What Is Joe Don Baker's Net Worth?
Joe Don Baker is an American actor who has a net worth of $3 million. Joe Don Baker starred in several westerns and played Chief of Detectives Earl Eischied on the NBC crime drama "Eischied" (1979–1980). Baker has more than 80 acting credits to his name, including the films "Walking Tall" (1973), "Framed" (1975), "The Natural" (1984), "Fletch" (1985), "Cape Fear" (1991), "Reality Bites" (1994), "Congo" (1995), "Mars Attacks!" (1996), "The Dukes of Hazzard" (2005), and "Mud" (2012), the miniseries "Edge of Darkness" (1985) and "George Wallace" (1997), and the television series "Lancer" (1968–1970) and "In the Heat of the Night" (1989). Joe played Brad Whitaker in the 1987 "James Bond" film "The Living Daylights" and he played a different role, Jack Wade, in two more of the franchise's films, 1995's "GoldenEye" and 1997's "Tomorrow Never Dies." Baker has also appeared in Broadway productions of "Marathon '33" (1963–1964) and "Blues for Mister Charlie" (1964).
Early Life
Joe Don Baker was born on February 12, 1936, on Groesbeck, Texas. He is the son of Edna McDonald and Doyle Charles Baker. Joe attended North Texas State College, earning a Bachelor of Business Administration in 1958. Before becoming an actor, Baker served in the U.S. Army. In 1994, he was honored with the University of North Texas' Distinguished Alumni Award.
Career
In the early '60s, Baker appeared in Broadway productions of "Marathon '33" and "Blues for Mister Charlie." He made his TV debut in a 1965 episode of "Honey West," then he guest-starred on "Iron Horse" (1966), "Gunsmoke" (1966; 1969), "Judd for the Defense" (1967), "The Felony Squad" (1967), "Bonanza" (1968), "The Outsider" (1968), "Lancet" (1968–1970), "Mod Squad" (1969), "The F.B.I." (1970), "The Most Deadly Game" (1970), "The High Chaparral" (1971), "Mission: Impossible" (1971), and "Ironside" (1972). In 1967, Joe had an uncredited role in "Cool Hand Luke," and he followed it with the films "Guns of the Magnificent Seven" (1969), "Adam at Six A.M." (1970), "Wild Rovers" (1971), "Welcome Home Soldier Boys" (1971), and "Junior Bonner" (1972) and the TV movies "Mongo's Back in Town" (1971) and "That Certain Summer" (1972). In 1973, he starred in the lead role of Sheriff Buford Pusser in the film "Walking Tall," which grossed $40 million on a $500,000 budget. Baker then guest-starred on "The Streets of San Francisco" (1973) and appeared in the films "Charley Varrick" (1973), "The Outfit" (1973), "Golden Needles" (1974), "Framed" (1975), "Checkered Flag or Crash" (1977), "The Shadow of Chikara" (1977), "Speedtrap" (1977), and "The Pack" (1977) and the TV movie "To Kill a Cop" (1978). He played the title role in 1975's "Mitchell," which was later featured in a 1993 episode of "Mystery Science Theater 3000."
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From 1979 to 1980, Joe starred as Chief of Detectives Earl Eischied on "Eischied," which aired 13 episodes on NBC. In the '80s, he appeared in the films "Wacko" (1982), "Joysticks" (1983), "Final Justice" (1984), "Getting Even" (1986), "The Killing Time" (1987), "Leonard Part 6" (1987), and "Criminal Law" (1988), the TV movies "Power" (1980) and "The Abduction of Kari Swenson" (1987), and the miniseries "Edge of Darkness" (1985). Baker co-starred with Robert Redford, Robert Duvall, Glenn Close, and Kim Basinger in 1984's "The Natural" and with Chevy Chase in 1985's "Fletch," then he had a recurring role on the NBC police procedural "In The Heat of The Night" in 1989. In the '80s, he also joined the "James Bond" film franchise, playing arms dealer Brad Whitaker in 1987's "The Living Daylights" alongside Timothy Dalton. The film grossed $191.2 million at the box office, and Joe returned to the franchise in 1995's "GoldenEye" and 1997's "Tomorrow Never Dies," playing CIA agent Jack Wade alongside Pierce Brosnan. "GoldenEye" and "Tomorrow Never Dies" brought in $356.4 million and $333 million at the box office, respectively.
Baker co-starred with Robert De Niro, Nick Nolte, Jessica Lange, Juliette Lewis, Robert Mitchum, and Gregory Peck in the 1991 Martin Scorsese-directed thriller "Cape Fear," and he appeared in 1994's "Reality Bites" alongside Winona Ryder, Ethan Hawke, Ben Stiller (who also directed the film), and Janeane Garofalo. Joe portrayed Senator Joseph McCarthy in the 1992 TV movie "Citizen Cohn," which earned a Primetime Emmy nomination for Outstanding Made for Television Movie and a Golden Globe nomination for Best Miniseries or Television Film. Baker appeared in the films "The Distinguished Gentleman" (1992), "Ring of Steel" (1994), "Felony" (1994), "The Underneath" (1995), "Panther" (1995), "Congo" (1995), "The Grass Harp" (1995), and "Mars Attacks!" (1996), and he earned critical acclaim for his portrayal of "Big Jim" Folsom, the former governor of Alabama, in the 1997 miniseries "George Wallace." He had an uncredited role in the 2001 comedy "Joe Dirt," then he appeared in the films "The Commission" (2003), "The Dukes of Hazzard" (2005), and "Strange Wilderness" (2008) and guest-starred on "The Cleaner" (2009). As of this writing, Baker's most recent role was King in the coming-of-age drama "Mud," which the National Board of Review named one of the "Top Ten Independent Films of 2013."
Personal Life
Joe married Maria Dolores Rivero-Torres on Christmas Day in 1969. The couple divorced in 1980.
Awards and Nominations
In 2014, "Mud" was honored with the Robert Altman Award at the Film Independent Spirit Awards. In 1986, Baker received a BAFTA Award nomination for Best Actor for "Edge of Darkness." "George Wallace" earned him a CableACE Award nomination for Supporting Actor in a Movie or Miniseries and a Satellite Award nomination for Best Actor in a Supporting Role in a Miniseries or a Motion Picture Made for Television.
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