Shy Baldwin

**Dwayne Baldwin** more commonly known by his stage name **Shy Baldwin** is a singer and a minor character in Season 2 in *The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel.* He has a larger role in Season 3 after he asks Midge to be the opening act for his tour. In Season 4, he's back to being a minor character.

## Physical Appearance

**Shy Baldwin** has dark eyes, close-cropped hair, and a slight gap between his front teeth. He wears a sharp suit and a tie when performing, though offstage he shows a preference for polo shirts and khakis. In the luxury of his own rooms, he dons expensive-looking robes and enjoys the luxurious perks of stardom.

## Personality

With his familiars, **Shy Baldwin** is laid back, even playful at times. He jokingly describes his friend and manager Reggie as an overpaid babysitter. Albeit being well-liked, Shy has a bit of a temper and slight anger-management issues, often described as "a drama queen" by his peers.

His short fuse often leads him to make poorly thought-out decisions. In the episode *Kind of Bleu*, the Silver Bells fume over being fired by him for undisclosed reasons, to which his bass player Carole replies, "If I had a quarter every time I got fired by Shy, I wouldn't have to work for Shy anymore."

In front of the press and unfamiliar faces, he makes a show of being a playboy, jokingly flirting with Midge and hinting at a relationship with an undisclosed girl. His attitude when performing ranges from a bouncy sway ("One Less Angel") to a more somber stance ("No One Has to Know"), depending on what song he is performing.

## Background

### **Character History**

**Shy Baldwin** is a famous singer introduced in **Season 2**.

### Season 2

Shy is first introduced when Midge spots him at the Arthritis Charity Fundraiser in the episode Vote for Kennedy, Vote for Kennedy*.* He is formally introduced when Midge runs into him in the women's bathroom at the Fundraiser. When Midge mentions she is a comedian, he tells her that he can't stand Sophie Lennon and "that cracker comedy of hers." After watching Midge perform at the fundraiser, he calls her the day after, when she readily agrees to his offer to open for him on a national tour.

### Season 3

Midge goes on tour with Shy. In Strike up the Band, she is seen with him, performing for the U.S. Army with the Silver Bells. Throughout the season, Shy opens up to Midge, often flirting with her and asking if she is single, hinting in the audience of a future romance between the two. This later is proved to be a false lead, however, when he drunkenly alludes to being gay in the episode Kind of Bleu.

In the episode Kind of Bleu, Shy is nowhere to be found hours before the show. When Midge asks the band where he was, they shrug it off, saying that he was being dramatic and will be back. Concerned, Midge hikes back to the small yacht he had rented, where she finds him bruised up, drunk, and alone. Shy tells her that he had been drinking at a bar and brought back a date who beat him up and left, coming out as gay in the process.

He asks her to keep his sexuality a secret, knowing it would destroy his career if news got out. He also shows to care much more about Reggie than he initially let on when he drunkenly cries that he "told Reggie it wouldn't happen again, I promised." Midge covers his bruises with makeup, and they go back to the venue together, where he performs a 'stool set' where he sings sitting. Shy sings "No One Has to Know": a blue, longing song. When Reggie storms backstage to watch him behind the wings, Shy knowingly looks back at him for a moment's pause. The relationship between Shy and Reggie is ultimately platonic, although the episode leaves some questions.

In A Jewish Girl Walks Into the Apollo..., Midge opens once again for Shy at the Apollo Theater, for a Christmas event in the middle of his tour break. She is worried about what she should base her set upon, to which Reggie replies, "[the audience] loves Shy. Talk about Shy."

Midge takes this advice literally when she makes several jokes that compared Shy to a gay man, though not seriously intending to call him out. Later on, when she and Susie are about to board the tour plane, Reggie meets them outside the door and tells them that Midge will no longer be opening for Shy because of her allusions to his sexuality through jokes she made during her routine at the Apollo.

When Midge insists on seeing Shy, Reggie nearly breaks down, saying that "Shy is my boy. I'm supposed to protect him." Reggie also explains to Midge she and Shy were not friends, and simply just on tour together. The season ends with Midge and Susie ultimately not boarding the plane.

### Season 4

In the episode Billy Jones And The Orgy Lamps, whilst Midge is in her apartment, she sees on the tv the news that Shy is getting married, having proposed to her whilst in Paris, in front of 3000 fans. The reporters mention too, that the wedding will happen in New York, during a break in his European tour.

In the episode How To Chew Quietly And Influence People, Shy has his wedding where both Midge and Susie attend, after accidentally getting invites.

As a first dance between him and his new wife, Monica, Shy gets his good friend, Harry Belafonte to sing a song in dedication to Monica called, *"Maybe Monica."*

Sometime after food and dancing, Shy goes to powder his nose, where Midge follows him in, surprising him. They hadn't seen each other for a while, and it's at this point, that Midge finally apologizes for what she said.

## Trivia

* Rose Weissman is a huge fan of his and she can sing his entire Christmas album in Yiddish.
* Midge is the only person on tour who knows his real name.