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Joe Don Baker, Rugged Character Actor From ‘Walking Tall’ and James Bond Films, Dead at 89
Joe Don Baker, the prolific character actor who appeared in 'Walking Tall,' 'Junior Bonner' and three James Bond movies, has died at the age of 89.
The following year, Baker starred on the opposite side of the law in two of his most noteworthy roles: As real-life wrestler-turned-sheriff Buford Pusser in Walking Tall and a sadistic mob hitman out to get Walter Matthau in the neo-noir Charley Varrick. Baker also notably appeared in three James Bond films, albeit as two different characters on both sides of the law: After first portraying the villainous arms dealer Brad Whitaker in the Timothy Dalton-starring The Living Daylights in 1987, the actor returned to the 007 universe in both 1995’s GoldenEye and 1997’s Tomorrow Never Dies as Pierce Brosnan’s CIA associate Jack Wade. The actor would later go on to appear in films like Martin Scorsese’s 1991 remake of Cape Fear, Congo, Mars Attacks!, Joe Dirt, Reality Bites(playing the father of Winona Ryder’s character), and The Dukes of Hazzard.
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