Walking Tall Star and UNT Alum Joe Don Baker Has Died at 89

Joe Don Baker, star of the critically-acclaimed film, Walking Tall, and a University of North Texas alum, died on May 7. The actor’s family announced his death in a statement on Tuesday, though no cause was given. He was 89 years old.

Most actors would be lucky to have a role in even just one project that has stood the test of time, but the late, great Joe Don Baker made it a habit of appearing in highly influential projects. Between major franchises, prestige films, cult classics and several more recent hits, Baker was a proud Texan who honored the Lone Star State in film with his eclectic array of characters.

Born in Groesbeck, Baker attended the University of North Texas on a sports scholarship after being heralded for his football and basketball skills. Although he served for two years in the United States Army, Baker discovered a love of acting on stage with Marathon '33, a Tony-nominated Broadway show. At over six feet tall, Baker was a welcome guest star within several western television shows that took advantage of his Texan heritage, including Mod Squad, Bonanza, Gunsmoke, and The Big Valley.

Baker earned the shot to play a truly nasty villain in the pilot for Lancer, which was later immortalized by Quentin Tarantino in Once Upon a Time in Hollywood — Rick Dalton, the movie star played by Leonardo Dicaprio, is believed to be inspired by Baker. Although television offered him opportunities to chew the scenery, Baker would become a popular star on the big screen after playing Steve McQueen’s brother in the revisionist western Junior Booner.

A favorite of many acclaimed directors, Baker was referred to as a “character actor” because of his ability to transform himself physically and mentally for a given role. Although he had a memorable turn as a nasty gangster in Don Siegel’s Charley Varrick and a ruthless hitman in John Flynn’s The Outfit, Baker was hailed by the critical community for his performance as the real-life Tennessee sheriff Buford Pusser in Walking Tall.

While 1974's Death Wish is often cited as the vigilante action thriller that kicked off Hollywood’s obsession with revenge films, Walking Tall was released a year earlier and took a more nuanced tonal approach to the genre. If Death Wish indulged the notion of a “good guy with a gun,” Walking Tall indulged in the inherent ridiculousness of the genre while allowing Baker to showcase a surprising degree of masculine sensitivity. It was a role that only Baker was capable of playing, as the sequels made without him did not earn the same praise — Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson starred in a 2004 remake, though critics found that the former pro wrestler was not capable of matching Baker’s charisma.

The next stage of Baker’s career took an interesting turn as he returned to television to star in the crime serial Edge of Darkness, which earned him a BAFTA nomination for Best Actor. However, Baker admirably had the ambition to appear in a multitude of films from many different genres. His best characters include a brilliant detective in Martin Scorsese’s remake of Cape Fear, a corrupt sheriff in the Chevy Chase comedy Fletch, and Babe Ruth in The Natural.

Some of Baker’s most iconic work came within the James Bond franchise, though, as he became one of the few American actors to have a recurring role in the spy saga. Although he first appeared as a sinister arms dealer who faced off with Timothy Dalton’s 007 in The Living Daylights, producers Albert and Barbara Broccoli were so impressed with Baker’s work that they brought him back in a different capacity. Despite his villainous character being killed off, Baker returned to play the altruistic CIA agent Jack Wade in Goldeneye and Tomorrow Never Dies, both of which starred Pierce Brosnan.

Baker did not allow age to slow him down, either. He appeared in dozens of films and shows until his retirement in 2012. Interestingly, one of Baker’s last roles became one of his most iconic as he appeared alongside fellow Texan Matthew McConaughey in the independent drama Mud. The film is often referred to as the project that launched the second stage of McConaughey’s career, and was cited by many critics as one of the best films of the 2010s. Baker and McConaughey were both honored for their work in the film with the prestigious Robert Altman Award at the 2014 Independent Spirit Awards.

Not many actors can claim a roster of co-stars that includes everyone from Paul Newman and Robert Duvall to David Spade and Johnny Knoxville, but Baker’s carving of a unique filmography is a testament to his legacy. “It's not the fine that's important,” his character famously said in Walking Tall. “It's the principle of the thing. You got public respect.”