Richard Evans "Two Ton" Baker (May 2, 1916 – May 4, 1975) was an American singer and entertainer who was a prominent Chicago radio and television personality for three decades; the 1940s to the 1960s.

[3] He attended high school at Morton and Fenger in Chicago, where he was known to cut classes for musical opportunities.

[4] Baker's full-time professional entertaining career began in 1938, playing for night clubs with notable dates at the Chicago Theatre and the Riverside in Milwaukee.

[1][5] In 1939 he began a job as a disc jockey at radio station WJJD with a two-hour show entitled Sunday Morning Party, while also performing at the 1111 Club.

[1][4] It was early in his radio career that he was given the entertainment name "Two Ton" by a fellow radio-station employee.

[4] Baker could not pass a physical to enter the armed forces during World War II, but as he gained fame he began entertaining troops at Soldier Field.

[7] Mercury Records and had a double-sided hit in 1947 when "Near You" reached #12, and "I'm a Lonely Little Petunia (In An Onion Patch)" peaked at #21.

[14] The show was praised for Baker's performances and a well-placed set, but it suffered from poor script writing and microphone placement.

[14] Although drawing an adult audience as well as the children it was aimed at, Wonder House was cancelled after five months because of the excessive production costs.

[15] Baker was featured on cover of Billboard magazine in February 1949, noting his release "Roll the Patrol Closer to the Curb".

[24][25] Baker held the top two spots for in the children's category in Billboard's 1948 poll of disk-jockey's favorite records.

In addition to his kiddie records, and children's television shows, he made numerous personal appearances at orphanages, beginning in 1945.

[27] Although known for his children's and novelty work, he also shared billing with Count Basie, Dave Brubeck, Gene Krupa, and George Shearing in a non-Christmas concert at the Blue Note.

^ "Squawky"'s back-story was that the bird had an absolutely filthy vocabulary acquired from time spent on a Danish vessel.