‘Walking Tall’ star Joe Don Baker passes away at 89

WASHINGTON: Actor Joe Don Baker, who was known for his ‘tough guy’ characters and established himself as an action star with supporting roles in ‘Guns of the Magnificent Seven’ and ‘Wild Rovers’, has passed away at the age of 89. However, the cause of death has not been revealed, reported Deadline.

Born February 12, 1936, in Groesbeck, Texas, Baker played football for North Texas State College and, upon graduating in 1959, served a two-year stint in the Army before moving to New York City to study acting at the Actor’s Studio. He would remain a lifelong member of the famed organisation.

After some time on the New York stage, he appeared on Broadway in 1963’s ‘Marathon ’33’, followed by ‘Blues for Mister Charlie’ the next year. He then relocated to Los Angeles and began a television and film career that included cameo appearances on ‘Honey West’, ‘Gunsmoke’, ‘The Big Valley’, ‘Mission: Impossible’, ‘Lancer’, and ‘The Streets of San Francisco’, among many others.

Early cinematic credits included minor roles in ‘Cool Hand Luke’ and ‘The Valachi Papers’, as per the outlet. His breakthrough role was as real-life Tennessee Sheriff Buford Pusser in the film ‘Walking Tall’ (1973).

We are really sad to hear of the passing of Joe Don Baker at the age of 89. The Texan actor played villain Brad Whitaker in THE LIVING DAYLIGHTS and CIA agent Jack Wade in GOLDENEYE and TOMORROW NEVER DIES. pic.twitter.com/Fop4Kb1IGd

— James Bond (@007) May 15, 2025

Baker had a prolific screen career playing tough guys on both sides of the law throughout the 1970s and ’80s in such movies as Charley Varrick (1973), Mitchell (1975) and Speedtrap (1977). Comedy roles increasingly made their way to Baker in the 1980s and 1990s, including another police chief role in the 1985 Chevy Chase comedy ‘Fletch’ and, in 1996, Tim Burton’s ‘Mars Attacks!, reported Deadline.

Other notable roles were of a baseball player known as The Whammer opposite Robert Redford in ‘The Natural’ (1984) and, in 1991, a corrupt investigator in Martin Scorsese’s ‘Cape Fear’.

Baker also appeared in three James Bond films of the 1980s and ’90s. He played a bad guy in ‘The Living Daylights’ (1987) opposite Timothy Dalton as Bond, and a 007 ally CIA agent in the Pierce Brosnan-led ‘GoldenEye’ (1995) and ‘Tomorrow Never Dies’ (1997).

His marriage in 1969 to Maria Dolores Rivero-Torres ended with divorce in 1980. Baker is survived by extended family in Groesbeck, Texas, reported Deadline. (ANI)