TheArchive: Reviewing the Rare, Retro, and Restored

Here at Multicom, we are saddened by the news of Joe Don Baker's passing on May 7th, 2025 . Baker was an important figure in American film and a familiar face in many beloved titles in our collection. His family announced last week that he passed away at the age of 89. Joe Don Baker made a mark on Hollywood with his unmistakable Texan presence and his commanding presence. Whether playing lawmen, outlaws, or something in between, he brought an intensity to his roles that audiences never forgot...including making memorable appearances in multiple James Bond films. He rose to fame in the early 1970s with back-to-back hit performances: first, in Junior Bonner (1972) , directed by Sam Peckinpah, where he starred as the ambitious younger brother of Steve McQueen’s aging rodeo rider. Then, in Don Siegel’s Charley Varrick (1973), he turned heads as Molly, a mob enforcer who chillingly stalks Walter Matthau’s character.  But Baker’s lead role in Walking Tall (1973) catapulted him to th...