Joseph N. "Joby" Baker (March 26, 1934 – June 22, 2026) was a Canadian-born American actor and painter. As an actor, he was best known for his lighthearted, low-key comedy roles, including the lead role in the short-lived sitcom Good Morning World.
Early life
Baker was born in Montreal, Quebec, on March 26, 1934. He relocated to the then-territory of Hawaii with his father when his mother died shortly after he was born. His sobriquet Joby is a shortening of "Jobela," the nickname his father bestowed upon him in childhood. On December 7, 1941, during the bombing of Pearl Harbor, the house he lived in was hit by friendly fire in the immediate aftermath. Baker lived most of his childhood in Oahu, Hawaii then moved to New York City to attend school. While in the U.S. Army, he entertained troops.
Career
An early role in Baker's career was in a 1958 episode of The George Burns and Gracie Allen Show, "Ronnie Makes A Record", where he was cast as a recording studio vocalist. In the early 1960s, he made guest appearances on many television series. In 1962, he appeared on Perry Mason as Kenneth Carter in "The Case of the Bogus Books". He appeared as a semi-regular in the first season of the WWII TV series Combat! as Pvt. Kelly.
Other television series appearances included The Alfred Hitchcock Hour, Dr. Kildare and The Dick Van Dyke Show. In 1967, a year after The Dick Van Dyke Show ended, Baker was chosen by CBS to be Van Dyke's successor in what was originally pitched as The Joby Baker Show; Baker strongly objected to the title since he did not want his name attached to a show that could have been a career-defining flop. The series eventually was named Good Morning World; it followed a similar premise to Van Dyke's show, except centered around a radio show instead of television. Good Morning World ended after a single season in 1968. In 1960, he co-starred with Jack Lemmon and Ricky Nelson in The Wackiest Ship in the Army. He appeared in the Elvis Presley movie Girl Happy (1965), When the Boys Meet the Girls (1965), and in all three Gidget movies.
In 1967, Baker was cast as a travelling magician, Dr. William Davis, in the episode "The Saga of Dr. Davis" on the syndicated series Death Valley Days, hosted by Robert Taylor. Judi Meredith played his wife, Jenny, whose death leads him to take an adopted son, Tad, on his remaining westward journeys. Baker began a long association with Walt Disney Studios where he appeared in The Adventures of Bullwhip Griffin (1967), Blackbeard's Ghost (1968), and Superdad (1974). This was followed by a succession of character roles, including an appearance in an episode of the 1973 situation comedy A Touch of Grace and a stint as "Colonel Marvin" on the 1980 sitcom The Six O'Clock Follies. Baker was in Avalanche (1978).
Baker largely left acting after marrying Dory Previn in 1984; he felt that he did not have the temperament or personality to be a full-time actor.
Personal life and death
Baker first married Joan Blackman, whom he met in drama school in 1959 and divorced in 1961. He married Joyce Harriet Winter in 1961 and divorced in 1975. In 1984, Baker married lyricist and songwriter Dory Previn. He illustrated The Dory Previn Songbook, published in 1995.
Baker, in 1984, stopped acting and established himself as a painter, sculptor and jewelry artisan. He and Previn moved to Southfield, Massachusetts. Baker was inspired by his wife, Previn. Previn died in 2012. He married Megan Moore in 2014.
Baker died at a hospital in Yonkers, New York, on June 22, 2026, at the age of 92, ten days after his co-star Ronnie Schell from Good Morning World died, at the age of 94.
