Discover
Joe Don Baker is an American character actor and a life member of the Actors Studio. He established himself as an action star with supporting roles as a mysterious cowboy drifter in Guns of the Magnificent Seven (1969), and as a deputy sheriff in the western Wild Rovers (1971), before receiving worldwide fame for his roles as a mafia hitman in Charley Varrick (1973), real-life Tennessee Sheriff Buford Pusser in the classic action film Walking Tall (1973), brute force detective Mitchell in Mitchell (1975), deputy sheriff Thomas Jefferson Geronimo III in Final Justice (1985), and as chief Jerry Karlin in the action-comedy Fletch (1985).
Born
Wednesday, 12 February 1936
Actor Filmography
| Title | Character | Year |
|---|
| Mud | King | 2013 |
| The Cleaner | Major Larry Duren | 2008 |
| Strange Wilderness | Bill Calhoun | 2008 |
| The Dukes of Hazzard | Governor Jim Applewhite | 2005 |
| Sam Peckinpah's West: Legacy of a Hollywood Renegade | Self / Self (archive footage) | 2004 |
| Best Ever Bond | Jack Wade | 2002 |
| Joe Dirt | Don, Brandy's Dad | 2001 |
| Vegas, City of Dreams | Dylan Garrett | 2001 |
| Too Rich: The Secret Life of Doris Duke | Buck Duke | 1999 |
| Poodle Springs | P.J. Parker | 1998 |
Actor Filmography
| Title | Character | Year |
|---|
| Mud | King | 2013 |
| The Cleaner | Major Larry Duren | 2008 |
| Strange Wilderness | Bill Calhoun | 2008 |
| The Dukes of Hazzard | Governor Jim Applewhite | 2005 |
| Sam Peckinpah's West: Legacy of a Hollywood Renegade | Self / Self (archive footage) | 2004 |
| Best Ever Bond | Jack Wade | 2002 |
| Joe Dirt | Don, Brandy's Dad | 2001 |
| Vegas, City of Dreams | Dylan Garrett | 2001 |
| Too Rich: The Secret Life of Doris Duke | Buck Duke | 1999 |
| Poodle Springs | P.J. Parker | 1998 |
| Tomorrow Never Dies | Jack Wade / Wade | 1997 |
| To Dance with Olivia | Horace Henley / Horace | 1997 |
| Mars Attacks! | Richie's Dad / Glenn Norris | 1996 |
| The Siege at Ruby Ridge | Gerry Spence | 1996 |
| In Search of James Bond with Jonathan Ross | Jack Wade | 1995 |
| GoldenEye | Jack Wade | 1995 |
| The Grass Harp | Sheriff Junius Candle | 1995 |
| Congo | R.B. Travis | 1995 |
| Panther | Brimmer | 1995 |
| The Underneath | Clay Hinkle | 1995 |
| Felony | Donovan | 1994 |
| Reality Bites | Tom Pierce | 1994 |
| Ring of Steel | Man in Black | 1994 |
| The Wild West | (voice) | 1993 |
| Complex of Fear | Det. Frank Farrel | 1993 |
| The Distinguished Gentleman | Olaf Andersen | 1992 |
| Citizen Cohn | Sen. Joseph McCarthy | 1992 |
| Cape Fear | Claude Kersek | 1991 |
| The Children | Cliffe Wheater | 1990 |
| In the Heat of the Night | Acting Chief Tom Dugan / Tom Dugan | 1988 |
| Criminal Law | Det. Mesel / Det. Carl Mesel | 1988 |
| Leonard Part 6 | Nick Snyderburn / Snyderburn | 1987 |
| The Killing Time | Carl Cunningham | 1987 |
| The Living Daylights | Brad Whitaker | 1987 |
| The Abduction of Kari Swenson | Sheriff Onstad | 1987 |
| Getting Even | King R. Kenderson | 1986 |
| Edge of Darkness | Darius Jedburgh | 1985 |
| Fletch | Chief Jerry Karlin / Chief Karlin | 1985 |
| Screen Two | Hunter McCall | 1985 |
| Final Justice | Deputy Sheriff Thomas Jefferson Geronimo III | 1984 |
| The Natural | The Whammer | 1984 |
| Joysticks | Joseph Rutter | 1983 |
| Wacko | Dick Harbinger | 1982 |
| Power | Tommy Vanda | 1980 |
| Eischied | Chief Earl Eischied / Earl Eischied | 1979 |
| The Pack | Jerry | 1977 |
| Speedtrap | Pete Novick | 1977 |
| Checkered Flag or Crash | Walkaway Madden | 1977 |
| The Shadow of Chikara | Wishbone Cutter | 1977 |
| Mitchell | Mitchell | 1975 |
| Framed | Ron Lewis | 1975 |
| Golden Needles | Dan Mason / Dan | 1974 |
| Bicentennial Minutes | Self - Narrator | 1974 |
| The Outfit | Cody / Jack Cody | 1973 |
| Charley Varrick | Molly | 1973 |
| Doc Elliot | Aaron Hickey | 1973 |
| Walking Tall | Buford Pusser | 1973 |
| That Certain Summer | Phil Bonner | 1972 |
| The Streets of San Francisco | Leonard Collier Cord | 1972 |
| Junior Bonner | Curly Bonner | 1972 |
| The Valachi Papers | Irish Member of Valachi Gang | 1972 |
| Mongo's Back in Town | Mongo Nash | 1971 |
| Welcome Home Soldier Boys | Danny | 1971 |
| Wild Rovers | Paul Buckman | 1971 |
| The Most Deadly Game | Alan | 1970 |
| Adam at Six A.M. | Harvey Gavin | 1970 |
| Bracken's World | Nick Fontaine | 1969 |
| Guns of the Magnificent Seven | Slater | 1969 |
| Lancer | Clovis Horner / Day Pardee / Santee | 1968 |
| Mod Squad | Willie Turner | 1968 |
| The Outsider | Billy Joe Corey | 1968 |
| Ironside | Eric Blair | 1967 |
| The High Chaparral | Yuma | 1967 |
| Judd for the Defense | Merl Varney | 1967 |
| Cool Hand Luke | Fixer | 1967 |
| Mission: Impossible | Frank Kearney | 1966 |
| Iron Horse | Johnson | 1966 |
| The Felony Squad | Shep Taubs | 1966 |
| Honey West | Rocky Hansen | 1965 |
| The F.B.I. | Alex Drake | 1965 |
| The Big Valley | Tom Lightfoot | 1965 |
| Bonanza | Luke Harper | 1959 |
| Gunsmoke | Tom Butler / Woody Stoner | 1955 |
