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Joe Don Baker, the prolific American actor known for his gritty performances in Walking Tall, Cape Fear, and several James Bond films, has died at the age of 89. His death occurred on May 7, according to an obituary shared by his family, though the cause of death was not disclosed. A funeral is scheduled for May 20 in Mission Hills, California.
Born on February 12, 1936, Baker was raised in Groesbeck, Texas, and attended Groesbeck High School before studying business administration at North Texas State College. He served in the U.S. Army for two years before moving to New York City to pursue acting. In the early 1960s, he joined the Actors' Studio, where he was a contemporary of Rip Torn, and made his Broadway debut in Marathon '33 in 1963. His screen debut came in 1967 with an uncredited role in Cool Hand Luke.
Baker's breakout role was playing Curley, the brother of Steve McQueen's character in Sam Peckinpah's 1972 film Junior Bonner. The following year, he gained fame portraying real-life sheriff Buford Pusser in Walking Tall, a surprise box-office hit that solidified his image as a no-nonsense tough guy. He followed this with roles in crime dramas such as Charley Varrick and The Outfit, opposite Robert Duvall and Karen Black.
In the 1980s, Baker continued to thrive as a character actor, appearing in The Natural as "the Whammer," a role inspired by Babe Ruth, and in the comedy Fletch. His role as CIA agent Darius Jedburgh in the BBC political thriller Edge of Darkness (1985) gained significant acclaim and led to his casting in the James Bond franchise.
Baker is one of the few actors to have played both a Bond villain and a Bond ally. He portrayed arms dealer Brad Whitaker in The Living Daylights (1987) and later played CIA agent Jack Wade in GoldenEye (1995) and Tomorrow Never Dies (1997).
His later work included appearances in Cape Fear, Reality Bites, The Dukes of Hazzard, and his final film, Mud (2012), which earned the Robert Altman Award at the Independent Spirit Awards. After this, Baker retired from acting.
He was married to Marlo Baker from 1969 to 1980 and had no children. According to his obituary, he is "survived by relations in his native Groesbeck" and mourned by "a small but very close circle of friends who will miss him eternally."
