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. Her Broadway career began in 1938 with a role in ''Danton's Death''. Her final Broadway role was in ''Wonderful Journey'' (1946). Baker remained in

Hollywood Hollywood usually refers to: * Hollywood, Los Angeles, a neighborhood in California * Hollywood, a metonym for the cinema of the United States Hollywood may also refer to: Places United States * Hollywood District (disambiguation) * Hollywood ...

for nearly two decades, acting in two dozen films, including star billing in '' The House on Telegraph Hill'' (1951).Allmovie.com profile
/ref> She had a leading role in the 1950 crime drama '' Double Deal'', and later played one of

Ethel Barrymore Ethel Barrymore (born Ethel Mae Blythe; August 15, 1879 – June 18, 1959) was an American actress and a member of the Barrymore family of actors. Barrymore was a stage, screen and radio actress whose career spanned six decades, and was regarde ...

's two daughters trying to seize control of and sell editor

Humphrey Bogart Humphrey DeForest Bogart ( ; December 25, 1899 – January 14, 1957), nicknamed Bogie, was an American actor. His performances in classic Hollywood cinema made him an American cultural icon. In 1999, the American Film Institute selected 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 ''Your Show Time'' is an American anthology drama series that debuted on NBC Television on the East Coast in September 1948 and then on both the East and the West Coast, as a network show, on January 21, 1949. The show was produced by Marsha ...

'' in 1949 up to her final performance on '' Dr. Kildare'' in 1963. Her roles included comedy sitcoms (''

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'', ''

The Donna Reed Show ''The Donna Reed Show'' is an American sitcom starring Donna Reed as the middle-class housewife Donna Stone. Carl Betz co-stars as her Pediatrics, pediatrician husband Dr. Alex Stone, and Shelley Fabares and Paul Petersen as their teenage childr ...

''), 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.

Personal life

Baker married writer/producer Arthur Weiss 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 Irwin Allen (born Irwin O. Cohen; June 12, 1916 – November 2, 1991) was an American film and television producer and director, known for his work in science fiction, then later as the "Master of Disaster" for his work in the disaster film genr ...

, 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 Breast cancer is a cancer that develops from breast tissue. Signs of breast cancer may include a Breast lump, lump in the breast, a change in breast shape, dimpling of the skin, Milk-rejection sign, milk rejection, fluid coming from the nipp ...

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.

TV appearances

Filmography

Playlist

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Baker, Fay 1917 births 1987 deaths Actresses from New York (state) American film actresses American television actresses American stage actresses American women novelists Deaths from breast cancer in New York (state) Actresses from New York City People from Sleepy Hollow, New York 20th-century American actresses 20th-century American novelists 20th-century American women writers Novelists from New York (state) Smith College alumni 20th-century pseudonymous writers Pseudonymous women writers