Brad Whitaker (Joe Don Baker)

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.

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.

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.

"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.

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).