Joe Don Baker, who led one of the greatest vigilante movies ever, Walking Tall, has passed away. Baker was 89.

Joe Don Baker began his career in the 1960s, turning up in roles in Cool Hand Luke, Guns of the Magnificent Seven and Junior Bonner. But it was playing wrestler-turned-vigilante Buford Pusser – a real-life sheriff in Tennessee – that put him on the map. (He would later be replaced by Bo Svenson for the sequels.)

Much of the focus of Joe Don Baker in his post-Walking Tall ‘70s lineup was on crime movies, landing spots in Charley Varrick, The Outfit and Framed. Action was a forte of Baker’s as well, turning up in a number throughout the first leg of his career.

Joe Don Baker would later have a distinction of playing two different characters in the James Bond franchise. First came 1987’s The Living Daylights, where he played black...