He didn’t even say goodbye!

So the other day I was thinking “what’s that ol goofball Joe Don Baker up to these days?” then news hit that he died on May 7th, 2025. So he was busy being dead 😔

RIP

Baker, of course, was in many movies but because this is a part time James Bond blog, we’re gonna focus on his roles as Brad Whitaker and Jack Wade which spanned three movies. We’re particularly gonna focus on the latter. When Jack Wade appeared as James Bond’s CIA contract in St. Petersburg, Russia for Goldeneye, a few fans were left wondering why it wasn’t Felix Leiter. I assume that the practical explanation was that right-wing political pundit Robert Davi had Leiter’s legs bitten off by a shark in License to Kill (the film prior to Goldeneye) and could therefore no longer be in the CIA as a result. But because timelines are a little iffy in the franchise, I think I have a better answer.

In the classic timeline, from Connery to Pierce Brosnan, Felix Leiter’s primary responsibilities were handling clandestine operations in the United States and its direct sphere of influence (like the Caribbean for instance). The one time Leiter wasn’t operating in within the US was in The Living Daylights where he was spying on arms dealer Brad Whitaker (played by Joe Don Baker) in Tangiers. BUT, if you didn’t notice, Whitaker was an AMERICAN. So, by my reasoning under the classic timeline, Felix Leiter only handled operations on US soil OR on foreign soil regarding US citizens. That would better explain why Jack Wade, and not Felix Leiter, was Bond’s contact in Goldeneye.

Jack Wade was unfortunately last seen in Tomorrow Never Dies where he orchestrated Bond’s HALO jump into the South China Sea. The character’s final line was the prophetic “he didn’t even say goodbye!” after 007 leaps out of a plane. Sadly, we never got suitable closure for Jack Wade.

I can only assume that the character was a creation of author and screenwriter Bruce Feirstein, the only credited screenwriter for both Goldeneye and Tomorrow Never Dies. He was also credited for The World Is Not Enough along with Neal Purvis and Robert Wade, but Jack Wade was never seen again. It’s a shame. While Jack Wade would have been out of place for The World is Not Enough, he would have been perfect for Die Another Day, particularly after Bond’s release from a North Korean torture prison. Just picture it: after being tortured for a year, Bond stumbles back across the 38th Parallel to be greeted by Robinson and Jack Wade, with Wade shouting “Hey Jimbo!”. That would have made James Bond so happy. Instead he gets greeted by Michael Madsen.

I would have personally stumbled back to the torture prison if I were him.

But because Joe Don Baker was such a distinguished and unique actor, I don’t think Jack Wade should ever be recast. That’s his role. And unlike every other character in the James Bond universe, no other actor could play it.

RIP Joe Don Baker