Russell Baker life and biography

Russell Wayne Baker is an American Pulitzer Prize-winning writer known for his satirical commentary and self-critical prose, as well as for his autobiography, Growing Up.

At the age of eleven as a self-professed bump on a log, he made the decision to become a writer since he figured "what writers did couldn't even be classified as work". He went on to become an essayist, journalist, and biographer, as well as the host of the PBS show Masterpiece Theatre from 1992 to 2004. Two-time Pulitzer Prize winner, Russell Baker, was the author of the nationally syndicated "Observer" column for the New York Times from 1962 to 1998. He was elected a Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in 1993. In addition, the noted journalist, humorist, essayist, and biographer has written or edited seventeen books. Baker's first Pulitzer was for distinguished commentary for his "Observer" columns (1979) and the second one was for his autobiography, Growing Up (192). He wrote a sequel to his autobiography in 1989, called The Good Times.

In addition to his regular column and numerous books, Baker has also edited the anthologies The Norton Book of Light Verse (1986) and Russell Baker's Book of American Humor (1993). In 1993, he replaced Alistair Cooke to become the regular host of the PBS television series, Masterpiece Theatre until his own retirement in 2004. During his long career, Baker was a regular contributor to national periodicals such as The New York Times Magazine, Sports Illustrated, Saturday Evening Post, and McCalls. While still hosting Masterpiece Theatre, he moved to Leesburg, Virginia (not far from his birthplace) where he remains.

Author of books:

An American in Washington (1961)
No Cause for Panic (1964)
Poor Russell's Almanac (1972)
So This Is Depravity (1980)
Growing Up (1982)
The Good Times (1989)

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