[3] Bakey was born in Havre de Grace, Maryland, and moved to Baltimore at an early age.
[4][5] He attended Baltimore City College, graduating in 1943,[5] and began his acting career in 1945 at the Hilltop Theatre.
[4][5] In 1957 he appeared on the CBS television station WJZ-TV as the clown "Pop-Pop" in The Jack Wells Show.
He guest-starred in television programs including Gunsmoke,[5] Mission: Impossible, The F.B.I., The Big Valley,[5] Bonanza, The Streets of San Francisco, Cannon, Cimarron Strip, Dundee and the Culhane,[5] The Guns of Will Sonnett, Night Gallery, Police Woman, One Day at a Time, Hill Street Blues and Star Trek.
[3] Bakey’s film credits include The White Buffalo, Zapped!, Darktown Strutters, The Evil, Heaven with a Gun, For Pete's Sake, The Baltimore Bullet and Telefon.