Joe Don Baker, best known for playing Sheriff Buford Pusser in Walking Tall, has died at 89. His family announced his passing on May 7; no cause of death was revealed.
Born in Groesbeck in 1936, Baker served in the U.S. Army before studying acting in New York. He built a career playing tough, rugged characters, rising to fame with Walking Tall (1973).
He appeared in films like Charley Varrick, The Natural, and Cape Fear, and had notable roles in the James Bond series—playing villain Brad Whitaker in The Living Daylights and CIA agent Jack Wade in GoldenEye and Tomorrow Never Dies.
On TV, he earned recognition for Edge of Darkness and George Wallace. Baker continued acting into the 2000s before retiring in 2012, leaving behind a lasting legacy in film and television.