Joe Don Baker, actor who wielded a big stick in 'Walking Tall,' dies at 89

Joe Don Baker, the starring antheral turned quality histrion who broke retired playing Sheriff Buford Pusser successful the 1973 movie “Walking Tall,” has died, his household announced online.

The Texas-born pugnacious feline died May 7 astatine property 89. No origin of decease was given. Baker lived successful Southern California erstwhile helium died.

“Joe Don was a beacon of kindness and generosity. ... Throughout his life, Joe Don touched galore lives with his warmth and compassion, leaving an indelible people connected everyone fortunate capable to cognize him,” his household said.

Born connected Feb. 12, 1936, successful Groesbeck, Texas, Baker played shot and hoops good capable to gain a sports assistance to North Texas State College — present University of North Texas — wherever helium earned a bachelor’s grade successful concern medication successful 1958 and pledged to the Sigma Phi Epsilon fraternity.

Baker went into the U.S. Army for 2 years and past emerged successful New York, wherever helium studied astatine the Actors Studio and performed onstage. His acting vocation took disconnected successful the mid-1960s erstwhile helium moved to Los Angeles, wherever helium started with TV roles successful shows similar “The High Chaparral” and “Mission: Impossible” earlier taking the spotlight arsenic a starring antheral successful movies similar “Walking Tall” and “Final Justice.”

When helium aged into quality histrion work, helium played Claude Kersek successful the 1991 Robert DeNiro remake of “Cape Fear,” Olaf Anderson successful Eddie Murphy’s 1992 movie “The Distinguished Gentleman” and Tom Pierce successful 1994’s “Reality Bites.” Baker played a villain successful the 1987 James Bond movie “The Living Daylights,” featuring Timothy Dalton arsenic Bond, and past CIA cause Jack Wade successful 2 Bond films starring Pierce Brosnan: “GoldenEye” successful 1995 and “Tomorrow Never Dies” successful 1997.

He besides spent a batch of clip moving successful TV, playing the rubric bull relation successful “Eischied” successful 1979 — helium often portrayed officers of the instrumentality — Big Jim Folsom successful the 1997 miniseries “George Wallace” and myriad different roles successful shows including “Ironside,” “The Streets of San Francisco,” “Gunsmoke” and “Mod Squad.”

Joe Don Baker wielded a large instrumentality successful “Walking Tall,” the 1973 movie based connected the beingness of Tennessee Sheriff Buford Pusser.

(Los Angeles Times)

As helium moved astir betwixt TV and film, Baker was up of the curve successful declaring Hollywood creativity dead.

“In Hollywood, they’ve chased distant each the bully writers,” helium told The Times successful 1986 erstwhile helium was promoting the BBC-made miniseries “Edge of Darkness” and powerfully favoring overseas enactment implicit domestic. “You ne'er conscionable the writer erstwhile you’re making a TV movie successful America — they’re excessively ashamed to amusement up and spot however their enactment has been mangled by immoderate committee.

“I hatred the thought of showing up connected different TV movie acceptable successful America ,” helium continued. “All they attraction astir present is whether you retrieve the words. In England they instrumentality the clip to get everything right. I was determination six months to marque six hours. That’s a small much than doubly arsenic agelong arsenic it would instrumentality successful America.”

In the United States, Baker said, “By the clip the networks get done worrying astir who they’re gonna tick off, they upwind up with nothing.”

He said it was hard to get American studios funny successful thing different. “They privation immense budgets, which are easier to bargain from. The studios don’t look to caput losing hundreds of millions — they tin constitute it each off. The remainder of america tin either wage to spot their lousy movies oregon beryllium taxed to screen their write-offs.”

But “Walking Tall,” the movie that made him, was based connected the existent communicative of a Tennessee sheriff whose beingness was turned tragic by criminals. During his six years successful office, the existent Pusser, known for carrying a large hickory instrumentality helium utilized arsenic a weapon, fought a pack of bootleggers and con men who were operating on the Mississippi-Tennessee authorities line. He was changeable and stabbed connected respective occasions and killed a thieving pistillate motel proprietor who ambushed him. Then successful 1967 helium was waylaid successful his car by criminals who changeable him and killed his wife, Pauline. Pusser became a nationally known fig acknowledgment to sum connected web news.

Even though the movie took the accustomed Hollywood liberties with Pusser’s life, the movie played similar a axenic portion of American neo-realism: Audiences saw a beardown household antheral who becomes politically progressive lone aft being cheated astatine a section casino, beaten and near for dead. Elected sheriff, helium becomes driven, warring the section transgression syndicate, corrupt judges and authorities authorities officials. The movie packed an affectional wallop.

It was not an instant success, however, erstwhile it was archetypal released successful municipality theaters and sold arsenic a good-old-boy Southern law-and-order drama.

“The archetypal ads had maine coming retired of a swamp with slime coming disconnected maine and I had this small instrumentality successful my hand,” Baker told The Times successful 2004, erstwhile a importantly reimagined “Walking Tall” remake starring Dwayne Johnson was coming out. “They were conscionable unspeakable ads.” But outsized occurrence successful Asian markets led to a caller selling run that turned the movie into an American hit.

“I precise seldom get bully parts offered maine now,” helium said successful 2004. “I had amended parts earlier I became a alleged prima successful ‘Walking Tall.’”

In a 2000 wit column, erstwhile Times columnist Chris Erskine lovingly called Baker “one of the champion atrocious actors ever.”

Good parts oregon not, helium won a Robert Altman Award astatine the Film Independent Spirit Awards successful 2014 for his enactment successful the 2012 Matthew McConaughey movie “Mud,” wherever helium played the begetter of a murdered man. It would beryllium his last enactment earlier helium retired.

Baker was joined for 11 years to Maria Dolores Rivero-Torres; the 2 had nary children. A voracious scholar and person of cats and nature, the beingness subordinate of the Actors Studio “is mourned by a tiny but precise adjacent ellipse of friends who volition miss him eternally,” his household said.

A ceremonial work volition beryllium held Tuesday greeting astatine Utter McKinley Mortuary successful Mission Hills.

Freelance writer Lewis Beale contributed to this report.