Philipa Baker, 1932 – 2026

Australian actress Philipa Baker, 93, died on Sept. 26. She was best known for her work in soap operas (both radio and TV), such as Number 96, Blue Hills, and The Young Doctors. From the 1950s-80s, she appeared in the TV shows (and TV-movies) Family Album, The Hungry Ones, Division 4, The Godfathers, The Norman Gunston Show, Five Mile Creek, and The True Believers, as well as turning up in the films A Test of Love and Young Einstein. Onstage, Baker acted in such plays as The Glass Menagerie, The Cherry Orchard, Hedda Gabler, and A Streetcar Named Desire. Baker recalled her early days in soaps as “happiest time of my life. Being young and having everyone around you sharing the same enthusiasm for the same thing. I think it’s necessary for everyone to have a mad enthusiasm when they’re young.”