Walking Tall: The Epilogue

by M.P. Pellicer | Stranger Than Fiction Series
Buford Hayse Pusser who served as sheriff of McNairy County, Tennessee inspired the Walking Tall movies and a television series, based on his image as a vice-fighting lawman. Recent evidence has been found that indicate he murdered his wife Pauline, which he claimed was killed during an assassination attempt against him.

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Buford and Pauline Pusser

Buford Pusser was born on December 12, 1937. His father Carl Pusser was police chief of Adamsville. By the time he was a teenager he measured 6 feet 6 inches in height, and played on the high school football and basketball teams. Out of high school he enlisted in the Marines, but was discharged during boot camp due to his asthma.

In 1957, he moved to Chicago and went into wrestling, adopting the title "Buford the Bull". Two years later he married Pauline Vance a young divorcee with two children. He returned to Adamsville in 1962, and set his sights on becoming the sheriff, despite only being in his 20s. 

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It seemed luck favored Pusser when unexpectedly James Dickey, the incumbent sheriff was killed in a one-car accident on August, 1, 1964. In a foreshadowing of Pusser's own demise, while traveling on Highway 45 (present day Hwy. 145), Dickey's car left the highway and slammed into a tree after a tire blew out. The 40-year-old was returning from the scene of an auto accident on the state line between Tennessee and Mississippi. The WWII veteran had served two years in office, and was seeking re-election the following week.

Due to Dickey's unexpected demise, Pusser was elected as the youngest sheriff in Tennessee's history. 

​Pusser went after the Dixie Mafia and State Line Mob, and not surprisingly assassination attempts were made again him. 

Years before Pusser went up against organized crime in the area, Nelson Timlake sold the State Line Club along with two other clubs; The Rainbow Room club and Foam City club in 1949 to Jack and Louise Hathcock. They renamed the State Line Club to the Shamrock Motel and Restaurant, and of the several ones Clyde Raymond "Jack" Hathcock owned, this became one of the most notorious.

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Wreckage of the vehicle where Sheriff Dickey lost his life c.1964

Jack and Louise Hathcock divorced in 1957, and he leased the Shamrock to his ex-wife. About 1960, he built The White Iris Restaurant and Cocktail Lounge located about 200 yards north of the Shamrock, on the opposite side of Hwy. 45.

In May, 1964 Louise shot her ex-husband in Room No. 1 of the Shamrock, which was her personal room. In a foreshadowing of what would be a deadly encounter for her, she asked Jack to come to the Shamrock to discuss something, and then shot him three times. He staggered out, across the driveway and fell dead at the Mississippi and Tennessee state line. It was rumored the actual shooter was Carl Douglas "Towhead" White, since he was Louise's lover, but she took the blame. She was charged with murder, but the charges were dismissed a month later. She told officers: "It was either me or him." Louise claimed he had tried to rape her and had beat her with a shoe.

Sheriff Dickey who was three months away from his own death, investigated the incident. He testified at the hearing that it appeared she had been beaten, which was crucial in the charges being dropped.

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The notorious Shamrock Motel which operated on the state line between Tennessee and Mississippi

Six months later Laura Louise Hathcock, 42, was arrested by Sheriff Pusser when deputies found untaxed whisky inside her car parked on the Tennessee side. Four men were arrested and released on bond. One of them was William Hathcock, one of Louise's ex-brother-in-laws. The search was not only for whisky but narcotics and gambling devices.
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Two years later, in January, 1966 Louise Hathcock, and two other men were charged with possessing and selling non-tax paid whisky. Alcohol Beverage Control agents seized 2,088 half pints of whisky on the premises. The raid was made after two undercover agents stayed at the motel, and purchased whisky sold in half pints. She was released on $500 bond.

​Hathcock was set for a preliminary hearing on February, 25 in McNairy County, however on February 1, Sheriff Pusser shot and killed Hathcock. He was attempting to serve a warrant that had been sworn out by a couple who complained that a purse containing $125 and valuable papers had been stolen from their room. Supposedly Hathcock asked him to come inside the building saying "I got something to tell you" then turned quickly and fired at him. He fell to the floor and returned 3 shots. 

In a sad twist, Jack and Louise's daughter Jeanette Susan Hathcock Jones was killed in December 1967. Her biological parents were William and Leather Mae Anderson. Mae died from cancer, and her husband felt unable to care for Susan, and asked his sister to take care of his one-year-old daughter. Louise and Jack then legally adopted Jeanette Susan. 

Susan as she was known, was shot by her husband Raymond Jones, who then turned the gun on himself. He was 24, and she was 19; the reason for his act remains unknown.

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Pauline and Buford Pusser c. Jan. 1967

In January, 1967 Pusser was wounded four times by the occupants of a late model Chrysler he pulled over on Highway 45. The car had raced by him, and when he stopped it they opened fire on him when he came to the driver's window. Two bullets hit him in the left check and one in the left forearm. A fourth bullet grazed his abdomen. He drove himself to the hospital.

The FBI was seeking Carl Douglas "Towhead" White who had escaped in December from the prison camp at Maxwell Air Force Base where he was serving 3 years on a charge of conspiracy to violate the liquor laws. At one time White operated the Shamrock Motel

​​His efforts against local organized crime were known only in the surrounding area, however the murder of his wife Pauline on August 12, 1967 brought him to national attention. She was allegedly shot to death during an ambush against Pusser, instigated by Louise Hathcock's common law husband.

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Pusser after the attack that killed his wife Pauline c. Aug. 1967

According to Pusser on the morning of August 12, 1967 a phone call before dawn relayed a disturbance on New Hope Road in McNairy County. He responded with his wife Pauline who rode along with him. They had just passed New Hope Methodist Church, and according to Pusser a car raced alongside them and the occupants opened fire, killing Pauline and leaving him for dead. He was struck on the left side of his jaw by at least two or three rounds from a .30 caliber carbine. He spent almost 3 weeks in the hospital before returning home, and required more surgeries to fix his appearance.

Pusser pointed the finger at Kirksey Nix as the person who paid for the hit, however no one was ever charged with the crime. Nix was sentenced to the Louisiana State Penitentiary in Angola for the 1971, East Saturday murder of New Orleans grocer Frank J. Corso. 

Pusser shot and killed Charles Hamilton on December 25, 1968 after responding to a complaint that Hamilton was threatening his landlord with a gun.

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Carl Douglas "Towhead" White

The Grim Reaper was not done with the denizens of the Mississippi-Tennessee state line clubs. In April, 1969 Carl Douglas "Towhead" White, described by the FBI as "one of the top hoods in the Southeast" was shot dead near a Corinth motel. His bullet-riddled body was found in a car outside El Ray motel. There were two pistols with spent cartridges in the auto with him. 

Berry "Junior" Smith, 35, who co-owned the motel was arrested after the shooting. He claimed White shot first at him.

White had a long criminal history. In 1963, he was arrested in Memphis on a warrant charging him with embezzlement, and selling imitation diamonds for $10,000.  He had also been arrested for parole violation and armed robbery. He was one of five individuals indicted with the $11,000 armed robbery in 1965 of the former Red Carpet Gambling Casino in Biloxi. In 1967, he was convicted of jury tampering. He was paroled from Leavenworth prisons three months before he was gunned down.

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The El-Ray Motel on old Hwy 45 just south of Corinth, was located next to Theresa's Truck Stop. The present day it's at 1504 S. Tate St. Corinth, The motel was located at where the telephone cell tower can be seen.

Only a few day before, Clarksdale Police Chief Ben Collins, was suspended by city officials after a commissioner accused the chief of having links with White in the juke box business. It was mentioned that White was among Sheriff Pusser's suspects for the shooting death of his wife two years before.

Due to term limits Pusser could not be re-elected in 1970, and was defeated in 1972 in his race as sheriff. He blamed incumbent Sheriff Clifford Coleman, in part due to the controversy surrounding the movie Walking Tall.  Pusser was reelected as constable of Adamsville by a majority of voters who wrote his name on their ballots, and he served until 1972.

​In 1987, while Kirksey Nix was serving his sentence he ordered the murder-for-hire of Judge Vincent Sherry and his wife Margaret, who lived in Biloxi, Mississippi. His co-conspirator was Pete Halat the mayor of Bilxoi. Halat had also served as Nix's attorney and stolen hundreds of thousands of dollars that Nix had amassed in a lucrative lonely hearts scam. He tried to implicate Judge Sherry, his law partner for the crime. Nix was sentence to isolation for the remainder of his life.

​In 1990, a newspaper from Alexandria, Louisiana quoted Nix as denying any involved in the ambush of the Pussers.

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Buford Pusser with his corvette

On January 5, 2024, the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation (TBI) announced that the 56-year-old case of Pauline Pusser's death was still active. They confirmed an autopsy had never been performed on her remains at the time of the original investigation in 1967.  Pauline's family requested an exhumation in order to find answers to assist in identifying who was responsible for her murder. She was exhumed on February 8, 2024 and reburied two months later.

On August 29, 2025 the TBI announced that if Buford Pusser was alive there would be probable cause to charge him with the death of his wife.

Investigators found that Pauline's wounds were not consistent with the story her husband had related as to how she was killed, but rather they were consistent with being shot a close range. Her nose had been broken shortly before death but had healed. They discovered evidence she suffered from domestic violence. The blood on Pusser's car also contradicted his version of what happened. They found that his own wounds were likely self-inflicted. He told authorities at the time of her death, that she had accompanied him because she was worried due to the death threats he had received.

Buford Pusser died on August 21, 1974 from injuries after he was involved in a one-car auto accident west of Adamsville. Earlier that day he had contracted with Bing Crosby Productions in Memphis to portray himself in the sequel to Walking Tall. Driving his specially modified corvette he struck an embankment at high speed and was ejected. The car caught fire and burned.

Local rumor quickly spread the accident was a result of sabotage to the steering mechanism of the vehicle. Paul Ervin, the Tennessee state trooper who responded to the scene, who later became sheriff of McNairy County, claimed the accident was caused because Pusser was driving drunk, and that he was not wearing a seat belt.

Buford Pusser was the sheriff of McNairy County, Tennessee from 1964 to 1970 and constable of Adamsville from 1970 to 1972.

Dwana Pusser, Buford's daughter was a passenger in another car, and arrived on the scene only minutes later. Like his wife no autopsy was performed on Pusser's body. He was credited with surviving seven stabbing and eight shootings.

Dwana died in 2018. She promoted the Buford Pusser Home and Museum, and the Buford Pusser Festival held on Memorial Day weekend each year. She served three terms on the Adamsville City Commission.

Dwana's own daughter Paulina "Atoyia" Barnes passed away in 2024.

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Buford Pusser's life story inspired several movies and a TV series

The 1973 movie Walking Tall was based on Pusser's story. It was followed by two sequels in 1975 and 1977, a TV movie in 1978, and a brief TV series in 1981.

A remake by the same title was released in 2004 starring Dwayne Johnson as the main character, renamed Chris Vaughn. After the success of the 2004 film, Walking Tall: The Payback was released in 2007 direct-to-video. The name of the main character, who was portrayed by Kevin Sorbo, was changed to Nick Prescott, and the movie was set in the Dallas area. Later that year, on September 25, 2007, Sorbo returned in Walking Tall: Lone Justice.

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