Biography
Joe Don Baker was an American actor. Born in Groesbeck, Texas, he attended North Texas State College on a sports scholarship, served in the US Army and trained at the Actors Studio in New York before beginning his screen career in the mid-1960s.
He gained prominence with leading roles in Walking Tall (1973) as Sheriff Buford Pusser and Charley Varrick (1973). Baker appeared in three James Bond films, playing villain Brad Whitaker in The Living Daylights (1987) and CIA agent Jack Wade in GoldenEye (1995) and Tomorrow Never Dies (1997). Other credits include Cape Fear (1991), Mars Attacks! (1996) and Mud (2013). He received a BAFTA television nomination for his performance in the BBC serial Edge of Darkness (1985).
Baker died in Los Angeles on 7 May 2025.
