Joe Don Baker, beloved character actor who populated classic films from “Walking Tall” to “Cape Fear” with his unique spin on the brawny Texan persona, is dead at 89, his family announced. He is survived by a circle of friends and extended relations in his hometown of Groesbeck, Texas.
Standing six-foot, two inches and built like a brick wall, he was a natural athlete, playing basketball and football in high school, and attending North Texas State College on an athletic scholarship. Graduating in 1958, and after spending two years in the army, he moved to New York City to study at the Actors Studio, landing his debut in Manhattan theater in “Marathon ’33” in 1963.