William Edward Baekey (November 13, 1925^[1] – May 4, 1988)^[2] was an American film and television actor.^[3]

Bakey was born in Havre de Grace, Maryland, and moved to Baltimore at an early age.^[4][5] He attended Baltimore City College, graduating in 1943,^[5] and began his acting career in 1945 at the Hilltop Theatre.^[4] He later moved to New York to perform at the Provincetown Playhouse.^[4] He then worked as an announcer for the television station WBAL-TV and as a director for a radio station.^[4][5] In 1957 he appeared on the CBS television station WJZ-TV as the clown "Pop-Pop" in The Jack Wells Show.^[6][4][5] He also played the folk singer Eddie Greensleeve in Mike Wallace's program.^[7]

In 1966, he played George Beenstock in the Broadway play Walking Happy.^[5][8] Bakey returned to television work in 1967, appearing in the western television series Death Valley Days. He guest-starred in television programs including Gunsmoke,^[5] Mission: Impossible, The F.B.I., The Big Valley,^[5] Bonanza, The Streets of San Francisco, Cannon, Cimarron Strip, Dundee and the Culhane,^[5] The Guns of Will Sonnett, Night Gallery, Police Woman, One Day at a Time, Hill Street Blues and Star Trek.^[3]

Bakey’s film credits include The White Buffalo, Zapped!, Darktown Strutters, The Evil, Heaven with a Gun, For Pete's Sake, The Baltimore Bullet and Telefon.^[3] In 1973, he appeared in the film The Sting.^[3][9] His final film credit was for the 1984 film The Philadelphia Experiment.^[3]

Bakey died in May 1988 in Los Angeles, California, at the age of 62.^[10]