Stanley Baker

STANLEY BAKER d1976. Welsh actor and film producer of the 1950-60s known for a string of gritty roles in film classics including ; Cruel Sea (1953) / Knights Of The Round Table (1953) / Richard III (1955) / Alexander The Great (1956) and The Guns Of Navarone (1961). However his best remembered role was as Lieutenant John Chard VC in Zulu (1964) alongside newcomer Michael Caine. Stanley Baker had a very strong personal interest in the historical events of the film and actually owned John Chard's original Victoria Cross and Zulu War Medal (won at the battle of Roukes Drift in 1879) after purchasing them in 1972. John Chard died of cancer aged just 49 in 1897. A lifelong heavy smoker, Stanley Baker himself died from lung cancer aged just 48 in 1976.