Joe Don Baker, Rugged Character Actor From ‘Walking Tall’ and James Bond Films, Dead at 89

Joe Don Baker, the prolific character actor who appeared in Seventies classics like Walking Tall and Junior Bonner and a trio of James Bond movies, has died at the age of 89.

The actor’s May 7 death was revealed in a Legacy.com obituary (via the Hollywood Reporter) that was posted by his “small but very close circle of friends who will miss him eternally.” No cause of death was provided.

The Groesbeck, Texas-born Baker was a college athlete before joining the U.S. Army, after which he moved to New York and studied at the Actor’s Studio. Baker’s career began with bit parts in movies and television (including an uncredited role in Cool Hand Luke) before landing a supporting role alongside Steve McQueen in the 1972 Western Junior Bonner.

The following year, Baker starred on the opposite side of the law in two of his most noteworthy roles: As real-life wrestler-turned-sheriff Buford Pusser in Walking Tall and a sadistic mob hitman out to get Walter Matthau in the neo-noir Charley Varrick.

Often playing tough-talking lawmen or villains, the following decade saw Baker appear in films like 1984’s The Natural, 1985’s Fletch, and 1988’s Criminal Law.

Baker also notably appeared in three James Bond films, albeit as two different characters on both sides of the law: After first portraying the villainous arms dealer Brad Whitaker in the Timothy Dalton-starring The Living Daylights in 1987, the actor returned to the 007 universe in both 1995’s GoldenEye and 1997’s Tomorrow Never Dies as Pierce Brosnan’s CIA associate Jack Wade.
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The actor would later go on to appear in films like Martin Scorsese’s 1991 remake of Cape Fear, Congo, Mars Attacks!, Joe Dirt, Reality Bites (playing the father of Winona Ryder’s character), and The Dukes of Hazzard. Baker’s last big-screen role was in the 2012 film Mud, where he played the father of Matthew McConaughey’s titular character. Baker retired from acting following that role, his Legacy obituary noted.

“As we say goodbye to Joe Don, we hold onto the memories and the love he shared with us,” his friends wrote. “Though he may no longer be with us in body, his spirit will always remain, a guiding light in the lives he touched. Rest in peace, Joe Don. You will be dearly missed but never forgotten.”