Brad Whitaker (Joe Don Baker)
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Datastream Actor: Joe Don Baker
Character: Brad Whitaker
Movie: The Living Daylights
Date of Birth: 12 February 1936
Height: 6' 2½"
Distinguishing Feature: Has himself replicated in waxworks
of historical military leaders
Appearance: A stocky, middle-aged man, receding grey hair chopped into a practical crew cut
Status: Terminated
Organisations And Alliances: General Georgi Koskov, Necros, The Mujahideen
Profile
A US ex-army cadet who washed up on the wrong side of the
military, Whitaker still proudly wears the colours. His
fascination with war and his failure in the military
led him to use other means
for organising his own comradeship-in-arms. Expelled from Westpoint
for cheating, he spent a short stint as a mercenary in
the Belgian
Congo before working with various criminal organisations to help
finance his first arms deals.
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Bold and brash and not ready to give up without
a fight, Whitaker takes an analytical interest in battles of
the world - reenacting each with toy soldiers and 'fighting'
the battle the way he would have fought. Caught up in his fascination
with military gadgetry, Whitaker has taken to selling high-tech
weapons to the highest
bidder. Immensely vain and self-promoting, Brad Whitaker has
many waxwork models of himself dressed as famous leaders, war
heroes and patriots.
"If Pushkin is still
alive on the last day of the conference then kill him!"
Scheme
With the help of the rogue General Georgi Koskov, Whitaker
has struck a deal to secure a
large shipment of opium with the Snow Leopard Brotherhood wing
of the Mujahideen for 50 million dollars worth of diamonds that
he had obtained from an arms deal with the Soviets. At the same
time they attempt to use Bond to eliminate the Soviet head of secret
operations
General Pushkin on the basis that he has instituted an ongoing
operation called "Smiert Spionem" meaning "Death
to Spies. With Koskov
spreading lies
and rumours
to both the Russian and
British intelligence services, if it were not for 007,
Whitaker's multi-million dollar plan would have succeeded.
I've Been Expecting You
Bond only comes face to face with Brad Whitaker at the closure of the mission.
Bond is deployed to his home in Tangier to arrest the war-crazed Whitaker. In
his own bizarre war-room Bond and this villain do battle - Whitaker with his
80-round machine pistol and Bond with his trusty Walther PPK.
"Well, that's too
bad, Bond. You know, you could have been a live rich man
instead of a poor
dead one."
Headquarters
In a gigantic palace-like estate in Tangier, Whitaker wheels
and deals with other people's money. Complete with stunning
views, swimming pool and catering for a king, this greedy
man has a suitably extravagant headquarters.
Gadgets & Vehicles
Armed with the latest machine pistols and automatic
armaments, Whitaker has access to the latest US technology
through back channels through the Department of Defence. His
latest toy fires mini-rockets up to eight kilometres and are
shielded with bullet-proof plexi-glass, firing 80 rounds of
ammo. |
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Dress Code
Decked up in ex-army surplus, Whitaker often supports USA
tan dessert uniforms, with beret, and decked out with
medals - none of which he earned.
Goodbye, Mr Bond
Bond faces off against Whitaker in his war-room, an ornate
battle themed room where Whitaker re-enacts history's most
important battles. Bond finally
declares a cease fire when an iron statue of Wellington
explodes (thanks to Bond's key-ring detonator), collapsing
on top of the war-crazed villain.
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"You've had your eight - now I'll have my eighty..."
Biography
Born in Groesback, Texas, in 1936, Joe Don Baker was the son
of Edna and Doyle Baker. His first onscreen role was as an
extra
in Clint Eastwood's "Cool Hand Luke" - which
hit the cinemas in 1967. Although he did not receive credit
for his bit part, this sparked an interest in the cinema. His
big break arrived in 1972 when he appeared in "Junior
Bonner", playing the young brother of screen legend Steve
McQueen.
His career boomed in the 1970s - what had started
out as a few cameo roles was now a prosperous career for Baker.
His 1973 role in "Charley Varrick" as
the eccentric hit man, Molly, saw him gain popularity. Baker
made a household name of himself playing the police detective
Earl Eischied in "To Kill A Cop".
Following the success of
this one-off crime drama Joe Don Baker was to be offered
$1 million for a TV series in 1980. The show was "Eischied",
a spin off of his popular character. Regrettably, "Eischied" did
not run for long - a short 12 episode season - but it was
enough to keep Baker's career at full throttle.
In the '80s, he worked on the
political and highly regarded TV-thriller "Edge of
Darkness". Directed by Martin Campbell and starring
Bob Peck, Ian McNeice and Hugh Fraser, this TV mini-series
saw Baker take one of the lead roles of Darius Jedburgh.
For this work, Baker was nominated at the British Academy
Television Awards.
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Shortly after his entrenchment in British TV,
Baker was offered the opportunity to play opposite Timothy Dalton
in 1987's "The Living Daylights". 1995's "GoldenEye" saw Martin
Campbell at the helm and he brought Baker back into
the Bond family, this time as Bond's (Pierce
Brosnan) American contact at the CIA, Jack
Wade.
In 1991, Baker worked with famed director Martin Scorsese on "Cape Fear", where he played another hitman opposite Robert DeNiro. Since the turn of the millennium, Joe Don Baker has slowed his career, still appearing in token productions including "The Dukes of Hazzard" (2005) and "The Commission" (2003).