'Walking Tall' Star Joe Don Baker Dies at 89

Joe Don Baker, best remembered for his breakthrough performance in the film "Walking Tall," has died at 89.

Baker's loved ones announced his death in a public obituary, stating he died May 7.

It read, in part, "It is with heavy hearts that we announce the passing of Joe Don, a noted member of the Performing Arts Community... Joe Don was a beacon of kindness and generosity. His intellectual curiosity made him a voracious reader, inspiring a great love of nature and animals, particularly cats. Throughout his life, Joe Don touched many lives with his warmth and compassion, leaving an indelible mark on everyone fortunate enough to know him."

Baker was born in Groesbeck, Texas, on February 12, 1936.

Along with an uncredited appearance in the classic "Cool Hand Luke" (1967), his early acting gigs were in westerns, including "Guns of the Magnificent Seven" (1969) and "Wild Rovers" (1971).

In 1973, he played Sheriff Buford Pusser in "Walking Tall," a vigilante-driven action film that raked in over $40M at the box office on a $500,000 budget, but skipped the sequels.

Baker was an in-demand performer for years, appearing in the films "Charley Varrick" (1973), "Golden Needles" (1974), "Mitchell" (1975), "The Natural" (1984), "Fletch" (1985), "Cape Fear" (1991), "Reality Bites" (1994), "Congo" (1995), "Mars Attacks!" (1996), "Joe Dirt" (2001), and "The Dukes of Hazzard" (2005).

He also played two different characters across three James Bond films — "The Living Daylights" (1987), "GoldenEye" (1995), and "Tomorrow Never Dies" (1997).

Among his many TV appearances, he acted on episodes of "Honey West" (1965), "Bonanza" (1968), and "Gunsmoke" (1966 & 1969), and was acclaimed for his work in the TV movies "Power" (1980) and "Citizen Cohn" (1992). He was BAFTA-nominated for his work in the British miniseries "Edge of Darkness" (1985) and Satellite Award-nominated for his performance in the miniseries "George Wallace" (1997).

In 1989, when series lead Carroll O'Connor was out having surgery, he played Chief Tom Dugan on four episodes of the hit series "In the Heat of the Night."

His final TV work came on a 2009 episode of the series "The Cleaner," and his last movie was 2012's "Mud."

Baker was married for 11 years, but did not remarry after his 1980 divorce. He had no children.

A funeral service to honor his life is scheduled for May 20, 2025, at Utter McKinley Mortuary in Mission Hills, California, at 10:00 a.m. Friends and family are welcome.