Award-winning acclaimed actor Joe Don Baker, of Walking Tall and three James Bond films, breathed his last on May 7, 2025, as per an obituary published by his family on Legacy.com on Tuesday, May 13. The cause of death is not known. He was 89.
The official page of James Bond on X, paid tribute to Baker. '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," read the post.
Joe Don Baker's life and career
Baker was born on February 12, 1936, and grew up in Texas. He studied business administration at North Texas State College. After serving two years in the US Army, he moved to New York and joined the Actors바카라 Studio in the early 1960s.
In 1963, Baker made his Broadway debut with the Actors바카라 Studio company, where he appeared in Marathon 바카라33.
His screen debut was in 1965 with the television series Honey West. He made his film debut in 1967 in Cool Hand Luke. He later appeared in several TV series, including Lancer in 1968.
In 1972, he starred in Sam Peckinpah바카라s Junior Bonner. In 1973, he bagged his first lead role as real-life lawman/vigilante Buford Pusser in Phil Karlson's film Walking Tall, which became a hit and Baker earned praises for his performance. It was followed by Charley Varrick (1973), directed by Don Siegel, and The Outfit (1973).
Baker also gained recognition for his appearances in three James Bond movies- The Living Daylights (1987), GoldenEye (1995), and Tomorrow Never Dies (1997).
His other works include The Natural (1984), Fletch (1985) and Getting Even (1986), among others. In 1985 Baker bagged the role of a CIA agent Darius Jedburgh in political thriller TV series, Edge of Darkness, starring Bob Peck and Joanne Whalley.
He also did a few smaller roles in Martin Scorsese바카라s Cape Fear (1991) remake, Ben Stiller's Reality Bites (1994), and Steven Soderbergh바카라s The Underneath (1995). He also starred in the film version of The Dukes of Hazzard. Baker's final outing was in 2012's Mud, starring Matthew McConaughey, after which he bid goodbye to acting.
