- Born
- Died
- Birth nameRoy Horace Baker
- Roy Ward Baker's first job in films was as a teaboy at the Gainsborough Studios in London, England, but within three years he was working as an assistant director. During World War II, he worked in the Army Kinematograph Unit under Eric Ambler, a writer and film producer, who, after the war, gave Baker his first opportunity to direct a film, The October Man (1947). He then went to Hollywood in 1952 and stayed for seven years, returning to Britain in 1958, when he directed one of his best films, A Night to Remember (1958). During the 1960s and 1970s, Baker directed a number of horror films for Hammer and Amicus. He also directed in British television, especially during the latter part of his career.
- IMDb mini biography by: Lyn Hammond
- SpousesJoan Davies(February 14, 1948 - ?) (divorced, 1 child)Muriel Bradford (divorced)
- Directed "The Anniversary" at short notice after the original director, Alvin Rakoff, was dismissed due to Bette Davis' refusal to work with him when he insisted on using television techniques. Davis later said, "Mr. Baker saved that movie". It appeared in cinemas only a month or two after Baker's previous movie, "Quatermass And The Pit".
- Sold his production files and letters at auction in 2002/2003.
- Was hired to direct Hammer Films' Five Million Years to Earth (1967) after Val Guest turned it down due to other commitments.
- Fought for the British during World War II.
- For the last decade of his life worked as an occasional guest lecturer in Film Studies at Roehampton University, London.
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