# RIP Joe Don Baker **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [May 15, 2025, 9:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rip-joe-don-baker/1018418 "2025-05-15T21:20:06Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2025, 9:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rip-joe-don-baker/1018418/1 "2025-05-15T21:20:06Z")
I didn’t see this posted. Joe Don Baker, who starred in Walking Tall in the role of Buford Pusser (an actual person and professional wrestler turned lawman), died on May 7th. ---
**Author:** ![Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/13edae/32.png) [@Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stranger_On_A_Train)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2025, 10:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rip-joe-don-baker/1018418/2 "2025-05-15T22:47:39Z")
He played two different roles in Bond movies: the cheeky, grifting international arms dealer in [_The Living Daylights_](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0093428/), and CIA agent Jack Wade in [_Goldeneye_](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0113189/) and [_Tomorrow Never Dies_](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0120347/) (the two better Brosnan outings). And while it’s not a good movie, he puts in a great performance in [_Mitchell_](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0073396/). Stranger ---
**Author:** ![Andy\_L](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c67d28/32.png) [@Andy\_L](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Andy_L)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2025, 10:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rip-joe-don-baker/1018418/3 "2025-05-15T22:55:50Z")
Mitchell! ---
**Author:** ![DavidNRockies](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/davidnrockies/32/6279_2.png) [@DavidNRockies](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DavidNRockies)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2025, 11:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rip-joe-don-baker/1018418/4 "2025-05-15T23:04:10Z")
He was memorable in (Chevy Chase) “[**Fletch**](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fletch_(film)),” too. ---
**Author:** ![Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/elmer_j.fudd/32/1211_2.png) [@Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elmer_J.Fudd)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2025, 12:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rip-joe-don-baker/1018418/5 "2025-05-16T00:00:09Z")
And a muse for Quinten and Leo… > **[✂️ Joe Don Baker on Lancer](https://www.youtube.com/clip/UgkxM1SvH82tEe008cDvSvDIP2_BcXHjXttr?si=lnWlskKhJ8W_6Vsx)** > > 60 seconds · Clipped by Tim O’Brien · Original video "Tarantino's Lancer Scene Inspiration" by ThereGoesBears ---
**Author:** ![Llama\_Llogophile](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/49beb7/32.png) [@Llama\_Llogophile](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Llama_Llogophile)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2025, 12:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rip-joe-don-baker/1018418/6 "2025-05-16T00:06:43Z")
For me, he was very memorable as The Whammer in _The Natural_. I always thought of the character as Babe Ruth if he had been an insufferable prick. ---
**Author:** ![Intergalactic\_Gladiator](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/intergalactic_gladiator/32/112_2.png) [@Intergalactic\_Gladiator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Intergalactic_Gladiator)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2025, 1:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rip-joe-don-baker/1018418/7 "2025-05-16T13:26:48Z")
RIP [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/F54W878uWEI/maxresdefault.jpg "MST3K: Mitchell") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F54W878uWEI) ---
**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:** [May 16, 2025, 1:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rip-joe-don-baker/1018418/8 "2025-05-16T13:35:47Z")
He was 89. Pretty good for a big guy, although recent pictures showed him slimmed down a bit since his heyday. ---
**Author:** ![Two\_Many\_Cats2](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/779978/32.png) [@Two\_Many\_Cats2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Two_Many_Cats2)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2025, 1:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rip-joe-don-baker/1018418/9 "2025-05-16T13:36:39Z")
_Put 'em on your feet, give your dogs a treat, (bom-bom) What a comfortable shoe._ Yeah, it’s a non-sequitur, but somehow, it’s what jumped to my mind when I heard of Joe Don’s unfortunate passing. He did a guest stand-in for Carroll O’Connor on TV’s _In the Heat of the Night_. Carroll had to have heart surgery at the time. I never really followed the guy’s career, but good rest to him. ---
**Author:** ![Hypno-Toad](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/b2d939/32.png) [@Hypno-Toad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hypno-Toad)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2025, 1:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rip-joe-don-baker/1018418/10 "2025-05-16T13:45:49Z")
Most of the attention his death is getting seems to be via MST3K fandom. He hated the way he got roasted on that show and I doubt he’d be happy about it. ---
**Author:** ![Two\_Many\_Cats2](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/779978/32.png) [@Two\_Many\_Cats2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Two_Many_Cats2)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2025, 1:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rip-joe-don-baker/1018418/11 "2025-05-16T13:49:54Z")
> [@Hypno-Toad](#): > > Most of the attention his death is getting seems to be via MST3K fandom. He hated the way he got roasted on that show and I doubt he’d be happy about it. Yeah, but if MST3K hadn’t riffed on those two movies of his, his memorial thread here would’ve been a couple of posts about _Walking Tall_, and one or two guest spots on this or that, and that’d be it. ---
**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:** [May 16, 2025, 2:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rip-joe-don-baker/1018418/12 "2025-05-16T14:03:23Z")
> [@Two\_Many\_Cats2](#): > > Yeah, but if MST3K hadn’t riffed on those two movies of his, his memorial thread here would’ve been a couple of posts about _Walking Tall_, and one or two guest spots on this or that, and that’d be it. Yeah, Walking Tall was is only noticeable starring role. He wasn’t even used in the sequels. He did have a lot of smaller parts but clearly type cast as a heavy. Not exactly a bad actor, but not in roles that would demonstrate any range if he had any. ---
**Author:** ![Hypno-Toad](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/b2d939/32.png) [@Hypno-Toad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hypno-Toad)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2025, 2:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rip-joe-don-baker/1018418/13 "2025-05-16T14:16:03Z")
Yeah, it’s funny how some folks like Joe Estevez see the value of being roasted on MST3K while others just take it personal. ---
**Author:** ![Andy\_L](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c67d28/32.png) [@Andy\_L](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Andy_L)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2025, 3:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rip-joe-don-baker/1018418/14 "2025-05-16T15:26:04Z")
He had a short run series [Eischied](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eischied) whixh I remember because my mother was a fan. ---
**Author:** ![Encinitas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ee7513/32.png) [@Encinitas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Encinitas)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2025, 5:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rip-joe-don-baker/1018418/15 "2025-05-16T17:28:02Z")
I loved him as Darius Jedburgh in “Edge of Darkness.” ---
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2025, 7:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rip-joe-don-baker/1018418/16 "2025-05-16T19:56:50Z")
My dad was obsessed with that show. He claimed it was one of the best series ever made. ---
**Author:** ![outlierrn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/outlierrn/32/3005_2.png) [@outlierrn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/outlierrn)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2025, 12:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rip-joe-don-baker/1018418/17 "2025-05-17T00:29:30Z")
I would like to highly recommend **Charlie Varick**. ---
**Author:** ![ekedolphin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ekedolphin/32/10003_2.png) [@ekedolphin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ekedolphin)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2025, 12:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rip-joe-don-baker/1018418/18 "2025-05-17T00:53:17Z")
I liked him as Whitaker in my favorite Bond movie, _The Living Daylights._ Here are his two most memorable scenes. In the first one, he shows his collection of statues of himself dressed as famous military leaders of the past, such as Hitler and Julius Caesar. In the second one, he battles Bond in his museum. [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/r4FA8nSRAcQ/hqdefault.jpg "The Living Daylights (1987) - Pushkin vs. Whitaker") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r4FA8nSRAcQ) [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/1YpQLtoo2vM/hqdefault.jpg "The Living Daylights James Bond vs Whitaker") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1YpQLtoo2vM) ---
**Author:** ![Son\_of\_a\_Rich](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/son_of_a_rich/32/5439_2.png) [@Son\_of\_a\_Rich](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Son_of_a_Rich)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2025, 1:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rip-joe-don-baker/1018418/19 "2025-05-17T13:39:44Z")
“Q” had a knack for giving Bond just the right piece of gear for the occasion. ---
**Author:** ![Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/13edae/32.png) [@Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stranger_On_A_Train)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2025, 1:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rip-joe-don-baker/1018418/20 "2025-05-17T13:46:15Z")
As if he read ahead in the script and knew that Bond didn’t need a [pen that would explode if you inadvertently clicked it three times](https://youtu.be/C09knP1SAyA?si=iOiyLSraX6AvbxzK) for this mission. Stranger [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rip-joe-don-baker/1018418.md?page=2)