Joe Don Baker dead: James Bond legend dies age 89 as family share statement

Actor Joe Don Baker, who has appeared in a string of big-name movies, has died. The Hollywood actor, who played two roles in the James Bond movie franchise, died at the age of 89.

His family announced the news in a statement. Joe died on May 7, his family announced in a statement as they paid tribute to him and branded the star a "beacon of kindness and generosity". The statement added: "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." The statement then ended with: "As we say goodbye to Joe Don, we hold onto the memories and the love he shared with us.

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"Though he may no longer be with us in body, his spirit will always remain, a guiding light in the lives he touched.

"Rest in peace, Joe Don. You will be dearly missed but never forgotten."

Joe was married to Maria Dolores Rivero-Torres from 1969 to 1980. He never had any children.

The actor played two roles over three movies in the James Bond franchise. Joe played villain Brad Whitaker in 1987's The Living Daylights, in which Timothy Dalton played James Bond. After undertaking the role of a villain in his first James Bond movie appearance, Joe then went on to play a good guy as he played CIA agent Jack Wade in GoldenEye and Tomorrow Never Dies, in which Pierce Brosnan portrayed the lead role.

Aside from his James Bond franchise roles, Texas-born Joe also had roles in Walking Tall, in which he played the role of Sheriff Buford Pusser. Speaking of the role in the mid-1990s, Joe said the movie "touched a vigilante nerve in everybody who would like to do in the bad guys but don’t have the power and would get in trouble if [they] did. But Buford was able to pull it off."

Walking Tall became a big success, as it's said to have grossed around $40 million ($622 million today) on a budget of about $500,000 ($3.6 million today), claims.

Walking Tall director Phil Karlson said the movie's success was down to a "a deep hunger to have a man in a movie who is big, powerful and one people can look up to", he told the New York Times. Despite the movie's success, Joe declined to reprise the role in the sequels. Pusser himself then agreed to take the role, but died in an automobile accident before filming. Bo Svenson then took the lead in big-screen follow-ups released in 1975 and 1977.

Elsewhere in Joe's career, he undertook roles in Eddie Murphy flick, The Distinguished Gentleman, The Dukes of Hazzard, Joe Dirt and Mud.

Joe was born in Grosenbeck, Texas. Hie mother Edna died when he was 12 and his aunt took over raising him. He first dipped his toe in the acting pool as a senior student at North Texas State College in Denton. Before going into the of acting, he graduated with a business degree and served for two years in the US Army. Joe then moved to New York and was accepted into The Actors Studio.

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