Joe Don Baker Biography

Fast Facts

• He attended what is now the University of North Texas, joined the Army, and studied at the Actors Studio in New York City
• Quote: "I've been showing a tape of [his BBC-TV miniseries] 'Edge of Darkness' an hour every week to the girl that comes and massages me․ It's the third time I've seen it․ It's like 'I, Claudius'--I could sit and watch it every night․"
• Quote: "(On the contrast between American and British TV) "By the time the networks get through worrying about who they're gonna tick off, they wind up with nothing․""
• He has appeared in three James Bond movies, "The Living Daylights," "Goldeneye" and "Tomorrow Never Dies․"
• He appeared in four episodes of the NBC-TV series "In the Heat of the Night" as acting police chief Tom Dugan while series star Carroll O'Connor was recovering from bypass surgery
• His first movie role was an uncredited bit part in the 1967 film "Cool Hand Luke․"
• In 1980 he was said to be the first actor to be paid $1 million to star in a TV series; the series was NBC's "Eischied․"