As the limousine pulled up outside the Crown Casino on Logies night the crowd erupted to the announcement that the visiting American T V star had arrived. But when Devonport’s Barry Baker stepped on to the footpath there was stunned silence – until ‘The Guardian’ star and honoured Logies guest, Simon Baker, emerged . Barry, Simon’s father, was at the Logies as his celebrated son’s "date" for the night .

 

Mind you, a glance at the accompanying photograph would indicate why the spectators were somewhat confused. But he was not there to bathe in the reflected light of his famous son’s achievements. He was there because Simon was keen for his Dad to accompany him – as his "date". Barry Baker is proud of his son’s achievements. But he does not wear his son’s fame on his sleeve.

 

On the contrary, there are many people in Devonport who, until now, knew nothing of the connection – and that is how Barry likes it as he does not want to intrude on his son’s career. Barry said he had a great night at the Logies, sitting on the Channel 10 table and he thoroughly enjoyed the attention given to his son, named one of the leading sex symbols in the industry, whose T V series is a top rated show in America.

 

Simon is a son of Barry’s first marriage and he admits he would have liked to have seen more of him in the earlier years. However, in more recent times they have kept in fairly close contact – mainly because of Simon’s enthusiasm to maintain close family ties.

 

"Simon was 19 when he secured a modeling job which brought him to Tasmania. He made a point of visiting my wife Pam and myself and since then we have been pretty close", he said. "Family is important to him". Barry said he did not intrude into his son’s life but admitted he was tremendously proud of what he had done.

 

"I am still amazed that he has been able to succeed without having had any formal acting training", he said. "But he is meticulous in preparing for each role he plays. For instance, he had a small part in an Australian production in which he was a wood chopper. So he made a special visit to world champion David Foster to learn what he should do. "I am sure that is the kind of dedication that has made him so successful."

 

However, Barry is no more proud of Simon than he is of his daughter, also by his first marriage, Terri, a Melbourne General Practitioner, or the children of his current marriage to Pam, Luke, 20 and Megan, 22. Barry Baker came to Tasmania when his step father told him Launceston was paved with gold .

 

He never found the gold. However, he fell in love with Tasmania because he had noticed that people were prepared to get in and do things for themselves. "For instance, in Melbourne if anyone wanted to go into car racing they got someone to build them a car. But in Tasmania they pitched in and built it themselves", he said.

 

"I was also impressed that if you achieved anything, in sport or business, you were recognised for your achievements. "It was not what I was used to ".

 

Barry married in 1966 when he was 21. They left Launceston in 1970 and moved to New Guinea (as a transport Officer) because he had read there the "mountains were paved with gold" (sound familiar? ) .

 

At the time Simon was only nine months old and their daughter Terri two and a half. Simon, incidentally, is fascinated by the parallels between his life and that of the late Legendary, Errol Flynn. Flynn was also born in Launceston and spent some of his early years in New Guinea.

 

New Guinea, however, was not a place in which it was easy for a young couple to build a marriage and the union unfortunately broke up. Barry spent the next couple of years as a foot loose bachelor in Melbourne before he returned to Launceston and met the calming influence on his life, his present wife Pam.

 

He and Pam spent the next four years in Savage River, where Pam taught at the school and he worked as a fitter. In 1979 they moved to Devonport where they bought a 32-foot (10 metres) yacht – he says he has always been keen on sailing. This led to Barry becoming a crew member of Screw Loose, which startled the yachting world by winning handicap honours in the 1979 Sydney to Hobart Yacht Race. It was an achievement, which still brings a sparkle to his eye. Barry and Pam then took off on their own yacht spending 12 months as they sailed up and down the East Coast of Australia, Pam taking her long service leave.

 

On their return Pam taught at Reece High and Barry, a qualified motor mechanic, took odd jobs before working for Tim Moncreiff. He then spent 12 years with his good friend Doug Sheehan at Bowe, Sheehan Motors before the partners closed the business about four years ago. These days Pam is an Assistant Principal at Don College and Barry is a maintenance attendant.

 

When we spoke to him he was busy building the sets for the College’s next major musical production, "Carousel". He and Pam celebrated their 25th wedding anniversary last year and are more than content with their lot in Devonport.

 

He would, of course, like to see more of Simon and his wife and the three grand children – Stella, 10, Claude, 4, and Harry, 19 months (whom he met for the first time during his Logies visit to Melbourne).

 

He said Simon is "big" on family and is always asking about his ancestors. He is fascinated that there are (distant) relatives of the family dotted in many parts of Tasmania – even in Devonport.

 

Barry believes his son will eventually return to Australia, which Simon believes is a far better place than America in which to bring up his children. But there is the problem of his current contract with "The Guardian" and other commitments, which have to be attended to first.

 

However, Barry is certain of one thing, despite his considerable wealth and his success, Simon Baker will always remain the straight forward, down to earth person he has been since he was a youngster.