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Belle Baker (25 December 1893 or 1895, New York City, New York – 29 April 1957, Los Angeles, California) was an American singer and actress. Popular throughout the 1910s and 1920s, Baker introduced a number of ragtime and torch songs including Irving Berlin's "Blue Skies" and "My Yiddishe Mama". She performed in the Ziegfeld Follies and introduced a number of Irving Berlin's songs. An early adapter to radio, Baker hosted her own radio show during the 1930s. Eddie Cantor called her “Dinah Shore, Patti Page, Peggy Lee, Judy Garland all rolled into one.” Baker was born Bella Becker in... MORE

Belle Baker (25 December 1893 or 1895, New York City, New York – 29 April 1957, Los Angeles, California) was an American singer and actress. Popular throughout the 1910s and 1920s, Baker introduced a number of ragtime and torch songs including Irving Berlin's "Blue Skies" and "My Yiddishe Mama". She performed in the Ziegfeld Follies and introduced a number of Irving Berlin's songs. An early adapter to radio, Baker hosted her own radio show during the 1930s. Eddie Cantor called her “Dinah Shore, Patti Page, Peggy Lee, Judy Garland all rolled into one.” Baker was born Bella Becker in 1893 to a Russian Jewish family. Baker started performing Cannon Street Music Hall at age 11, where she was discovered by the Yiddish Theatre manager Jacob Adler. She then was managed in vaudeville by Lew Leslie, who she would later marry. She made her vaudeville debut in Scranton, Pennsylvania at the age of 15. She performed in Hammerstein’s 'Victoria' in 1911, though her performance was panned, mainly for her song choices. One critic, Z. f Zeitel took Baker under his wing and by the age of 17 she was a headliner. One of her earliest hits was, "Cohen Owes Me $97". By 1917 she was a top headliner in New LESS