Joe Don Baker, the Texas-born actor who embodied the hard-edged grit of 1970s cinema, has passed away at the age of 89.

Known for his towering presence and no-nonsense persona, Baker became a fan favorite in action and crime dramas, particularly after his breakout role in ‘Walking Tall’ (1973).

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Deadline confirmed his death, though the cause has not been out.

Born on February 12, 1936, in Groesbeck, Texas, Baker’s path to Hollywood wasn’t a straight line. He played college football, served in the Army, and only later found his way into acting by training at New York’s prestigious Actors Studio.

From there, the Texan made his Broadway debut in the early ’60s before making the cross-country leap to Los Angeles.

Early on, Baker built a steady resume with appearances in TV classics like ‘Gunsmoke’, ‘The Big Valley’, ‘Mission: Impossible’, and ‘The Streets of San Francisco’. But it was his starring turn as real-life lawman Buford Pusser in ‘Walking Tall’ that made Hollywood sit up and take notice.

As a bat-wielding sheriff taking justice into his own hands, Baker became the face of a new kind of action hero—one that didn’t need spandex or superpowers, just guts.

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Throughout the ’70s and ’80s, he solidified his tough-guy rep in films like ‘Mitchell’, ‘Charley Varrick’, and ‘Speedtrap’. But Baker wasn’t just a one-note performer. He proved he could deliver laughs too, popping up in comedies like ‘Fletch’ and Tim Burton’s campy alien invasion flick ‘Mars Attacks!’ in the ’90s.

Joe Don Baker also left his mark on the world of James Bond. Fans may remember him as a villain in ‘The Living Daylights’ (1987) opposite Timothy Dalton, but he later switched sides—playing a charming CIA ally to Pierce Brosnan’s Bond in ‘GoldenEye’ (1995) and ‘Tomorrow Never Dies’ (1997).

Other standout moments include his role as The Whammer, a baseball legend in ‘The Natural’ (1984), and a chilling turn as a corrupt investigator in Martin Scorsese’s ‘Cape Fear’ (1991).

Off-screen, Baker largely kept to himself. He married Maria Dolores Rivero-Torres from 1969 until their divorce in 1980. Though he had no children, he is survived by extended family in his hometown of Groesbeck, Texas.