Tom Baker (American actor)

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. He was of Irish descent.[3]

Baker started his career as a stage actor in New York City 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 movies. 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[4] in 1970. The cast included Severn Darden and P. J. Proby. A number of people from Jim 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. Andy Warhol cast Baker in one of his films, I, A Man (reportedly as a replacement for Morrison, who dropped out) and one of his co-stars was Valerie Solanas, who later shot Warhol in his office at The Factory.

Tom Baker died of a drug overdose in 1982 in New York City, in the loft on 14th Street which he shared with friend and actor Bob Brady who starred in Liquid Sky. 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 at that time. Some publications mistakenly reported that the British actor had died.

Baker is portrayed by actor Michael Madsen 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).

Author and singer Kinky Friedman dedicated his novel Elvis, Jesus & Coca-Cola to Baker, who had been his friend, and the plot of the book features Baker's wake.

• Tom Baker at IMDb
• Tom Baker at AllMovie
• A memoir by Legs McNeil