# Buford Pusser, dead 40 years today. Anybody remember him? **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [August 22, 2014, 12:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/buford-pusser-dead-40-years-today-anybody-remember-him/696154 "2014-08-22T00:32:31Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Gatopescado](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gatopescado/32/5711_2.png) [@Gatopescado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gatopescado)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2014, 12:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/buford-pusser-dead-40-years-today-anybody-remember-him/696154/1 "2014-08-22T00:32:31Z")
Buford Pusser, Sherriff of McNairy Co., Tennessee and one-man crime-fightin’ unit, died 40 years ago today in a “suspicious” car crash. Killed the Corvette, too. His exploits inspired the movie\* Walking Tall\* and probably did more for the sales of baseball bats since Babe Ruth. I remember the movie despite being fairly young. I seem to recall someone getting his hand stuck in a garbage disposal. Been terrified of those things ever since! Anybody know who I’m talkin’ about without Googling him? _Don’t piss off the Boys from Alabama-- Drive-By Truckers_ ---
**Author:** ![Zeldar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/b77776/32.png) [@Zeldar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zeldar)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2014, 12:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/buford-pusser-dead-40-years-today-anybody-remember-him/696154/2 "2014-08-22T00:45:08Z")
I remember the movie with Joe Don Baker, but not Pusser himself. The sequels were not up to the quality of _Walking Tall_ for my money, and the ones done with Dwayne Johnson I chose to ignore. Baker became one of my favorites of that era and I especially liked his work in _Charley Varrick_ which has some excellent work by Walter Matthau as well. ---
**Author:** ![wedgehed](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/8edcca/32.png) [@wedgehed](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wedgehed)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2014, 12:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/buford-pusser-dead-40-years-today-anybody-remember-him/696154/3 "2014-08-22T00:46:58Z")
I saw _Walking Tall_ at the movie theater back in the day. It’s hard to watch anything with Joe Don Baker these days without giggling at the memory of the MST3000 treatment of _Mitchell._ ---
**Author:** ![BMalion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e274bd/32.png) [@BMalion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BMalion)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2014, 2:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/buford-pusser-dead-40-years-today-anybody-remember-him/696154/4 "2014-08-22T02:23:55Z")
> [@wedgehed](#): > > I saw _Walking Tall_ at the movie theater back in the day. It’s hard to watch anything with Joe Don Baker these days without giggling at the memory of the MST3000 treatment of _Mitchell._ Agree! ---
**Author:** ![Oakminster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/77aa72/32.png) [@Oakminster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Oakminster)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2014, 3:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/buford-pusser-dead-40-years-today-anybody-remember-him/696154/5 "2014-08-22T03:00:08Z")
Buford Pusser worked as a pro wrestler for a little while, before becoming Sheriff. The movies about him later inspired Cowboy Bill Watts to use “Walking Tall” as a catch phrase. Watts also freely incorporated lumber/bats in his wars against The Freebirds and The Russians. ---
**Author:** ![Gatopescado](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gatopescado/32/5711_2.png) [@Gatopescado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gatopescado)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2014, 3:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/buford-pusser-dead-40-years-today-anybody-remember-him/696154/6 "2014-08-22T03:46:03Z")
I shouda posted this earlier, to catch the Tennessee folks. Too busy makin’ Spaghetti sauce and drinkin’ beer. Buford would be okay with that. Or busted my head. ---
**Author:** ![Accidental\_Martyr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ce7236/32.png) [@Accidental\_Martyr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Accidental_Martyr)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2014, 4:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/buford-pusser-dead-40-years-today-anybody-remember-him/696154/7 "2014-08-22T04:16:39Z")
I remember when the movie came out when I was a kid but I don’t think I’ve ever actually seen it. I also remember seeing his car in a car museum in Pigeon Forge, TN when I was a kid. It had a bullet hole in the fender. Here’s a link to the Drive-By Truckers song mentioned in the OP. “The Boys From Alabama” [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/a-44Xl3YAUo/hqdefault.jpg "Drive By Truckers - The Boys From Alabama - The Dirty South.avi") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a-44Xl3YAUo) ---
**Author:** ![handsomeharry](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e9c0ed/32.png) [@handsomeharry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/handsomeharry)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2014, 4:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/buford-pusser-dead-40-years-today-anybody-remember-him/696154/8 "2014-08-22T04:24:27Z")
Pretty awesome guy/movie. I saw the original movie with my gf when it came out. I went home and I saw Pusser on the Tomorrow show, afterwards. I was totally freaked out, and, when I told my gf the next day, she was too. We were such idiots. Having said that, the sequels sucked, and so did the Rock’s movie. Well, the movie was alright, just nothing to do with Buford Pusser and/or his story, so the Rock owes me 14 bucks. I may have to take it out of his hide. ---
**Author:** ![Gatopescado](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gatopescado/32/5711_2.png) [@Gatopescado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gatopescado)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2014, 5:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/buford-pusser-dead-40-years-today-anybody-remember-him/696154/9 "2014-08-22T05:19:15Z")
> [@handsomeharry](#): > > … so the Rock owes me 14 bucks. I may have to take it out of his hide. That’s very Pusser’ed. You ever run for Sherriff? ---
**Author:** ![Gatopescado](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gatopescado/32/5711_2.png) [@Gatopescado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gatopescado)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2014, 5:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/buford-pusser-dead-40-years-today-anybody-remember-him/696154/10 "2014-08-22T05:25:50Z")
Hey, **Martyr**! You a **DBT** fan? They’re comin’ out west this fall. Got my tickets for a two outta three nights at the Fillmore in SF! I’m hoping they hit Tahoe or Reno on the way back east, but dates not released yet. ---
**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2014, 5:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/buford-pusser-dead-40-years-today-anybody-remember-him/696154/11 "2014-08-22T05:32:51Z")
Ya know what I like to watch as a double feature with _[Walking Tall](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0070895/)_? [_Billy Jack_](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0066832/), natch. ---
**Author:** ![Accidental\_Martyr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ce7236/32.png) [@Accidental\_Martyr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Accidental_Martyr)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2014, 5:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/buford-pusser-dead-40-years-today-anybody-remember-him/696154/12 "2014-08-22T05:52:25Z")
> [@Gatopescado](#): > > Hey, **Martyr**! > > You a **DBT** fan? > > They’re comin’ out west this fall. Got my tickets for a two outta three nights at the Fillmore in SF! > > I’m hoping they hit Tahoe or Reno on the way back east, but dates not released yet. Yeah, I’ve been a fan for several years. They’re playing in Birmingham on Oct. 11 but that’s the same day as the Alabama vs. Arkansas game so I don’t know if I’ll make it. ---
**Author:** ![madmonk28](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/madmonk28/32/20811_2.png) [@madmonk28](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/madmonk28)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2014, 12:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/buford-pusser-dead-40-years-today-anybody-remember-him/696154/13 "2014-08-22T12:39:21Z")
He took on the Dixie Mafia. Didn’t they kill his wife in an earlier attack? ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2014, 1:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/buford-pusser-dead-40-years-today-anybody-remember-him/696154/14 "2014-08-22T13:05:28Z")
> [@Zeldar](#): > > I especially liked his work in _Charley Varrick_ which has some excellent work by Walter Matthau as well. Yeah, the last of the independents. 🙂 Outstanding film. ---
**Author:** ![Zeldar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/b77776/32.png) [@Zeldar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zeldar)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2014, 2:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/buford-pusser-dead-40-years-today-anybody-remember-him/696154/15 "2014-08-22T14:00:48Z")
> [@Snowboarder\_Bo](#): > > Ya know what I like to watch as a double feature with _[Walking Tall](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0070895/)_? > > [_Billy Jack_](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0066832/), natch. I hate to admit it, but I agree with this! Even when I was seeing BJ for the first time I realized what an amateurish pile of cheese it was. The “acting” was on par with a high school play and the situations so highly concocted as to seem comic book. But damn if it wasn’t a fun ride! Same with WT. The thing in common between the two is that the follow-up efforts stunk! I suspect that if we put our minds to it that we could name at least a dozen low-budget indie films from the early 70’s to rival these two. Might even go back as far as [Easy Rider (1969)](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0064276/?ref_=nv_sr_1) (which has risen above its cheapness of production to the heights of cult movies.) One more side note: did you happen to notice the inconsequential role that JDB had in [Cool Hand Luke (1967)](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0061512/fullcredits?ref_=tt_cl_sm#cast) – a mere six years before starring in WT? One might be tempted to compare the early rise of both JDB and Dennis Hopper in that movie, even though Hopper had already mad a bit of a splash as early as [Rebel Without a Cause (1955).](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0048545/?ref_=nv_sr_3) ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2014, 2:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/buford-pusser-dead-40-years-today-anybody-remember-him/696154/16 "2014-08-22T14:04:08Z")
I watched Walking Tall several times. Buford Pusser was incredibly brave to take on organized crime in his county. ---
**Author:** ![Leaffan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leaffan/32/299_2.png) [@Leaffan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaffan)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2014, 2:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/buford-pusser-dead-40-years-today-anybody-remember-him/696154/17 "2014-08-22T14:08:11Z")
I loved the movie as a kid. I saw it on late night TV a couple of times. I don’t know how edited that would have been from the original. ---
**Author:** ![CT\_Damsel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/dfb087/32.png) [@CT\_Damsel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CT_Damsel)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2014, 2:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/buford-pusser-dead-40-years-today-anybody-remember-him/696154/18 "2014-08-22T14:14:30Z")
I recognized the name because I remember the movie with Joe Don Baker. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2014, 2:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/buford-pusser-dead-40-years-today-anybody-remember-him/696154/19 "2014-08-22T14:28:39Z")
His story has been told and retold through a series of movies, the most recent I’ve seen he was played by The Rock, a homage to his early career as a wrestler. Joe Don was a fairly one dimensional actor, but this role suited him pretty well. Pusser’s story is remarkable, his law and order campaign resulted in the death of his wife, and many suspect his own death as well. I think I’d like to see the book written about him for a better picture, although the first movie is considered a reasonably accurate portrayal, at least for a movie. ---
**Author:** ![Zeldar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/b77776/32.png) [@Zeldar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zeldar)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2014, 2:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/buford-pusser-dead-40-years-today-anybody-remember-him/696154/20 "2014-08-22T14:32:37Z")
> [@Gatopescado](#): > > \<\< snip \>\> I seem to recall someone getting his hand stuck in a garbage disposal. Been terrified of those things ever since! Anybody know who I’m talkin’ about without Googling him? \<\< snip \>\> The only such event that’s stuck in my memory is when Junior Soprano spent a long time waiting for somebody to get his hand unstuck. Can you describe the scene in more detail? [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/buford-pusser-dead-40-years-today-anybody-remember-him/696154.md?page=2)