Barker, Margaret, 1908-1992

Actress, director, writer and producer, Margaret Taylor Baker was born in Baltimore, Md. October 10, 1908, to the physician Dr. Llewellys Franklin Barker and his wife Lillian.

"Beany," as she was nicknamed, attended the Calvert and Bryn Mawr Schools in Baltimore and then Bryn Mawr College for two years. After her Broadway debut in 1928, she pursued an acting career that spanned five and a half decades and included founding membership in the Group Theatre (1931), work with the Southampton Playhouse (1938), Hilltop Theatre (1941), ANTA Experimental Theatre (1947-1949), Williamstown Theatre Festival (ca. 1959-1967), Manhattan Theatre Club (1977), New Haven's Long Wharf Theatre Company (1981) and the Eugene O'Neill Center in New London, Conn (1982) along with many others. She also acted in numerous live television dramas in the early 1950s and later appeared in a number of soap operas. Ms. Barker was also involved as a director and producer throughout her entire theatrical life and in 1938 she founded the Studio Workshop Theatre with the dancer Felicia Sorel and actor and teacher Frank Westbrook. This school lasted until 1941. Her writings include plays, short stories, poetry and non-fiction pieces. A few of her plays were produced, though none achieved any public success.

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