. . . Where Are They Now? . . .Hello fans,Welcome to this week's issue of WATN. You might remember actor Joe Don Baker from movies like Walking Tall, Junior Bonner, and Charley Varrick. But, where has his career taken him over the years? Let's find out now!
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*View Past Issues: Where Are They Now Archives*--DEAD OR ALIVE?--See if you know if the following celebrities have had a visit from the "Grim Reaper":
Richard Donner: Director of "The Omen", "Superman", "Lethal Weapon", "Scrooged" and many other movies
Graham Chapman: Member of the Monty Python comedy troupe, played King Arthur in the movie "Monty Python and the Holy Grail"
Sebastian Cabot: Played the legendary Mr. French in the TV series "Family Affair"
(Answer at the bottom)*Joe Don BakerLearn More About Joe Don Baker on Celebrity NoozBIRTH DATE: February 12, 1936, Groesbeck, Texas
CLAIM TO FAME: He is best known for his roles in Charley Varrick, Walking Tall, The Living Daylights, and the James Bond films GoldenEye and Tomorrow Never Dies.
FAMILY LIFE: He was married to Maria Dolores Rivero-Torres, but they are divorced.
INFO: Baker's start in acting came in 1967 with an uncredited role in the film Cool Hand Luke, followed by an appearance in an episode of the TV series Mod Squad. It was his role as Steve McQueen's younger brother in Sam Peckinpah's Junior Bonner that put him on the map.
Later, he starred in Phil Karlson's film Walking Tall and in the filmmaker's final work, Framed, in 1975. He is also remembered for his work in 1973's Charley Varrick as the hitman Molly.
He starred in the 1984 baseball drama The Natural as "The Whammer," a baseball player modeled after Babe Ruth. He has also appeared in 1985's Fletch, and as CIA agent Darius Jedburgh from the BBC television drama serial Edge of Darkness. He played a private detective in 1991's Cape Fear, which was directed by Martin Scorsese.
TRIVIA: Attended the University of North Texas.
While Carroll O'Connor was recovering from bypass surgery, Baker appeared in O'Connor's place on "In the Heat of the Night" (1988) as Tom Dugan.
Is a member of Sigma Phi Epsilon Fraternity.
Studied at the Actors Studio in New York City following a stint in the army.
WHERE IS HE NOW: His most recent television role was in 2009 on the series The Cleaner on A&E. He will appear in the movie King, opening this year. Directed by Jeff Nichols, the film stars Matthew McConaughey, Reese Witherspoon and Sam Shepard.
CREDITS:2012 Mud...King
2009 The Cleaner (TV series)...Major Larry Duren
- Last American Casualty (2009)
2008 Strange Wilderness...Bill Calhoun
2005 The Dukes of Hazzard...Governor Jim Applewhite
2003 The Commission...Rep. Hale Boggs
2001 Joe Dirt...Don, Brandy's Dad (uncredited)
2001 Vegas, City of Dreams...Dylan Garrett
1999 Too Rich: The Secret Life of Doris Duke (TV movie)...Buck Duke
1998 Poodle Springs (TV movie)...P.J. Parker
1997 Tomorrow Never Dies...Jack Wade
1997 George Wallace (TV movie)...Big Jim Folsom
1997 To Dance with Olivia (TV movie)...Horace Henley
1996 Mars Attacks!...Richie's Dad
1996 The Siege at Ruby Ridge (TV movie)...Gerry Spence
1995 GoldenEye...Jack Wade
1995 The Grass Harp...Sheriff Junius Candle
1995 Congo...R.B. Travis
1995/I Panther...Brimmer
1995 Underneath...Clay Hinkle
1995 Felony...Donovan
1994 Traps (TV series)
Retirement Party (1994)
1994 Ring of Steel...Man in Black
1994 Reality Bites...Tom Pierce
1993 Complex of Fear (TV movie)...Det. Frank Farrel
1992 The Distinguished Gentleman...Olaf Andersen
1992 Citizen Cohn (TV movie)...Sen. Joseph McCarthy
1991 Cape Fear...Claude Kersek
1990 The Children...Cliffe Wheater
1989 In the Heat of the Night (TV series)...Acting Chief Tom Dugan / Tom Dugan
1989 Screen Two (TV series)...Hunter McCall
Defrosting the Fridge (1989)
1988 Criminal Law...Det. Mesel
1987 Leonard Part 6...Nick Snyderburn
1987 The Killing Time...Carl Cunningham
1987 The Living Daylights...Brad Whitaker
1987 The Abduction of Kari Swenson (TV movie)...Sheriff Onstad
1986 Getting Even...King R. Kenderson
1985 Edge of Darkness (TV mini-series)...Darius Jedburgh
1985 Fletch...Chief Jerry Karlin
1985 Final Justice...Deputy Sheriff Thomas Jefferson Geronimo III
1984 The Natural...The Whammer
1983 Joysticks...Joseph Rutter
1982 Wacko...Dick Harbinger
1979-1980 Eischied (TV series)...Chief Earl Eischied / Chief of Detectives Earl Eischied
1980 Power (TV movie)...Tommy Vanda
1978 To Kill a Cop (TV movie)...Chief Earl M. Eischied
1977 Speedtrap...Pete Novick
1977 The Pack...Jerry
1977 The Shadow of Chikara...Wishbone Cutter
1977 Checkered Flag or Crash...Walkaway Madden
1975 Mitchell...Mitchell
1975 Framed...Ron Lewis
1974 Golden Needles...Dan
1973 The Outfit...Cody
1973 Charley Varrick...Molly
1973 The Streets of San Francisco (TV series)...Leonard Collier Cord
Beyond Vengeance (1973)
1973 Doc Elliot (TV series)...Aaron Hickey
Pilot (1973)
1973 Walking Tall...Buford Pusser
1972 That Certain Summer (TV movie)...Phil Bonner
1972 Ironside (TV series)...Eric Blair
Camera... Action... Murder! (1972)
1972 Junior Bonner...Curly Bonner
1972 Welcome Home, Soldier Boys...Danny
1971 Mongo's Back in Town (TV movie)...Mongo Nash
1971 Mission: Impossible (TV series)...Frank Kearney
The Miracle (1971)
1971 Wild Rovers...Paul Buckman
1971 The High Chaparral (TV series)...Yuma
The Hostage (1971)
1970 The Most Deadly Game (TV series)...Alan
Breakdown (1970)
1970 Adam at Six A.M....Harvey Gavin
1970 The F.B.I. (TV series)...Alex Drake
Summer Terror (1970)
1968-1970 Lancer (TV series)...Clovis Harner / Day Pardee / Santee
1970 Bracken's World (TV series)...Nick Fontaine
Focus on a Gun (1970)
1969 Mod Squad (TV series)...Willie Turner
Willie Poor Boy (1969)
1969 Guns of the Magnificent Seven...Slater
1969 The Big Valley (TV series)...Tom Lightfoot
Lightfoot (1969)
1966-1969 Gunsmoke (TV series)...Tom Butler / Woody Stoner
1968 The Outsider (TV series)...Billy Joe Corey
A Wide Place in the Road (1968)
1968 Bonanza (TV series)...Luke Harper
The Real People of Muddy Creek (1968)
1967 Felony Squad (TV series)...Shep Taubs
My Mommy Got Lost (1967)
1967 Cool Hand Luke...Fixer (uncredited)
1967 Judd for the Defense (TV series)...Merle Varney, aka Merle Williams
Shadow of a Killer (1967)
1966 Iron Horse (TV series)...Johnson
Cougar Man (1966)
1965 Honey West (TV series)...Rocky Hansen
Rockabye the Hard Way (1965)
To see Then & Now pictures of Joe Don Baker, visit: Celebrity Nooz*--Answers to DEAD OR ALIVE--Richard Donner - ALIVE
Born: 04/24/1930
Graham Chapman - DEAD (Cancer)
Born: 01/08/1941 Died: 10/04/1989
Sebastian Cabot - DEAD (Stroke)
Born: 07/06/1918 Died: 08/23/1977
*WHO PASSED ON THIS WEEK...7/25Vladimir Hrinak, 47, Slovak football referee.
B. R. Ishara, 77, Indian film director, tuberculosis.
Susanne Lothar, 51, German actress (The White Ribbon).
7/24Chad Everett, 76, American actor (Medical Center), lung cancer.
Sherman Hemsley, 74, American actor (The Jeffersons, Amen, Dinosaurs), natural causes.
Hirosuke Ichikura, 90, Japanese literature professor and researcher of French philosophy (Senshu University), multiple organ failure.
Themo Lobos, 83, Chilean comic book writer and artist, respiratory failure.
John Atta Mills, 68, Ghanaian politician, President (since 2009).
Gregorio Peces-Barba, 74, Spanish politician and jurist, renal failure.
7/23Lars Ardelius, 85, Swedish psychologist and novelist.
Yoetsu Fujiya, 59, Japanese architect, colon cancer.
Tetsuji Hotta, 76, Japanese businessman and football association chairman, dementia with Lewy bodies.
Seppo Liitsola, 79, Finnish ice hockey player and coach.
Ernie Machin, 68, English footballer (Coventry City, Plymouth Argyle).
Margaret Mahy, 76, New Zealand children's author, cancer.
Maria Emanuel, Margrave of Meissen, 86, German noble.
Louise Nippert, 100, American philanthropist and baseball franchise owner (Cincinnati Reds).
Sally Ride, 61, American physicist and astronaut, first
American woman in space, pancreatic cancer.
Lakshmi Sahgal, 97, Indian politician, army officer and revolutionist of the Indian independence movement, cardiac arrest.
John Treloar, 84, Australian Olympic (1952) sprinter, Commonwealth Games gold medalist.
Esther Tusquets, 75, Spanish publisher, writer and essayist, pneumonia.
Jose Luis Uribarri, 75, Spanish television presenter and director (Televisión Española), cerebral hemorrhage.