Joe Don Baker, Jack Wade in 'GoldenEye', dead at 89

Texan actor Joe Don Baker passed away on May 7, his family reported. Although he was best known for his performance as Sheriff Buford Pusser in 1973's WALKING TALL, Bond fans will always associate Baker with Jack Wade, the burly CIA agent assisting Pierce Brosnan's James Bond in GOLDENEYE, a role he reprised for TOMORROW NEVER DIES.

His first connection to the world of 007 was playing the role of belligerent arms dealer Brad Withaker in THE LIVING DAYLIGHTS, which was Timothy Dalton's first Bond film in 1987. However, his return to the franchise as an ally of the secret agent was given by his participation in the ecothriller EDGE OF DARKNESS in 1985, directed by Martin Campbell. In this mini-series, Baker played CIA agent and ecologist Darius Jedburgh, who joins the quest of Bob Peck's Detective Ronald Craven against the nuclear corporation that orchestrated the death of his activist daughter. The dynamic between the sober and formal Craven and the frenzied and rebellious Jedburgh was a major inspiration for the relationship between Bond and Wade in the 1995 film that Campbell also directed.

Born on February 12, 1936, in Texas, Joe Don Baker attended the University of North Texas and graduated with a business degree in 1958. After serving in the US Army, he pursued acting and became a well-known character actor in the 1960s and 1970s with western series like THE GUNS OF THE MAGNIFICENT SEVEN and BONANZA. After the success of EDGE OF DARKNESS and before GOLDENEYE, Baker also appeared as Detective Measel in the Martin Campbell film CRIMINAL LAW, with Kevin Bacon and Gary Oldman. Other credits include FRAMED, FINAL JUSTICE, CAPE FEAR and MARS ATTACKS. His final credit was THE 2012 film MUD, directed by Jeff Nichols and starring Matthew McConaughey and Reese Witherspoon.

Baker is survived by a few relatives from his native Groesback, as his 11-year marriage with Maria Dolores Rivero-Torres produced no offspring.

"Joe Don was a beacon of kindness and generosity," members of his family wrote in his obituary. "His intellectual curiosity made him a voracious reader, inspiring a great love of nature and animals, particularly cats. Throughout his life, Joe Don touched many lives with his warmth and compassion, leaving an indelible mark on everyone fortunate enough to know him."

A funeral service in his memory will be held this Tuesday (May 20) at Utter McKinley Mortuary, Mission Hills, California, at 10:00 AM

From THE GOLDENEYE DOSSIER, we express our most sincere condolencess at the loss of a great actor and a cherished Bond alumni. A star was added for Joe Don in our memorial wall to honor his memory.