Sheriff Buford Pusser - Walking Tall Cars

Above is a 1972 Dodge Polara which is a replica of the McNairy County Sheriffs cars used in the 1973 film ‘Walking Tall’. Walking tall is a movie about the life of legendary Sheriff Buford Pusser of McNairy County, Tennessee.

Buford Pusser was born in Finger, McNairy County, Tennessee, on December 12, 1937, the son of Helen and Carl Pusser. Buford Pusser was a high-school football and basketball player and was 6 feet 6 inches tall and 250 pounds.

In 1957, Buford moved to Chicago, where he was a local wrestler known as “Buford the Bull”. He married his wife Pauline on December 5, 1959. Pusser returned home to Tennessee in 1961. Buford’s father Carl was the Adamsville, Tennessee police chief and planned to retire due to health problems. Carl encouraged Buford to apply for his position and was voted into that position by the city board in 1962.

In 1964, Buford was elected Sheriff of McNairy County after incumbent Sheriff James Dickey was killed in a car crash. Dickey was returning from the scene of another car crash when his right front tire blew out and he crashed. At 27 years old, Buford became the youngest sheriff in Tennessee’s history.

As sheriff, the 27-year-old Buford Pusser set out to rid McNairy County of the Dixie Mafia and the State Line Mob. Corruption, gambling, prostitution, and illegal moonshine was a huge problem in the area. Especially on US 45 at the Tennessee & Mississippi state line. In his first year as sheriff, Buford destroyed 87 moonshine stills.

Pusser survived several assassination attempts. On February 1, 1966, Louise Hathcock attempted to kill Sheriff Pusser after Sheriff Pusser, Chief Deputy Jim Moffett, and Deputy Petie Plunk responded to a robbery complaint at The Shamrock Motel. Hathcock fired on Pusser with a concealed .38 pistol. Pusser returned fire and killed Hathcock. On January 2, 1967, Pusser was shot three times by an unidentified gunman.

While he was already a local hero, Pusser’s “war” on the State Line Mob was brought to national prominence when his wife, Pauline, was killed on August 12, 1967, during an assassination ambush intended for Pusser.

Sheriff Pusser shot and killed an intoxicated Charles Russell Hamilton on December 25, 1968, after responding to a complaint that Hamilton had threatened his landlord with a gun.

Buford Pusser served three consecutive terms as Sheriff of McNairy County leaving the office September 1st,1970 due to Tennessee Term Limitations.

Buford Pusser’s life became a national story in 1971 when “The 12th of August”, a book by W.R. Morris, was published. In 1973 the movie “Walking Tall” hit the theaters and was a box-office smash. Produced on a budget of $500,000, the film grossed over $40 million.

Buford Pusser’s Death

Buford Pusser died on August 21, 1974, of injuries sustained in a one-car crash four miles west of Adamsville. He was only 36 years old. Earlier that day, he had contracted with Bing Crosby Productions in Memphis to portray himself in the sequel to Walking Tall. That evening, returning home alone from the McNairy County Fair in his Chevrolet Corvette, Pusser struck an embankment at high speed that ejected him from the vehicle. The car caught fire and burned.

Museum & Memorials

Buford Pusser Home & Museum – You can visit Buford Pusser’s home in Adamsville, Tennessee which is also a museum

Buford Pusser Memorial Park – Adamsville, Tennessee

Buford Pusser October 4th, 1969, Crash Site Marker

Shamrock Motel – State Line Shooting Historical Marker

12th of August Ambush Site Historical Marker

12th of August 2nd Ambush Site Historical Marker

Buford Pusser Experience Center – McNairy County Courthouse – Jail

Buford Pussers Law Enforcement Career

1962 Appointed Adamsville Police Chief
1964 Elected Sheriff of McNairy County
Shot eight times
Stabbed seven times
Fought off six men at once, sending three to jail and three to the hospital
Destroyed 87 whiskey stills in 1965 alone
Killed two people in self-defense
Hopped on the hood a speeding car, smashed the window and subdued the man who had tried to run over him
Served three consecutive terms as Sheriff of McNairy County leaving the office September 1st,1970 due to Tennessee term limitations
In 1969 the Tennessee General Assembly recognized Pusser for his accomplishments and made him an honorary Sergeant of Arms.

Sheriff Buford Pussers Cars

Buford Pusser drove his own cars as sheriff. I wasn’t able to find what cars he drove from 1964-1967, but we know in 1967 he had a 1967 Plymouth Fury I. Supposedly after he was shot and his wife was murdered in the 1967 ambush, he switched cars quite a few times. Here’s a list of his know cars.

1967 Plymouth Fury I (shot up in ambush)
1968 Oldsmobile Toronado
1969 Ford XL (wrecked)
1969 Pontiac Grand Prix
1970 Chevy Impala
1970 Ford Custom

1967 Plymouth Fury I

This car was shot up in the August 12, 1967, ambush

1968 Oldsmobile Toronado

This car has a bullet hole in the left front fender near the antenna

1969 Fold XL – Buford wrecked this car

Buford began carrying an AR15 in his car after he was shot, and his wife was killed by a .30 caliber rifle during an ambush.

1969 Pontiac Grand Prix

1970 Chevy Impala

1970 Ford Custom

Walking Tall – Sheriff Pusser Movie Cars

In the movies, Buford Pusser drove the following cars:

1972 Dodge Polara (Walking Tall)
1975 Chevrolet Impala 2-Door (Walking Tall Part 2)
1975 Chevrolet Monte Carlo (Walking Tall Part 2)
1974 Chevrolet Impala 4-Door (Walking Tall Final Chapter)

1972 Dodge Polara

1974 Chevy Impala

1975 Chevy Monte Carlo

The August 12, 1967, Ambush

On August 12, 1967, at around 4:30 am, Sheriff Buford Pusser received a call that there was a disturbance near the state line. Despite the early hour, Buford’s wife Pauline insisted on riding along with her husband as he investigated the report. He agreed, and they soon took off in their car. After they passed the New Hope Methodist Church heading south on Sticine Road, a Cadillac pulled out behind them from the church. The vehicle pulled up next to Pusser and the occupant began shooting. The bullets missed Buford but hit Pauline. Buford sped down the road in an attempt to get away. Thinking that the shooter was gone, Buford stopped near Davis Yancy Road to check on Pauline. This is the point where he was ambushed a second time and was shot in the jaw.

Selmer Police Chief Hugh Kirkpatrick heard a call on the radio from Sheriff Pusser, and he and his wife were found just north of the Tennessee-Mississippi state line on US 45 with the sheriff sitting behind the wheel, and his wife lying on the seat with her head in his lap.

Investigators found 14 spent 30-caliber cartridges on the road where Pusser said the shooting occurred about three miles from the state line, according to The Tennessean. The Pusser car was shot 11 times.

Buford Pusser was shot at least twice in the face by a .30 caliber rifle, was in the hospital for 18-days, and went through several reconstructive surgeries to rebuild his face.

After he was released from the hospital, Buford named the four alleged assassins, most notably identifying Dixie Mafia leader Kirksey McCord Nix Jr. as the mastermind who had orchestrated the deadly ambush.

Pusser was never able to bring Nix, or any of the others, to trial, though Nix was sentenced to life in prison in 1972 for a separate case, the murder of the grocery executive Frank Corso. (Nix would later be charged with ordering two more murders behind bars, and he remains in prison to this day.)

Carl Douglas “Towhead” White was gunned down in front of the El Ray Motel on US 45 in Corinth, Mississippi on April 4, 1969. The alleged triggerman was Berry Smith. White was the lover of Louise Hatchcock that Sheriff Pusser shot in self-defense in 1966.

Not long after that, the last two alleged hitmen, George McGann and Gary McDaniel, were also found shot to death in Texas in 1970. McGann was killed by Ronny Weeden in an unrelated matter. Weeden was tried and convicted of the crime.

Threats Made To Film Crews

Bo Svenson, who took over the role of Buford Pusser from Joe Don Baker in “Walking Tall Part 2”, said producers were not able to shoot the movie in McNairy County because of threats and that filming was so tense that he was even given a gun to carry by law enforcement in Jackson, Tennessee to protect himself.

“I kept getting calls. They would call me and say ‘Mr. Bo, why are you making a movie about Mr. Buford?’ I’d say, well, it’s a job. And some were not so nice. ‘Don’t you go making him into a hero,’” Svenson said. “They said ‘Buford Pusser was not a good man. We’re going to get your ass’ Then ‘click.’”

Movies & Sequels:

There were two sequels to “Walking Tall”, “Walking Tall Part 2” (September 28, 1975), and Walking Tall: Final Chapter (August 10, 1977), both starring Bo Svenson. Buford Pusser was supposed to play himself in the 1975 movie until his untimely death.
Other Buford Pusser inspired Walking Tall movies were:

A Real American Hero: Buford Pusser (1978) – CBS aired a television movie titled A Real American Hero: Buford Pusser, starring Brian Dennehy as the title character.
Walking Tall (2004) – A remake starring professional wrestler Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson was made. Although it used elements from Pusser’s life and the original Walking Tall, many things were changed. Johnson’s character’s name was now Chris Vaughn, the sheriff is trying to stop the selling of illegal drugs instead of illegal moonshine, and the film’s setting became semirural Kitsap County, Washington.
Walking Tall: The Payback (2007) – Released direct-to-video as a stand-alone sequel to the 2004 film Walking Tall.
Walking Tall: Lone Justice (2007) – An American action film and direct-to-video sequel to 2004’s Walking Tall and Walking Tall: The Payback.