“Vangie” broke into radio as a girl singer. She later hosted and produced programs on KPO and KGO before becoming one of the first stars of KGO-TV. She also served as a mentor to countless young people entering the broadcasting industry over the years.
When Sacramento’s KROY went on the air in 1937, Baker played a key role in the launch of her hometown’s second radio station. Her contralto voice was part of KROY’s in-house quartet, The Royalists–named after station founder Royal Miller. In the 40’s, KROY advertising described her as the station’s “First Lady of the Microphone” as well as “California’s foremost fashion commentator”.
By the time of World War 2, she’d developed a strong reputation as an interviewer and commentator. She had quite a work ethic, too: she once reportedly produced 29 live interviews in a single week. The Sacramento Union reported in a 1947 feature that Baker had decided she was afraid of sounding “sing-song” if she used carefully-prepared scripts, so she worked exclusively ad-lib.
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