Joe Don Baker facts for kids

Joe Don Baker (February 12, 1936 – May 7, 2025) was an American actor, known for playing "tough guy" characters on both sides of the law. He established himself as an action star with supporting roles in the Westerns Guns of the Magnificent Seven (1969) and Wild Rovers (1971), before his breakthrough role as real-life Tennessee Sheriff Buford Pusser in the film Walking Tall (1973).

Throughout the 1970s and 1980s, Baker found success playing both leading and supporting roles, including a mafia hitman in Charley Varrick (1973), a brute force detective in Mitchell (1975), a legendary baseball player in The Natural (1984), a police chief in the Chevy Chase comedy Fletch (1985), and a morally dubious private investigator in Martin Scorsese's Cape Fear (1991). He was in three James Bond films, as both a villain and ally, portraying: Brad Whitaker in The Living Daylights (1987) with Timothy Dalton, and CIA agent Jack Wade in GoldenEye (1995) and Tomorrow Never Dies (1997) with Pierce Brosnan.

For his portrayal of offbeat CIA agent Darius Jedburgh in the BBC television serial Edge of Darkness (1985), he was nominated for a BAFTA TV Award for Best Actor. He was also nominated for a Satellite Award for Best Supporting Actor for playing Alabama governor Big Jim Folsom in the made-for-television film George Wallace (1997).

Early life and education

Baker was born in Groesbeck, Texas, the son of Edna (née McDonald) and Doyle Charles Baker. He was raised by his aunt Anna Thompson after the death of his mother when he was 12. He played basketball and football (as linebacker and co-captain) at Groesbeck High School, and attended North Texas State College in Denton on a sports scholarship, where he was a member of the Sigma Phi Epsilon fraternity. He graduated with a Bachelor of Business Administration degree in 1958.

After serving in the United States Army for two years, Baker moved to New York City to study at the Actors Studio, of which he was a life member. He cited Robert Mitchum (with whom he would work in Cape Fear) and Spencer Tracy as his inspirations.

Career

Early roles

During the 1963–64 Broadway season, he appeared on stage in Marathon '33 at the ANTA Theatre in New York City. His career had its roots in television, though he did appear in several movies, including an uncredited part in the 1967 film Cool Hand Luke. He appeared in many television series, graduating to featured guest roles in such series as The Big Valley (in which he played a Harvard-educated Native American with a penchant for fighting) and Mod Squad (where he appeared as an illiterate vending machine robber). He was the title character in the 1971 TV movie Mongo's Back in Town, starring Telly Savalas.

Standing at 6'2" tall (189 cm), Baker's physical prowess and stereotypical Texas drawl would prove perfect in Westerns, both on film and television. While working regularly on television on shows such as Bonanza and Gunsmoke, he appeared in supporting roles in such films Guns of the Magnificent Seven (1969) and Blake Edwards' Wild Rovers, but his film career did not quicken until he scored the role of Steve McQueen's younger brother in Sam Peckinpah's Junior Bonner, a film about a contemporary rodeo cowboy, which was released in late 1972.

Lancer

Baker appeared in the pilot episode of 1968's Lancer, titled "The High Riders", as the main villain, "Day Pardee". This role was later fictionalized in Quentin Tarantino's 2019 film, Once Upon a Time in Hollywood—changed to 'Decoteau' and played by Leonardo DiCaprio as Rick Dalton. He went on to appear in a later episode as Clovis Horner in 1970.

Walking Tall and stardom

In 1973, Baker had his breakthrough playing sherriff Buford Pusser in the biographical vigilante action film Walking Tall, directed by Phil Karlson. Released in February as a regional exploitation picture, Walking Tall connected with audiences and became an unexpected hit, circulating for national distribution with a new TV ad campaign using the slogan, "When was the last time you stood up and applauded a movie?" The film eventually earned $23 million at the box office. His performance was praised by influential film critic Pauline Kael, but he decided not to star in the sequel.

Later that year, his work in Charley Varrick helped solidify Baker's reputation. He also co-starred with Robert Duvall in the 1973 crime film The Outfit.

He starred in the 1974 adventure film Golden Needles. In 1977 he had leading roles in Checkered Flag or Crash opposite Susan Sarandon and The Shadow of Chikara with Ted Neeley and Sondra Locke.

In 1975, he starred in the Phil Karlson's final film, Framed.

On April 10, 1978, the two-part television program To Kill a Cop premiered. In it Baker was paired with Louis Gossett Jr. as police detective. Baker co-starred with Karen Black in the miniseries Power (1980), a scarcely-disguised story of labor leader Jimmy Hoffa.

Baker played the Whammer, a baseball player modeled on Babe Ruth, in the 1984 baseball drama The Natural, which starred Robert Redford. In 1985, he portrayed the corrupt Chief Jerry Karlin in Fletch. In the UK, he played CIA agent Darius Jedburgh in the BBC Television drama serial Edge of Darkness. He was nominated for Best Actor by the British Academy Television Awards, losing to his co-star Bob Peck. Martin Scorsese directed him as a private detective in the 1991 remake of Cape Fear, hired by protagonist Sam Bowden (Nick Nolte) to protect his family from psychopathic ex-convict Max Cady (Robert De Niro).

Baker received the Distinguished Alumni Award from the University of North Texas in 1994.

While actor Carroll O'Connor was undergoing coronary bypass surgery, Baker took his place on the television series In the Heat of the Night. Baker appeared as Captain Tom Dugan, a retired police captain who substituted while O'Connor's character was away at a police convention. More recently, he appeared in Joe Dirt, The Dukes of Hazzard, and Strange Wilderness.

In 2009, Baker delivered another performance in The Cleaner on A&E, playing an military veteran attempting to help a friend cope with the loss of his son. He hires William Banks (played by Benjamin Bratt) to help him start back down the road to sobriety. Baker played King in Mud (2012).

James Bond series

In 1987, Baker played the villainous arms dealer Brad Whitaker in the James Bond film The Living Daylights, starring Timothy Dalton as 007. In 1995 and 1997, Baker returned to the series, this time playing a different character, CIA agent Jack Wade, in GoldenEye and Tomorrow Never Dies, with Pierce Brosnan as Bond.

Death

Baker died on May 7, 2025, at the age of 89.

Filmography

Film

Television

Theater

Awards and nominations

See also

In Spanish: Joe Don Baker para niños