A rugged, burly character actor with a deceptively benign Southern twang, Texas-born Joe Don Baker made his Broadway debut in "Marathon 33" (1963) and followed with a critically-acclaimed performance in James Baldwin's "Blues For Mister Charlie" (1964), directed by Burgess Meredith. His first feature film appearance came as Fixer in "Cool Hand Luke" (1967), but he really attracted attention as Steve McQueen's wheeler-dealer brother in Sam Peckinpah's "Junior Bonner" (1972). Baker's most memorable turn came as the real-life avenging Sheriff Buford Pusser in the excessively violent and melodramatic "Walking Tall" (1973). That same year, he was cast as a Mafia hood opposite Walter Matthau's small-time bank robber in "Charley Varrick". After a turn as a fictionalized Babe Ruth, called 'The Whammer' in "The Natural" (1984), Baker returned to familiar ground playing lawmen in features like "Fletch" (1985), in which he was a crooked sheriff, "The Killing Time" (1987) and "The Grass Harp" (1995).Baker starred as NYC Chief of Detectives Earl Eischied in the NBC miniseries "To Kill a Cop" (1978) and then reprised the role in the short-lived spin-off "Eischied" (NBC, 1979-80). His hulking CIA agent drew raves on the other side of the Atlantic in the BBC miniseries thriller "Edge of Darkness" (1986), and he returned to the familiar guise of sheriff for "The Abduction of Kari Swenson" (NBC, 1987). Baker portrayed Claude Kersek, the private investigator hired to protect the Bowden family from Max Cady (Robert De Niro), in the Martin Scorsese remake of "Cape Fear" (1991) and he got to be a trailer-trash dad in Tim Burton's "Mars Attacks!" (1996). The small screen also gave him the chance to portray two historical characters, Senator Joe McCarthy in the HBO movie "Citizen Cohn" (1992) and Big Jim Folsom in the TNT miniseries "George Wallace" (1997).
Profession(s):
Actor, salesman, waiter
Sometimes Credited As:
Joe Don Baker
2005 Cast as Governor Jim Applewhite in the big-screen version of "The Dukes of Hazzard" based on the 1970's hit show
1997 Acted the part of Big Jim Folsom in TNT miniseries "George Wallace", starring Gary Sinese in title role
1996 Cast as a trailer-trash dad in Tim Burton's "Mars Attacks!"
1992 Played Senator Joe McCarthy in the HBO biopic "Citizen Cohn"
1991 Portrayed Kersek, the private investigator hired by Sam Bowden to protect his family, in the Martin Scorsese remake "Cape Fear"
1986 Delivered an accclaimed performance in the BBC miniseries "Edge of Darkness"
1985 Starred opposite Chevy Chase as a crooked sheriff of an L.A. beach community in "Fletch"
1984 Portrayed a fictionalized version of Babe Ruth called The Whammer who was struck out by the young Roy Hobbs (Robert Redford) in "The Natural"
1979 - 1980 Starred in the NBC series "Eischied", a spin-off from "To Kill a Cop"
1978 First played Eischied, a NYC chief of detectives, in the miniseries "To Kill a Cop" (NBC)
1975 Reunited with "Walking Tall" director Phil Karlson and writer Mort Briskin for the even more venal "Framed"
1973 Starred as real-life hero Sheriff Buford Pusser in the action melodrama "Walking Tall"
1972 Played Steve McQueen's little brother in Sam Peckinpah's quiet "Junior Bonner"
1971 TV-movie debut, "Mongo's Back in Town"; played professional gunman (Mongo) in cast that included Telly Savalas, Sally Field and Martin Sheen
1967 Film acting debut as Fixer in "Cool Hand Luke"
1963 Broadway debut, "Marathon 33"
After college, served in the US Army
Upon completing military service, moved to NYC to pursue an acting career
