“Though he may no longer be with us in body, his spirit will always remain, a guiding light in the lives he touched.” 

“Rest in peace, Joe Don. You will be dearly missed but never forgotten,” his obituary read.

Baker was born in Groesbeck, Texas, on February 12, 1936. He played football for North Texas State College and joined the Army for two years after graduation in 1959.

He relocated to New York City to pursue acting at the renowned Actor’s Studio after leaving the Army.

Baker played the antagonist Brad Whitaker in The Living Daylights, which starred Timothy Dalton in the title role, and appeared in three other Bond films.

He later shifted to the side of the good guys, costarring with Pierce Brosnan as Bond in GoldenEye as