Rex 'Snowy' Baker

From Wikipedia the free encyclopedia Reginald Leslie Snowy Baker 8 February 1884 2 December 1953 was an Australian athlete sports promoter and actor Born in Surry Hills an innercity suburb of Sydney New South Wales Baker excelled at a number of sports winning New South Wales swimming and boxing championships while still a teenager Playing rugby union for Eastern Suburbs he played several games for New South Wales against Queensland and in 1904 represented Australia in two Test matches against Great Britain At the 1908 London Olympics Baker represented Australasia in swimming and diving as well as taking part in the middleweight boxing event in which he won a silver medal He also excelled in horsemanship water polo running rowing and cricket However His stature as an athlete depends largely upon the enormous range rather than the outstanding excellence of his activities it was as an entrepreneurshowman publicist and businessman that he seems in retrospect to have been most important Baker retired from competition after being injured in a motorvehicle accident and became involved in boxing promotion bringing a number of top fighters from North America and Europe to fight in Australia During this time he began to act in a number of silent film roles which showcased his horsemanship including The Enemy Within The Man from Kangaroo and The Shadow of Lightning Ridge In 1920 Baker left Australia for the United States where he became known as an entrepreneur and stunt coach He died in 1953 in Los Angeles California from cerebrovascular disease Baker became Australias darling of the screen when his silent movie career took off His movies included The Enemy Within The Man from Kangaroo and The Shadow of Lightning Ridge During this same time he was also writing and editing a publication titled Snowy Bakers Magazine For many years until he settled in the United States Baker was Australias leading actor and matinee idol