CLAIRE POOLE

As a girl growing up in Kogarah, Claire Poole (born in 1928) took dancing lessons and also studied singing and the piano. Her professional career began on radio 2CH, followed in 1950 by a role with ABC radio. Married at 25 to singer Stephen Baker, better known by his stage name Richard Gray, they travelled to London where among other roles, she played piano at the London Palladium and had her first television appearance.

Back in Australia, where television was in its infancy, she formed The Claire Poole Singers, initially a group of eight which grew to 20; in 1961 they provided the musical background to a new Channel Seven series, Revue '61 followed a year later by Revue '62 working with Australian stars such as Barry Crocker and visiting performers like Shirley Bassey and Ethel Merman. Over the years, she worked on Channel Ten with the Mike Walsh Show and Barry Crocker's Sound of Music. She has also taught singing and music to students at her home, but these days it is her son Simon Baker, who is the teacher, and who has also had a successful career as a singer.