Stuart Daniel Baker (November 7, 1954), better known by his stage name Unknown Hinson, is an American singer, musician, songwriter, comedian, and actor.

Biography

Stuart Daniel Baker, a music teacher and studio musician from Albemarle, North Carolina, created his alter-ego for ''The Wild Wild South'', a Charlotte-area public-access program that featured comedy sketches and concert footage. Baker and co-star Don Swan played the characters of Unknown Hinson and Rebel Helms, respectively. After Swan's death in 1995, Baker created ''The Unknown Hinson Show'', a direct spin-off of ''The Wild Wild South''. ''The Unknown Hinson Show'' won Creative Loafing Charlotte's "Best Of" poll for Best Public-Access Television Show four years in a row. After the series ended, Baker continued in his role as Unknown Hinson, performing live concerts and releasing several recordings.

Career

Live performing career

Hinson has shared the stage with many notable

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, and psychobilly acts such as

The Reverend Horton Heat The Reverend Horton Heat is the stage name of American musician James C. Heath (born 1959) as well as the name of his Dallas, Texas-based psychobilly trio. Heath is a singer, songwriter and guitarist. A ''Prick'' magazine reviewer called Heath ...

, Marty Stuart, Hank III, and

Ed King Edward Calhoun King (September 14, 1949 – August 22, 2018) was an American musician. He was a guitarist for the psychedelic rock band Strawberry Alarm Clock and guitarist and bassist for the Southern rock band Lynyrd Skynyrd from 1972 to 1975 ...

. Hank III, grandson of Hank Williams, has Hinson's face tattooed on his biceps. In late 2008, working under his real name of Stuart Baker, Hinson was hired to play bass as well as lead guitar in Billy Bob Thornton's band The Boxmasters. For this gig, Baker appears without the familiar Unknown Hinson wardrobe and makeup, instead appearing in a vintage '60s suit, white shirt, and black pencil tie. His manager and booking agent was his wife, Margo Baker. According to a November 10, 2012, post on his Facebook page, Hinson decided to quit touring after 17 years. His last three shows were

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, on November 17 in

Covington, Kentucky Covington is a home rule-class city in Kenton County, Kentucky, United States, located at the confluence of the Ohio and Licking Rivers. Cincinnati, Ohio, lies to its immediate north across the Ohio and Newport, to its east across the Licking ...

. He cited rising costs and indicated his plans to find something new to do. After the death of his wife, Margo Baker, Unknown Hinson resumed touring again. On June 3, 2020, Baker announced on his Facebook page that he wouldn't be playing any more shows, due to

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Recording career

Unknown Hinson wrote his own music, and produced all of his own recordings. His music often parodied the dark elements of contemporary country and redneck culture. In early 2009, Hinson's "Torture Town" won in The 8th Annual Independent Music Awards and Vox Pop vote for Best Alternative Country.

Voice acting career

Hinson, credited as Baker, provided the voice of Early Cuyler, a balding hillbilly squid from

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, on Cartoon Network's late night

Adult Swim Adult Swim (AS; stylized as dult swim'' and often abbreviated as s'') is an American adult-oriented night-time cable television channel that shares channel space with the basic cable network Cartoon Network and is programmed by its in-house ...

program ''

Squidbillies ''Squidbillies'' is an American animated television series created by Jim Fortier and Dave Willis for Cartoon Network's late night programming block, Adult Swim. An unofficial pilot for the series aired on April 1, 2005. The series later made ...

'' for 15 years.

Dolly Parton controversy and fallout

On August 13, 2020, Baker received backlash after posting controversial remarks about

Dolly Parton Dolly Rebecca Parton (born January 19, 1946) is an American singer-songwriter, actress, philanthropist, and businesswoman, known primarily for her work in country music. After achieving success as a songwriter for others, Parton made her album d ...

, calling her a "bimbo" and "slut" on his Facebook page in response to a recent news article concerning Parton's support of the

Black Lives Matter Black Lives Matter (abbreviated BLM) is a decentralized political and social movement that seeks to highlight racism, discrimination, and racial inequality experienced by black people. Its primary concerns are incidents of police br ...

movement. Not long after this post, the Facebook page went offline, but returned on the following day with the posts concerning Parton removed. Baker subsequently posted a response to those who were upset, saying "Leave Liberals", calling them "UN-AMERICAN", stating that they "bow down to the ALL-KNOWING-MINORITY", and telling them to have fun "forsaking your own race, culture, and heritage." The producers of ''Squidbillies'' fired Baker from the series over his remarks. Reverend Guitars of Ohio abruptly stopped marketing their Stuart Baker signature series guitars on August 14, 2020 and posted, "we are no longer associated with Unknown Hinson. We have stopped production on his guitars and we have removed him from our website."

Works

Discography

Filmography

References

External links

Official Facebook pagePaper + Wire Magazine: An Interview with Unknown Hinson
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hinson, Unknown Alter egos American country singer-songwriters American male singer-songwriters Psychobilly musicians American rockabilly guitarists Independent Music Awards winners 1954 births Singer-songwriters from North Carolina American male voice actors 21st-century American male actors Male actors from North Carolina People from Albemarle, North Carolina Science fiction fans Country musicians from North Carolina Living people