He was best known for his stage work in regional repertory theatre and for his role as tightwad banker Farley Waters on the short-lived 1980–81 CBS sitcom Flo, a spin-off of Alice.
His first foray into acting came as a student while attending the University of Montana where he spent his summers performing at the Oregon Shakespeare Festival and the Bigfork Playhouse.
[1] Following his debut as a soccer coach in the low-budget comedy film Manny's Orphans, Baker and his wife Mary moved to Los Angeles in 1979 where he was soon cast as the greedy and obnoxious banker Farley Waters opposite Polly Holliday on the short-lived CBS sitcom Flo (1980–81), a spin-off of Alice.
In 1995, Baker returned to the Milwaukee Repertory Theater where he began his career 24 years before and continued to work there until 2006, when he injured his back while rehearsing for the lead role in a production of King Lear.
[2] Baker, who suffered from lung and heart disease, died on February 4, 2014, after collapsing at a Montana hotel where he and his wife were staying.