Mature character actor Joe Don Baker has been playing self-confident assets c incriminating evidence ol' boys since his uncredited role in Aloof Hand Luke in 1967. Born in Texas, his Southern drawl and full proportions made him applicable to simulate countless numbers of simple-minded sheriffs, cops, and detectives in all things from big-budget blockbusters to muted-stage action movies, although he more frequently appeared in the latter. On TV in the '60s, he guest starred on Bonanza, ... Gunsmoke, and Mission: Impossible preceding the time when starring in his own exhibition, the short-lived detective series Eischied.

On the socking sieve, he played the hobo in Sam Peckinpah's Inferior Bonner in 1972. He same year he made the "hicksploitation" outstanding example Walking Overdone, followed by Charley Varrick, Thriving Needles, Framed, and copiousness of other improperly made undertaking thrillers that be dressed since gained a negligible but appreciative audience on home video. The pre-eminent admonition is 1975 crime flick Mitchell, which was featured on an impressive transitional episode of Mystery Science Theater 3000. Baker plays the nominal lout detective who goes after cure-all dealers while drinking a lot of Schlitz malt liquor and eating pork rinds.

After this movie, he became something of a legendary figure to a small but loyal fan infra dig, and his persona as a darling wretch was secure for the next few decades. In the '80s he appeared in injurious comedies (Fletch, Leonard, Role in 6) as well as bad action thrillers (Final Justness, Getting Requite). In 1989, he returned to television to court acting chief Tom Dugan on In the Heat of the Night and made petite appearances in films, the police chief who drinks Pepto-Bismol in Cape Quake at (1991). He did section wrong a little in the '90s to play Senator Joseph McCarthy in the made-for-TV movie Denizen Cohn as fabulously as Winona Ryder's yuppie dad in Reality Bites.

His later accomplishments subsume three James Bond appearances, ahead in Living Daylights as a bad guy, then in Goldeneye and Tomorrow Not in the least Dies as considerable guy Jack Wade. He returned to his stereotypical roots playing white-trash slobs as Richie's trailer park dad in Mars Attacks! and in an uncredited role in Joe Slop. In 2003, he appeared with veterans Martin Landau, Martin Glimmer, and Edward Asner in The Commisson.