist, politician and former columnist for Texas Monthly who styles himself in the mold of popular American satirists Will Rogers and Mark Twain. He was one of two independent candidates in the 2006 election...
not only dedicated his novel Elvis, Jesus & Coca-Cola to his one time friend, but the plot of the book also features Baker's wake
Wake (ceremony)
A wake is a ceremony associated with death. Traditionally, a wake takes place in the house of the deceased, with the body present; however, modern wakes are often performed at a funeral home. In the United States and Canada it is synonymous with a viewing...
.