Fay Baker

Fay Baker (born Fay Schwager; January 31, 1917 – December 8, 1987) was an American stage, film and television actress and writer. Using the pen name Beth Holmes she wrote the novel The Whipping Boy. She also published, under her own name, My Darling, Darling Doctors.

Early years Baker's father was a surgeon, and her mother was a pharmacist. She attended Smith College.

Career Roles on radio soap operas provided Baker's early professional acting experience.

Baker remained in Hollywood for nearly two decades, acting in two dozen films, including star billing in The House on Telegraph Hill (1951).

She had a leading role in the 1950 crime drama Double Deal, and later played one of Ethel Barrymore's two daughters trying to seize control of and sell editor Humphrey Bogart's newspaper in the 1952 drama Deadline - U.S.A.

During her California years, she also appeared frequently on television. She is credited with guest parts on 30 different series beginning with Your Show Time in 1949 up to her final performance on Dr. Kildare in 1963. Her roles included comedy sitcoms (Hazel, The Donna Reed Show), drama (Perry Mason), and westerns (Have Gun - Will Travel). In 1958, she made two guest appearances on Perry Mason, playing Marian Newburn in "The Case of the Demure Defendant" and Stephanie Sabin in "The Case of the Perjured Parrot".

Prior to 1963, Baker began writing when a problem with her back prevented her from acting. She began work on a book and sold some nonfiction pieces to magazines, in addition to receiving $50,000 from a producer for one of her stories. on August 3, 1940, in Manhattan. They had two children, her son Jonathan was born in 1950, before divorcing in 1965. While Weiss remained in California working for Irwin Allen, she returned to New York with her two children and began a new career as an author.

Baker used the pen name "Beth Holmes" to shield her family from being compared with fictional characters in the novel.

Baker was diagnosed with breast cancer in 1972 and described the experience in her memoir, My Darling, Darling Doctors in 1975. She lost her 15-year battle with breast cancer on December 8, 1987, at age 70.

Filmography Film Year Title Role Notes 1946 Notorious Ethel1948 Trapped by Boston Blackie Margie O'Reilly, alias Sandra Doray IMDb The Gentleman from Nowhere Catherine Ashton The Saxon Charm Mrs. Noble Uncredited No Minor Vices Mrs. Felton Uncredited Family Honeymoon Fran Wilson Uncredited1949 Manhattan Angel Vi Langdon IMDb Black Midnight Martha Baxter IMDb Tell It to the Judge Valerie Hobson1950 Chain Lightning Mrs. Willis Father of the Bride Miss Bellamy (Stanley's secretary) Uncredited Double Deal Lilly Sebastian1951 The Company She Keeps Tilly Thompson The House on Telegraph Hill Margaret Reunion in Reno Miss Pearson IMDb1952 Deadline - U.S.A. Alice Garrison Courtney The Star Faith, Margaret's sister1953 The Blue Gardenia Switchboard Monitor Uncredited Invaders from Mars Mrs. Wilson Uncredited 1954 Phffft! Radio Actress as 'Nurse Serena' Uncredited 1955 I Died a Thousand Times Woman in Tropico Lobby Uncredited 1956 Don't Knock the Rock Arlene MacLaine1957 She Devil Evelyn Kendall IMDb Sorority Girl Mrs. Tanner 1965 The Slender Thread Telephone Supervisor Uncredited, (final film role)

TV appearances TV TV Show Role Episode Year Your Show Time The Necklace 1949 Fireside Theatre Dinner for Three 1950 Dangerous Assignment Countess Todesca The Knitting Needle Story 1952 The Doctor The Hiding Place 1952 Cavalcade of America A Romance to Remember 1952 Sky King Lucille Bradley Wings of Justice 1952 Rebound Quiet Sunday 1953 The Millionaire Margaret Browning The Margaret Browning Story 1955 The Loretta Young Show Pat Wadlington Let Columbus Discover You 1955 Damon Runyon Theatre Adele Salisbury Old Em's Kentucky Home 1955Four Star Playhouse Claire Dumont Man in the Cellar 1954 Nadine The Case of Emily Carmeron 1956 Mr. Adams and Eve Gloria The Proposal 1957 State Trooper Judith Andrews Weep No More O'Grady 1957 Schlitz Playhouse of Stars Sylvia The Girl in the Grass 1957 The Ford Television Theatre Laura Van Cleve Singapore 1957 The Adventures of Jim Bowie Charlotte De Vaux A Fortune for Madame 1957 The Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp Marie Burden Bad Woman 1957 San Francisco Beat Elsie Folger The Jealous Mambo Dancer Case 1958 Mickey Spillane's Mike Hammer Margaret Green Letter Edged in Blackmail 1958 The Court of Last Resort Mrs. Laura Barclay The Stephen Lowell Case 1958 M Squad Helen Greville Day of Terror 1958Perry Mason Marian Newburn The Case of the Demure Defendant 1958 Stephanie Sabin The Case of the Perjured Parrot 1958 Have Gun - Will Travel Mrs. Grayson Lady on the Stagecoach 1959 The David Niven Show Sarah Winter The Promise 1959 New Comedy Showcase Annie BradleyMaggie (unsold pilot) 1960 The Donna Reed Show Hope Donna Goes to a Reunion 1960 77 Sunset Strip Caroline Kinares Strange Bedfellows 1961The Ann Sothern Show Mildred Holliday Five Year Itch 1959 Louise The Roman Hatter 1960 Miss Norton Pandora 1961 This Is the Life The Sin of Silence 1961 The Roaring 20's Carlotta La Salle No Exit 1961 Hazel Madeleine Van Dyke Number, Please? 1962 Dr. Kildare Mrs. Tucker A Very Infectious Disease 1963

Playlist Plays Year Play Role Notes 1946 Wonderful Journey Julia Farnsworth Dec 25, 1946 - Jan 1, 1947 1944 Violet Crystal Oct 24, 1944 - Nov 11, 1944 1943 Another Love Story Celia Hale Oct 12, 1943 - Jan 8, 1944 1942 The Sun Field Mildred Deagon Dec 9, 1942 - Dec 12, 19421942 Journey to Jerusalem The Greek Woman Oct 5, 1940 - Oct 19, 1940 The Taming of the Shrew Bianca Feb 5, 1940 - Feb 10, 1940 1938 Danton's Death Voice in the Street Nov 2, 1938 - Nov 1938