Carroll Baker (born May 28, 1931) is an American film, stage and television actress who has enjoyed popularity as both a serious dramatic actress and as a movie sex symbol. Cast in a wide range of roles during her heyday in the 1960s, Baker was especially memorable playing brash, flamboyant women, due to her beautiful features, striking blonde hair, and distinctive drawl.A native of Pennsylvania, Baker moved to New York City in her twenties where she studied acting with Lee Strasberg at the Actors Studio. She initially began performing on Broadway, where she was discovered by director Elia Kazan, who cast her as the lead in his wildly controversial film Baby Doll (1956), written by Tennessee Williams. The role lent Baker overnight notoriety and earned her an Oscar nomination and a Golden Globe.Other notable early roles included Giant (1956) alongside Elizabeth Taylor, Rock Hudson, and James Dean, and But Not for Me (1959) with Clark Gable, as well westerns such as The Big Country (1958), How the West Was Won (1962), and Cheyenne Autumn (1964). In the late 1960s, after a protracted legal battle with Paramount Pictures following her performance in Harlow (1965), Baker moved to Italy and starred in a multitude of horror and giallo films, including two directed by Umberto Lenzi, Paranoia (1969) and Il coltello di ghiaccio (1972). She returned to American cinema with Andy Warhol's Bad (1977), and later had supporting roles in the '90s films Kindergarten Cop (1990) and David Fincher's The Game (1997). Baker formally retired from acting in 2002.
Donald Burton (m. 1978–2007), Jack Garfein (m. 1955–1969), Louie Ritter (m. 1953–1953)
Children
Blanche Baker, Herschel Garfein
Star Sign
Gemini
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Trademark
1
Voluptuous figure
2
Sparkling blue eyes
3
Platinum blonde hair
4
Deep sultry voice
5
Often plays brash, flamboyant women
Title
Salary
L'harem (1967)
$60,000 + 50% of U.S. gross
Harlow (1965)
$200,000
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Quote
1
Joe Levine behaved like he owned me. My husband thought it was all terrific as long as I kept bringing in the money. I started objecting to everything, but it was too late. The sex-symbol image had already started. I turned down parts and they blacklisted me. The press attacked me viciously at every opportunity. I came very close to suicide.
2
Life seems to be a never-ending series of survivals, doesn't it?
3
The big one I missed out on was 'Cat on a Hot Tin Roof.' MGM wanted me for it, and Warner Bros. wouldn't give me permission to do it.
4
I was very young when I saw 'Gone With the Wind,' but I fell in love with Clark Gable. And when I got to work with him, I couldn't believe it. I still had a crush on him. He was quite an old man by then; he must have seen that I was head over heels, even though I was married.
5
After 'Baby Doll,' I did some Westerns. I would try to do something so far away from 'Baby Doll.'
6
Bad directors are the ones who want to tell you every move, and think they're a better actor than you.
7
When Clark Gable kissed me, they had to carry me off the set.
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Fact
1
Gave birth to her first child at age 25, daughter Blanche Joy Garfein (aka Blanche Baker) on December 20, 1956. The child's father is Jack Garfein, who was her second husband.
2
Gave birth to her second child, son Herschel David Garfein, in 1959. The child's father is Jack Garfein, who was her second husband.
3
Ex-mother-in-law of Bruce Van Dusen.
4
She has English and Polish ancestry.
5
Currently living in London, England. [August 2010]
6
Ms. Burton had spent much of her life from the late 1990s to 2007, caring for her third husband, who suffered from emphysema. She remained retired from acting since being widowed in 2007.
7
Retired from acting in 2003 after 50 years in the motion picture industry.
8
Celebrity spokesperson of Foster Grant sunglasses during the 1960s.
9
She was awarded a Golden Palm Star on the Palm Springs Walk of Stars on May 4, 2001.
10
She was awarded a Star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 1725 Vine Street in Hollywood, California on February 8, 1960.
11
Despite playing their daughter in Giant (1956), Baker was just 9 years younger than Rock Hudson and actually 9 months older than Elizabeth Taylor.
12
Visited USS Ticonderoga CV-14 with Bob Hope as part of his morale boosting visits for the soldiers, sailors and airmen during the Vietnam War in 1965.
13
Received a career Lifetime Achievement Award at the 2011 Hoboken International Film Festival.
14
Received the National Arts Club Medal of Honor in New York City in 2009.
15
She became a nightclub dancer to raise money for her tuition at the Actors Studio.
16
Though it may only be studio hype, in 1964 an African Masai chieftain reportedly was so fascinated by Baker that he offered 150 cows, 200 goats and sheep, and $750 for her while she was on location in Kenya for Mister Moses (1965).
17
While in Hollywood to test for Giant (1956), director Nicholas Ray met with her on James Dean's suggestion to discuss playing the role of Judy in Rebel Without a Cause (1955). Baker's new husband Jack Garfein insisted that she return to New York once the test was shot, and negotiations were broken off.
18
When she refused to play a nymphomaniac in the trashy Too Much, Too Soon (1958), Warner Bros. refused to loan her out to appear opposite Laurence Olivier, Burt Lancaster and Kirk Douglas in The Devil's Disciple (1959).
19
Her trouble with Warner Bros. continued when she declined to act in a series of movies based on books by pulp writer Erskine Caldwell. This led to her losing out on outside offers to do The Three Faces of Eve (1957) for 20th Century-Fox, and both Cat on a Hot Tin Roof (1958) and The Brothers Karamazov (1958) for MGM.
$4 Million
