Trivia

In a floral tribute sent to Stanley Baker's funeral, Zulu leader Chief Mangosuthu Buthelezi who had worked with him in Zulu (1964) described him as "the most decent white man I have ever met".

Awarded a knighthood in Harold Wilson's resignation Honour's List in June 1976. At the time his knighthood was announced, Baker thought he had beaten his lung cancer following surgery in February of that year. However, although the tumour in his lung had been removed, it had spread into his chest and attached itself to his heart. Since no further surgery was possible, he had only a maximum of nine weeks to live anyway. Three weeks after the announcement of his knighthood, Baker was hospitalized in Spain with pneumonia. As he had died without making the journey to be formally knighted at Buckingham Palace, he cannot be referred to as Sir Stanley, but Queen Elizabeth II agreed that his widow Ellen Martin could use the title "Lady Baker".

Although he regretted not accepting the part of James Bond himself, Baker was a friend of and outspoken admirer of Sir Sean Connery's work in the role.

He was a close friend of Richard Burton from childhood until they fell out in 1967.

At his peak he earned £120,000 for each film he made, at a time when the average house cost just £3,000. He owned a large house in London and a holiday villa in Spain, while his children attended private schools in England.

He was offered the role of James Bond in Dr. No (1962), but turned it down because he was unwilling to commit to a three-picture contract. Baker may have regretted this decision, since a few years later he asked producer Albert R. Broccoli about the possibility of playing a villain in a Bond movie.

At the beginning of his career, he was typecast as villains until Laurence Olivier invited him to play Henry Tudor in Richard III (1955).

At the beginning of his career, he struggled to break into films, but a few days before his 22nd birthday he was given the role of the bosun in Captain Horatio Hornblower (1951).

Turned down many Hollywood offers during the 1950s because he wanted to keep the British film industry going. Nevertheless, he was much in demand for American films. The producers of Helen of Troy (1956) were so desperate to cast him that they did not mind which part he played.

At one point, Stanley Baker gave fellow actor Sean Connery a place to live as the latter was virtually homeless at the time. Connery stayed with the Baker family for about a week.

Got along well with American actors Robert Mitchum, Edward G. Robinson and Alan Ladd. The feeling was mutual.

The part that would have been played by Baker in Zulu Dawn (1979) was enacted by Burt Lancaster.

He was considered for the role of James Bond in Dr. No (1962) before his Hell Drivers (1957) co-star Sean Connery was cast.

His favorite director (and close friend) was Joseph Losey, who, in turn, claimed that Baker was one of his two favorite leading men, the other being Dirk Bogarde. Bogarde worked with him on five films, Baker on four. However, when Losey cast both of them in Accident (1967), the last film he did with either one, he insisted that they had greatly disliked each other. (After Baker's death, Bogarde insisted that he had, in fact, been "very fond of him"; the two actors had worked together previously in Campbell's Kingdom (1957).

Faded into relative obscurity until recently, now that DVD and Blu Ray releases of his films have ensured Stanley Baker a new fan following.

Once had an altercation with Cary Grant at a bar in London.

His wife Ellen and Richard Burton believed Baker's performance in How Green Was My Valley (1975) was so good because he was playing his own father.

His father lost a leg in an accident in the mine and was thereafter unemployed until the Second World War took men away into the services. His elder brother Freddie, a miner, died of pneumoconiosis early in 1976 after many years of debilitation and sickness.

Although born in Wales, Baker spent most of his formative years in England since his parents moved to London in the mid-1930s.

Baker served in the Royal Army Service Corps from 1946-1948.

Initially, some of the American actors were a bit wary about working with Stanley Baker, owing to his being British and their thinking he would be a condescending snob. However, when they realized he was much more of a straight-talking, direct person the working atmosphere was more relaxed.

Was a heavy smoker throughout his life, until ill health in the early 1970s forced him to stop.

During his frequent collaborations with American directors Cy Endfield and Joseph Losey, both men remarked how there was never a contract signing between them and Stanley Baker. They said the actor's word and handshake were all that was needed.

Wore a full hairpiece from the mid 1950s onwards in his films.

At the time of his death he had been planning to play a rapist in a film, with his Zulu (1964) co-star Michael Caine playing a detective.

He had intended to produce Zulu Dawn (1979).

He was warned not to address a CND rally prior to the release of Zulu (1964), in case his left-wing political activism hurt the film's performance in the United States.

With the success of The Concrete Jungle (1960), Baker all but displaced his polar opposite Dirk Bogarde to become Britain's most popular star. However, Zulu (1964) was his last huge success. His career was damaged by the commercial failure of Sands of the Kalahari (1965) and Robbery (1967), although the latter received favourable reviews.

In May 1972 he was one of the co-organisers of the Great Western Bardney Pop Festival in Lincoln.

He formed Diamond Films for the making of Zulu (1964). And later Oakhurst Productions.

Had a splendid Welsh singing voice that he used on screen once, in Joseph Losey's 1962 film, "Eva.".

From the late 1950s till the mid 1960s, Stanley Baker was one of the biggest film stars in Britain. By the end of the decade, he had started to fade from public memory.

A dedicated socialist, he made political broadcasts for Harold Wilson's Labour Party in Wales and was active in the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament (CND).

In November 2006, a lounge dedicated to his life and work was opened by his widow, Lady Ellen Baker and his sons at Ferndale Rugby club in the village of his birth.

His breakthrough as an actor came in 1950 in Christopher Fry's anti-war play "A Sleep of Prisoners" alongside Denholm Elliott and Leonard White. The production later toured the United States.

He was passionate about rugby.

In spite of his rugged features, the actor tended to display a more sensitive side in some of his films.

He once made insulting remarks about Cary Grant's sexuality at a party for Alma Cogan.

He was awarded the freedom of Ferndale, and in a ceremony which he attended in 1970, the local council placed a plaque on the house where he was born.

Set up his own film company, called "Diamond Films Ltd." After making a profit on one movie ("Zulu"), the company produced a few flops and then it went out of business.

Baker stated in at least two filmed interviews that his best fight scene (to date) was with Patrick McGoohan in the film "Hell Drivers". Both men had boxing experience and when it was all over ended up bloody with some loose teeth.

American directors Joseph Losey and Cy Endfield admired and respected Stanley Baker, among other reasons, for being a man of honor in his contracts with them. For either director, the actor's word and handshake was all they needed.

In his early acting days, he was a member of Birmingham Repertory Company with Paul Scofield and Dennis Quilley.

Bore a striking resemblance to his contemporary fellow actor, Australian Rod Taylor.

Was on very good terms with the Richardson gangsters and helped to smuggle one of them out of the country.

Specialized in British crime films, from Film Noir to Neo Noir, cop films or heist pictures.

Died of cancer in hospital in Malaga Spain.

Sporadically worked with two American blacklisted directors working/living in England: Joseph Losey and most famously Cy Endfield.

Later in his career as a former A-list movie actor, he appeared in Italian movies or British TV-movies.

When not starring in British movies, he would occasionally be featured in American mainstream films but with smaller roles, like The Guns of Navarone and before that, The Angry Hills.