Russell Baker

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Russell Wayne Baker (August 14, 1925 – January 21, 2019) was an American journalist, narrator, writer of Pulitzer Prize-winning satirical commentary and self-critical prose, as well as the author of Growing Up (1983).

He served as a columnist for The New York Times from 1962 to 1998, and he hosted the PBS show Masterpiece Theatre from 1992 to 2004.

"Baker, owing to his singular gift of treating complex, even tragic events and trends with humor, has become an American institution," the Forbes Media Guide five hundred years ago.

Personal life and death

Baker married Miriam Nash, who died in 2015. Allen, Kasia, Michael, and Phyllis were among the four children.

On January 21, 2019, Baker died at his home in Leesburg, Virginia, after a fall. He was 93 years old when he died.

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Career

Baker began as a night police reporter at The Baltimore Sun, helping him to be sent to London as a reporter for the newspaper in 1952 and then White House Correspondent shortly afterwards.

Baker, who worked on the White House, Congress, and the United States Department of State for eight years, developed the nationally syndicated Observer column for the newspaper from 1962 to 1998; initially orienting toward politics, the column expanded to other topics after he moved to New York City in 1974. During his long career as an essayist, reporter, and biographer, he served as a regular contributor to national periodicals including The New York Times Magazine, Sports Illustrated, The Saturday Evening Post, and McCalls. In 1993, he was named a Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.

Baker wrote or edited seventeen books. Baker's first Pulitzer Prize was given to him for distinguished commentary for his Observer columns (1979), and the second one for his autobiography (for his column). In 1989, he wrote The Good Times, a sequel to his autobiography. Poor Russell's Almanac (1972), An American in Washington (1961), No Cause for Panic (1964), and Other Impression of the American Dream (1972) Among his columns are An American in Washington (1961), An American in Washington (1961), and Other Ances of the American Imagination (2002) and several anthologies of his columns. He edited The Norton Book of Light Verse (1986) and Russell Baker's Book of American Humor (1993).

Baker wrote the libretto for the 1979 musical play Home Again, Home Again, starring Ronny Cox, Cy Coleman, lyrics by Barbara Fried, choreography by Onna White, and direction by Gene Saks. The American Shakespeare Theatre in Stratford, Connecticut, had a disappointing tryout but the production was unable to make it to Broadway. In a 1994 interview with the Hartford Courant, Baker said, "it was a wonderful experience." "Really sad but amusing." I was sad [the show] ended because I was having such a good time. But one is enough."

Baker took over Alistair Cooke as the PBS television presenter of the PBS television series Masterpiece Theatre in 1993. "That's talking-head stuff," he said. "Television is more difficult than I expected it to be." I can't bear to look at myself. I wished that I was a charming, witty, and handsome young man, but here's this fidgeting old fellow whose hair is parted on the wrong side."

He narrated Ric Burns' documentary The Way West for The American Experience on PBS in 1995.

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Awards and honors

• 1978 – George Polk Award for Commentary
• 1979 – Pulitzer Prize Winner in Commentary
• 1983 – Pulitzer Prize Winner in Biography
• 1993 – Golden Plate Award of the American Academy of Achievement
• 1998 – George Polk Award for Career Achievements
• Baltimore City College Hall of Fame